Impact of Diocletian and Constantine
Diocletian and Constantine were emperors of Rome. Diocletian sand Constantine had different impact on the Roman Empire. The emperors enacted different policies that had different impact on the empire. Constantine established policies that had positive impact on the Christians. In addition, Constantine established a small region in the country where he and other Christians could practice. More change happened on Christian church during the reign of Constantine. For example, the status, structure and beliefs of the Christian church changed greatly (Noble, Strauss &Osheim, 2010).
During the reign of Constantine, Christianity was a religion of the emperor, but not the empire. He established policies on behalf of the church that created the conditions in which Christianity could grow. Thus, Constantine prepared people in the country to become Christians. Before, the reign of Constantine, becoming a Christian was a difficulty process. It was also a long process and the peoples needed to be dedicated so as to become Christians. For instance, the converts had to change their beliefs, behaviors and life style. The process was divided into four stages.
The first stage, the converts had an opportunity to meet with Christians and decide whether to become Christians or not. The church examined the converts life style and life choice before allowing him to become a Christian. The second, stage involved conversion of the persons ‘lifestyle and behavior. The next stage was enlightenment where the church analyzed the beliefs of the person. Then, the convert would become a Christian in stage four. Constantine fought hard to ensure the Roman Empire was had a common religion.
Constantine met with Licincus and agreed that the empire would be neutral on religious worship. The two signed a letter called edict of Milan that allowed Christians to live in the empire without being murdered. Also, the Christians have their sized property returned. In addition, Constantine helped prevent Christians from being persecuted. Constantine changed the process one followed to become a Christian. For instance, he became a Christian without being baptized and attending the catechism (Noble, Strauss &Osheim, 2010).
Diocletian had economic and social impact on the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire experienced crisis before the reign of Emperor Diocletian. This affected the economic and social life in the country. The empire faced hyperinflation that resulted from years of coinage devaluation. The several emperors enlarged the army by a quarter and also increases the pay. This forced the emperors to look for alternative ways to get money quickly so as to pay the military. This in turn resulted to high inflation rate in the country. Before, emperor Diocletian came to power, the old coinage in the empire had collapsed. Diocletian helped improve the economic situation and social conditions in the empire. Diocletian believed that working under the current system of government in the empire was not good.
So, he established several reforms to prevent the previous generations from returning to power and maintain the viability of the roman empire. For instance, he split the empire into two so as make its management easy. He also enacted policies to govern economic activities in the country. This in turn improved living standards in the country. He established the most buecratic government in the empire. He initiated campaigns and construction projects to increase the states expenditure. He developed a comprehensive tax reform system that helped standardize the tax in the country and made it more equitable (Noble, Strauss &Osheim, 2010).
Reference
Noble, T.F., Strauss, B., &Osheim, D.J et al. (2010).Western Civilization: Beyond Boundaries. Cengage Learning
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