Rome Fades Away

Roman Republican Empire.  Diocletian rule from 284-303.  Cool to persecute Christians.  Constantine ruled from 306-337.  It's cool to be a Christian.  Peasants were most people, very few rich folk.  The rich ones put the peasants to work and paid their taxes, but it was kind 'of like slavery.  Peasants were barely paid anything.  Rome's power was decreasing and it was divided into more of two sections.  Eastern side was thriving and the western side was poor.  They wanted to divide it because they weren't as well off as the east.  Last emperor was a teenage boy in 475 by his father.  The Franks were Germanic tribes and were active in spreading Christianity.  They devoured most of Gaul.  Franks was a term also used for western Europeans; they were the rulers of most western Europe.  Came over in the 3rd century BC.