The West in the World, 4th Edition (Sherman)Chapter 5:
Territorial and Christian EmpiresChapter Summaries
With the rise to power of Caesar Augustus, Rome entered a period of almost 200 years of internal peace. However, challenges remained for the Roman Empire. The challenges of unifying a multi-ethnic empire and struggles over morality troubled the Romans during the Pax Romana. In the third century B.C.E., economic and political problems shook the empire to its very foundations as the military gained in power. Two great rulers, Diocletian and Constantine, struggled to hold the empire together with innovative reforms. Finally, the birth of a new religion transformed Roman society and culture. Romans initially ignored and even persecuted Christians, but eventually the empire itself embraced Christianity.
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