An age of restoration – a “rich and resilient society […] had reached a balance and attained a structure significantly different from the classical period” and we must realise that “headlong religious and cultural changes […] did not take place under the shadow of a catastrophe”.
There is a new localism; by the fourth century “most ‘senators’ had never seen Rome”. Society was exceptionally open to currents from below and most leaders came from their own societies and led careers that never took them far from their roots.
These great men sat in local courts and regulated affairs on behalf of a far off emperor. This patronus acting as intermediary between average man and higher power directly presages the medieval of the patron saint.
This localism led to great vigour and expansiveness in arts such as mosaics and statues, but their purpose had changed.
The limited upper classes of the second century were rich, of roughly equal status and competed for prestige by “lavishing on their hometowns […] colossal bric-á-brac“. By the fourth century, what mattered were services and titles from the emperor and displays of wealth migrated to private settings – palaces and country villas.
This spreading from the centre also led to a ‘Rome’ that had deeper roots away from the Mediterranean – “humbler provincials at last come to think of themselves as ‘Romans'”. This, in turn, opened up new pools of talent.
It also led to a change in the perception of the empire. “Nostalgia for the senate meant little” and “outside the Latin world there was no veneration for the city of Rome”.
In the East, especially, the emperor became the empire – provincials fell to their knees before icons of him and his care embraced all the citizens of Romania.
This was also a time of growing inequality, although this was felt differently in the East and West. Taxes had risen dramatically and the empire was so huge that assessments were never sufficiently complete or regular. The only practical “way to alleviate one’s burden was to evade it, leaving the less fortunate to pay up”.
What this meant in the sparsely populated west was that the underdeveloped, largely agricultural populace was crippled by unaffordable taxes, whilst what revenues there were filled the coffers of just a few great families.
In the East the situation was very different. Trade, self-sufficient cities, and a more sophisticated society led to more egalitarian outcomes. “While Gaul and Italy fell into the hands of half-a-dozen great clans, ten families at least competed for influence in Antioch alone”. This competition acted to limit the power of any one family.
More advanced agriculture, such as the hydraulic systems of Palestine, meant that peasants could get enough for their corn to pay both tax and rent. Gaulish revolts contrast with substantial stone settlements in Syria.
“The parting of ways between Western Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean […] goes back to such humble, concrete contrasts”.
Finally – new features in fourth and fifth century towns include Christian basilicas and statues with their eyes raised to heaven. A reminder that despite the continuities of the age of restoration there had also been “seismic shifts in […] religion and culture”.
Moritasgus 