1. Thanks to an effective government, a well-functioning corps of civil servants, and a generally reliable defense force, the two centuries after the death of Augustus were a period of relative peace, prosperity, and creative accomplishment.
2. In the third century the Empire experienced political instability, economic decline, and social turmoil.
3. Although reforms by Diocletian and Constantine extended the life of the Empire, the Western Empire succumbed to a number of problems and fell--marking a turning point in history.
4. Despite initial opposition from the government and from heretical divisions, the Christian Church formulated dogma and eventually became the Empire's official religion.. Christianity's rise and triumph amounted to a cultural revolution in the Classical world.
