Title: how long did the romans rule the civilized world? | Yahoo Answers
Headings: how long did the romans rule the civilized world?
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how long did the romans rule the civilized world?
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Content: Supported by the Roman legions, many others laid claim to the title. The succession of short
terms were finally stopped by Diocletian, who established the last of the republican liberties. The Senate was now no more than the city council of Rome. Diocletian also took the first step toward dividing the Empire: he ruled the East and turned over the rule of the west to an associate. The decline of Rome was complete when Constantine moved his capital to the Greek city of Byzantium on the Black Sea in 330. He renamed it Constantinople in his own honor. The transfer of the capital meant a real division of the Empire. As the long history of the Byzantine Empire began, the old Roman Empire fell into weakness and decline. Gradually the northern barbarians came down into Italy to invade the Empire.