Question

Choose an event or phenomenon described in the text. Explain the causes and effects of your chosen topic, using details from the text.
In the fourth century C.E., the new emperor, Constantine, moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to a town called Byzantium. He then renamed it Constantinople, which literally translates as "city of Constantine." As can be imagined, the emperor's decision angered many Romans, since Rome had always been the capital of the Roman Empire. It was the reason why the Roman Empire was called "Roman."

Why Move?





Constantine had two very good reasons for moving the capital. First, his new city would be a Christian capital, not a pagan capital. The old families of Rome worshiped deities such as Jupiter, Minerva and Juno and would not convert to Christianity. Secondly, the frontiers of the Roman Empire were in the East, where the Romans were fighting and expanding their empire, and thus Rome was just too far away to be an effective capital. Constantinople, Constantine decided, would, therefore, be the Nova Roma, or "New Rome."

Constantine's new city lay to the east of Greece in modern-day Turkey. At the time, it was the Greek-speaking part of the Roman world, and almost everyone was bilingual. At home, families often spoke Greek, and the writings of early Christianity were in Greek, but anything sent from Rome was written in Latin. To be in the army or in public office, you had to speak Latin. Some imperial decrees, trials and official documents, however, were written in both Greek and Latin, very much the way some forms and manuals today often come in English, Spanish and French.

Greek It Is!

Why was the Greek language so common in this part of the Roman world? The answer is easy: Alexander the Great. More than 600 years before Constantine moved his capital to Constantinople, Alexander the Great, the ruler of Macedonia and Greece, had conquered most of the known world to the east of Greece. In fact, he had led his armies to the borders of India and conquered every country in his path. As each country became a part of his empire, Alexander made sure that the people learned about Greek culture, Greek religion and, most importantly, the Greek language. Greek culture and language fused with that of other cultures. This was known as the Hellenistic age. The term traces its roots to the name the Greeks had for their country — Hellas. Thus, it was Alexander the Great who "Hellenized" the world and made the Greek language the official language of the East.

When Byzantium became Constantinople, the people there still spoke Greek. Even the people in the small towns around the city spoke Greek. In fact, the entire area spoke Greek. Latin remained, however, the official imperial language, and the clerks, officers, soldiers, slaves, families and leaders, whom Constantine brought with him from Rome, spoke Latin. As the new capital of the Roman Empire, Constantinople became a two-language city. There, the Latin-speaking Roman government joined with the Greek-speaking world of Christianity and Greek culture. Gradually, Latin became less popular in Constantinople.

"Goodbye" To Latin

By the seventh century, very few people in the East used Latin. Only government officials and military leaders needed to know the language, and they typically translated everything into Greek. A closer look at Rome at this time shows that it had lost most of its power and that Greek had become the universal language in the East for both the government and the church. It was also true that Constantinople now faced many enemies coming from the East and the North. To survive, the emperor and generals had to communicate with each other quickly. As few people actually used Latin anymore, writing and speaking it became a problem.

In 629 C.E., the Emperor Heraclius decided that it was time for a change. The Romans had always called their emperors Augustus and Imperator, which is Latin for "commander." Heraclius changed these titles and started calling himself and all emperors by the Greek word "Basileus," which means "sovereign" or "emperor." This new title permanently changed the language of the empire from Latin to Greek. It was a change that had been happening for a long time period of time. No longer was anyone looking to Rome for leadership — the city and its power had come to a close. Now, Constantinople and the Greek language controlled the Roman Empire. Hellenistic culture, the Christian Church and the Greek language replaced Roman culture and Latin. That the empire would continue was certain, but it would do so through Constantinople.

Anthony Hollingsworth is a professor of Classical Languages at Roger Williams University and an avid reader of and author for DIG Into History magazine.

Answer 1

Chosen event: Constantine’s move of the capital from Rome to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople).

Causes:
- Religious: Constantine wanted a Christian capital rather than the traditional pagan center in Rome, whose old families worshiped deities like Jupiter, Minerva and Juno and resisted conversion to Christianity. Making a new capital would give Christianity a political and cultural center.
- Strategic/geographic: The empire’s military and political focus had shifted eastward; the frontiers and most fighting were in the East, so Rome was too distant to function effectively as the administrative and military center. Constantine intended Constantinople to be the Nova Roma (“New Rome”) positioned closer to active frontiers.

Effects:
- Bilingual, cultural fusion: Constantinople became a two-language city where Latin-speaking Roman officials and troops mixed with a predominantly Greek-speaking local population. Greek culture and Christianity were already dominant in the region (a legacy of Alexander’s Hellenization), so the city joined Roman government structures with the Greek-speaking Christian world.
- Decline of Latin and rise of Greek: Over the following centuries Latin grew less common in the East except among officials. By the seventh century most people used Greek; by 629 Emperor Heraclius formally adopted the Greek title Basileus, cementing Greek as the empire’s official language and signaling the permanent cultural shift away from Rome and Latin.
- Political/cultural consequence: The shift helped create a distinct Eastern Roman (Byzantine) identity centered on Constantinople, Hellenistic culture, and the Christian church, while Rome’s influence and power waned.

In short, Constantine’s move (driven by religious aims and strategic necessity) set off administrative, linguistic, and cultural changes that transformed the Roman Empire’s center of gravity from Latin Rome to Greek Constantinople.