This paper will discuss the driving force of change in Europe from 200 to 800 AD. The main emphasis of this paper will be that change was the most significant force in Europe during this time period, rather than continuity.
In 200 AD, the Roman Empire had reached its zenith in terms of geographical area. In the south, Roman influence and control extended to the southern regions of what is now Algeria. In the east, the garrison town at Dura-Europos overlooked the Euphrates River. And in the north, the Roman army had established an outpost in Scotland. These outlying points marked the vague boundaries of the Empire, and the furthest reaches of Roman culture. Roman culture and society defined the world within these boundaries (Brown 11-12).
However, European society at this time did not resemble the modern world in structure. Instead, it resembled the structure of the ancient world, consisting of individual city-states and small villages which had to "forage" for their food. In particular, the Mediterranean region consisted of relatively isolated fertile plains and river valleys surrounded by mountains and hostile highlands. Each year at harvest time, city-dwellers would take everything they could from the rural farmers for the coming year. However, this was never enough to sustain most of the cities; therefore, they also depended upon trade for additional food. The Roman Empire depended upon grain shipments from Africa throughout most of its existence. By the Sixth Century AD, Constantinople was importing 175,200 tons of grain from Egypt (Brown 12).
This need for trade dictated the structure of the Empire. Cities and towns located along the Mediterranean coast maintained close contact with each other, trading along the established sea routes. The inland regions, however, were connected by a network of roads which proved inadequate for establishing much trade. The reason for the inadequacy was not the road network...