1. How did the boundaries of the Roman Empire change?
In 1000 BCE, a group of Latins, later known as Romans, founded the city of Rome. After almost 500 years of it being founded, the Romans set up a republic. They gained territory by force, beginning with the Italian peninsula and then easily moving to the Mediterranean region. The Romans launched a series of three wars, known as the Punic Wars. During this time, the were able to conquer Carthage and in return gained access into Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. Even after the Punic Wars ended, Rome still managed to gain the territory of Macedonia, Greece and even some parts of Anatolia. Even through troubling times of the empire, it still managed to spread through Gaul, …show more content…
Britain and the rest of North Africa. By the time Rome reached the height of its power in 200 BCE, by the looks of it, it had grown tremendously in about 1200 years.
2. Why did the Roman Empire split into eastern and western parts?
The Roman empire, despite its size, had difficulties with barbarian invasions which resulted in the weakening of the empire.
The empire itself became to large for one central authority to govern. The emperor Diocletian split the empire into two separate parts: eastern and western. Constantinople was the capital of the East and Rome remained the capital of the West. Both were individually ruled by their own emperor. The split happened after Constantine died and did not become permanent until 395 CE. Separate political parties controlled the empires and they never unified.
3. How did the boundaries of the Byzantine Empire change?
The Byzantine Empire lasted for roughly 1000 years. During this time, it gained and lost territory many times. Things that made the territory contract include invasions, inner conflict, and poor rulers which weakened the empire. On the other hand, it also had its share of strong rulers, who a lot of the time helped to increase the land of the empire. Even though it struggled with territory, the Byzantine Empire had many important cities including its capital (economic and religious center) , Constantinople, and other cities including Alexandria in Egypt, Antioch in Syria, Ravenna in Italy, and Syracuse in Sicily.
4. How did the control of the eastern Mediterranean change over
time?
During the course of history, the eastern Mediterranean has been dominated by many empires. First, the land was controlled by the Persians, next by the Macedonians, then the Romans gained control, but after the empire split, the eastern Mediterranean became a part of the Byzantine Empire.