Title: Divorce and Decline: The Division of East and West Roman Empires | History Hit
Headings: Divorce and Decline: The Division of East and West Roman Empires
Divorce and Decline: The Division of East and West Roman Empires
Colin Ricketts
East weakening west
The fall of Rome
The West crumbles under its own weight

Content: Listen Now
East weakening west
Constantinople was the capital now. It was an increasingly well-developed and well-fortified city, mirroring the rest of the Eastern empire. The strength of the East prompted any aggressors to turn their attention towards the West. Constantine had weakened the West during his rule, other than favouring the East in development of infrastructure, but in economic governance too. He raised taxes in the West to bring them up to the level of those in the East to seem fair. This did not take into account the economic disparities between the two halves of the Empire, and the extra taxes on the West served to further cripple their economy, which had dwindled due to the constant pressures of war and low trade. The coinage of Constantine’s Empire. His economic policies were one of the reasons for the decline of the west and the sundering of the Empire. The fall of Rome
BY 410 AD it was clear that the East and West had become separate entities. Rome was sacked by the Visigoths under King Alaric and no help came from the East.