Division of the Roman Empire - Reasons, Procedure, and Impacts

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Roman Empire was one of the greatest empires of the ancient world and the greatest in ancient European history. Augustus founded the Roman Empire, replacing the Roman Republic, by becoming emperor in 27 BC. In 117 AD, the Roman Empire reached its zenith by capturing a large part of western and southern Europe, North Africa, and western Asia.

However, it became much more difficult for the emperors to control the vast empire due to its expansion in the far-flung areas. The Crisis of the Third Century (235-284 AD) made it impossible for the emperor to rule the entire Roman Empire. Consequently, it disintegrated into the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) and Western Roman Empire in 285 AD. 

Top Reasons Behind the Division

  1. Roman Empire faced threats from both its eastern and western sides. Germanic Tribes were their main enemy on the western side while they had to fight against the Parthian Empire (and Sassanid Empire later) of Persia on their eastern side. Despite its efforts, the Roman Empire could not eradicate any opponents at its right and left flank. Therefore, it was a challenging task to keep full attention on both sides.
  2. Uprisings and rebellions were common in the Empire. Most of the time, the Roman Empire remained successful against rebellions. However, defeating rebellions during wartime was much harder for the Roman Empire.
  3. After the assassination of the Roman Emperor Alexander Severus in 235 AD, a long civil war lasted for 50 years (235-284 AD). It is known as the Crisis of the Third Century, which was the primary cause of the First Division of the Roman Empire. 

First Division

In 285 AD, Roman Emperor Diocletian appointed Maximian as the emperor of the Western areas of the Empire. Both emperors received support from two Caesars (subordinates), Galerius and Constantius Chlorus. This system is known as Tetrarchy because there were practically four emperors of the Roman Empire.

However, this division didn’t last long. Soon, Constantine the Great defeated all his opponents and became the sole emperor of the whole Roman Empire in 324 AD. He also introduced several administrative, military, and religious reforms for the long-term unity of the empire. However, these effort proved unsuccessful and Roman Empire saw another division after his death.

Second Division

Constantine died in 337 AD without naming his successor. Therefore, his three sons divided the empire and rival family members for the control of the Roman Empire. The three brothers divided the empire into three parts: east (Thrace, Egypt, Syria, and Asia Minor), center (Africa, Italy, and the Balkans), and west (Gaul, Spain, and Britain). However, a civil war and internal conflicts shattered this division. 
  • A civil war between Constantine II (emperor of the west) and Constans (emperor of the center) resulted in the death of Constantine II. Consequently, Constans gained western parts of the Roman Empire in 340 CE. 
  • In 350 CE, a usurper Magnentius became emperor after murdering Constans. Constantine II defeated Magnentius and reunited the Roman Empire in 353 CE. He is known as the first ruler of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire) as he moved his capital to the city of Byzantium (later Constantinople and now Istanbul). 

Third and Final Division

In 364 AD, Valentinian I became the emperor of the Roman Empire. He immediately divided the Roman Empire again into the eastern and western sides by giving the former side to his brother Valens. This division separated the administration, dividing the military and bureaucracy of the two sides. This division became permanent in 395 CE when Theodosius I split the empire between his two sons. Unlike the administrative division in 364 CE, the division in 395 was political. Thus, it ended any chance of reunification of the Roman Empire. 

Aftermath

The Western Roman Empire could not survive longer after division. It vanished in 476 AD when Germanic tribes easily defeated the remnants of the Roman army in the Battle of Ravenna . After victory, they divided different areas of the Western Roman Empire among various Germanic tribes.

On the contrary, the Eastern Roman or the Byzantine Empire survived for around 1000 more years. In the 7th Century, they lost their Arab and North African parts to the invading Muslim Arab armies. However, their capital, Constantinople, fell in 1453 AD at the hands of the Ottomans. This event marked the end of the Byzantine Empire. 

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