did christianity end the roman empire?

That the mighty Roman Empire of Hellenic civilization fell in 378 - fifty-five years after Constantine embraced Christianity as his empire's official religion - leaves many wondering whether Christianity caused the fall of the Roman Empire.

Actually, the Emperor Constantine's adoption of Christianity in 313 was a means by which he hoped to save the Roman Empire from the marauding Goths.

Not only were the Christians becoming increasingly difficult to control - there was widespread persecution of them in Roman ruled lands - but they were also becoming a force to be reckoned with. Rather than fighting the Goths as well as trying to quell the Christians, Constantine made a strategic decision to unite with the Christians.

Up until his conversion in 313, Constantine, and the Roman Emperors before him, had been throwing Christians to the lions for believing, among other things, that Jesus was the son of God. It was only apparently because of a dream he had of Jesus, telling him to put the cross on his warriors shields before going into battle, that Constantine decided turning away from the Roman gods towards the one Christian god was going to be more auspicious for him and the Roman state.

Had Constantine lost the battle, our history would be very different, but he did win the battle and consequently the 'cross' became not so much a symbol of Jesus' suffering but one of conquest. Hence, Christian soldiers!

Under the Roman Emperor Constantine, the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church was held at Nicaea in 325 and Constantinople was established as the capital of the Christian (Roman) Empire in 330.

Forty-eight years later, in 378, the Visigoths defeated the Romans at the Battle of Adrianople, so moving the capital of the Christian Roman Empire to Constantinople was a wise strategic move.

It was this battle at Adrianople in 378 - not the adoption of Christianity - that ended the old Roman Empire based in Rome.

By 395, the Christian or Holy Roman Empire - which it now became known as - was split into Eastern and Western regions, but Christianity had been - and would remain so - far more important a religious influence in the eastern city of Constantinople than it ever was in the western city of Rome.

The Romans - who had ruled the world from Egypt to England at various time during the period 31BC-378AD - were military conquerors not religious mystics. Having ruled for over 400 years, they were not likely to relinquish their superior place in the world easily. If adopting Christianity would further their aims - help them reclaim power by mystic rather than military force - then it was a strategic move for them to take.