12 Transformation of the Mediterranean World Free Online FlashCards

What pressures destabilized the Roman Empire from the third century CE?

Civil wars, rapid changes of emperor, frontier invasions, and rising costs of administration and defense reinforced one another.

Why was Constantinople strategically important?

Founded by Constantine and dedicated in 330, Constantinople linked Black Sea routes with Mediterranean shipping and became a major imperial center.

What changed in Roman government after 395?

After Theodosius I’s death, separate eastern and western courts governed the empire. The division did not immediately end the idea of a Roman Empire.

What does the date 476 signify?

Romulus Augustulus was deposed in 476. The date marks a political turning point, not the sudden disappearance of Roman life or customs.

What did Constantine and Licinius’s agreement in 313 do?

The agreement legalized Christian worship; it did not immediately make Christianity the empire’s sole religion.

What religious change did Theodosius I establish in 380?

Theodosius I made Nicene Christianity the empire’s official religious standard.

Why should Christianity not be treated as the sole cause of western fragmentation?

Christianity reshaped public life, but military, fiscal, and political pressures were also central to the western empire’s fragmentation.

Why was North Africa economically important to the western empire?

North African grain and other goods supplied Mediterranean markets. Losing the province reduced western imperial revenue and access to resources.

What happened to Mediterranean trade as political control changed?

Trade continued, but routes, political authorities, and beneficiaries changed; economic change was regional and gradual rather than a uniform collapse.

What was a major cost of Justinian’s reconquests?

Justinian reconquered parts of North Africa and Italy, briefly restoring Roman rule across much of the Mediterranean, but the campaigns required extensive military resources.

How did the early seventh-century wars affect Byzantium and the Sasanian Empire?

Prolonged wars between Byzantium and the Sasanian Empire further weakened both powers.

Which regions did Arab Muslim armies bring under their rule?

Arab Muslim armies took major Byzantine territories, including Syria, Egypt, and North Africa. By the early eighth century, Muslim rule also extended across much of Iberia.