Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages

Imagine a world where an empire stretches across three continents, where roads and aqueducts connect diverse peoples, and where the rule of law and citizenship define identity. This was the Roman Empire, a civilization whose echoes resonate deeply into the medieval world. Rome was not just a military power; it was a cultural and legal force that shaped the very fabric of Western civilization. The story begins with the Hoxne Hoard, a treasure buried in Roman Britain, laden with gold coins, silver spoons stamped with Christian symbols, and exquisite jewelry. This hoard is a silent witness to the wealth and sophistication of late Roman elites and a poignant symbol of the empire’s twilight in the West.

Military might was the backbone of Rome’s power. At its height, Rome maintained a professional standing army of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, funded by an extraordinary share of the empire’s wealth. This military machine enforced the Pax Romana, a period of relative peace and stability that allowed culture and commerce to flourish. Such investment in defense is comparable to or even exceeds the military spending of some modern superpowers when measured as a proportion of GDP.

Yet Rome was more than force of arms. Citizenship was a powerful tool for governance and integration. Initially limited to a privileged few, citizenship expanded over centuries to include diverse peoples across the empire. By AD 212, an edict granted citizenship to all free inhabitants, a radical move that redefined what it meant to be Roman. This extension of rights helped bind the empire together, fostering loyalty and a shared identity despite vast cultural differences.

The legacy of Rome also endures in language, law, and urban life. Latin became the lingua franca of administration and culture, evolving over time but remaining the foundation of medieval scholarship and governance. Roman law, codified and interpreted by generations of jurists, laid the groundwork for legal systems that persist today. Cities built with Roman architectural principles became centers of medieval life, even as political control waned.

Christianity, initially a persecuted sect, rose to prominence within the empire, becoming the official religion under Constantine. This transformation intertwined faith with imperial authority, shaping medieval spirituality and politics. The Chi-Rho symbol on the silver spoons from the Hoxne Hoard exemplifies the pervasive spread of Christianity in late Roman society.

As we close this chapter on Rome’s enduring influence, we see the empire as a living force whose institutions and culture survived its political collapse, seeding the medieval world. Yet, as the Roman West faltered, new forces stirred on the horizon, heralding an age of upheaval and transformation. Let us move forward to meet the barbarians who reshaped Europe’s destiny.