第二篇

　　TOPIC 帝国分崩

　　有个著名的帝国破灭了，分成了东和西。然后东比较好，需要防卫的边界线不是很多，还有很多资源;西的话就比较悲惨，要各种防卫，内忧外患。还有西的话君主特别年轻，8岁和5岁还是神马的就登基了，然后权臣当道，等他们成年了，也没有发言权了。然后就说很多人都是为了自己的利益来的，牺牲民众的利益，外敌就入侵了。

　　解析：本文属于历史类话题，根据机经内容判断，该著名帝国应该是指罗马帝国，后期分裂为东西罗马帝国。托福阅读涉及古罗马的文章话题丰富，遍及历史、政治、经济、艺术等。作为西方文明的重要源头，古希腊古罗马的基本知识值得托福考生加以了解。

　　Eastern Versus Western Roman Empire Compared

　　The disintegration of the Roman Empire began in earnest during the 3rd Century. As frontiers along the Rhine River began to crumble, barbarians from the Germanic regions began to cross into Roman territory. Poor imperial leadership, often resulting in civil war between competing would-be emperors, contributed to the growing weakness.

　　Although many of the early barbarian groups had no specific desire to conquer Rome, they were enticed by Roman civilization and prosperity while frequently fleeing other barbarian groups moving into Central Europe from the east. By the 4th Century, following the reign of Constantine the Great, the last emperor to rule over a unified Rome, the division between east and west was complete.

　　East versus West in Latter Imperial Times

　　The Eastern Empire was vastly different from the West. The East contained the largest population centers and the wealthiest cities. The moving of the capital to Constantinople by Constantine added the element of prestige and signified the importance of the East. Dominated by ancient civilizations that predated Rome, the East was far more eclectic and open to competing philosophies and religious ideals. The Christian population in the East, for example, was substantially higher than in the West.

　　The West was more prone to barbarian incursions as Germanic tribes invaded Gaul and eventually Italy during the 5th Century. Western legions were often composed of barbarian recruits, men that had no loyalty to Rome nor shared common interests related to imperial goals. As civil government crumbled, the Catholic Church emerged as both civil and spiritual leader under the auspices of local bishops whose seats coincided with the Roman civitates.

　　Although the Byzantine Emperor Justinian attempted to reunify the empire in the 6th Century, barbarian groups like the Lombards, Allemani, Vandals, and Franks continued to separate the West from the East. This separation resulted in the remnants of the Western Empire transforming into a new civilization independent of the rise of the Eastern Byzantine Empire.

　　Religion, Law, and Culture

　　Western European civilization has been defined as the product of Roman culture, the Christian Church, and barbarian culture and traditions. In the West, Latin Christianity dominated religious tradition while in the East, Orthodoxy emerged as the primary religious faith tradition. The East refused to acknowledge the Roman pope or pontiff as the supreme head of the Christian Church, vesting authority instead in the Patriarch of Constantinople who was appointed by the emperor.

　　The East continued to practice Roman law, codified in the 6th Century by Justinian. This code would not be reintroduced in the West until the 11th and 12 Centuries. Western law was an amalgamation of pagan Germanic law, based on the Wergeld model, and Canon Law. With a liberal dose of superstition, such as trial by water and compurgation, post-Roman western law lost the Roman element of due process.

　　Eastern Roman Empire

　　The Eastern Roman Empire was the eastern part of the Roman Empire after the one united Roman Empire became too bloated to be ruled by one Emperor, and was divided into an Eastern and Western half. The East based it's capital in the city of Constantinople, not Rome. Unlike the Western Roman Empire, its people spoke Greek, not Latin and had a largely Greek culture and identity. The Eastern Roman Empire also encompassed the extremely wealthy provinces, including most of the Aegean sea, Anatolia, Egypt, and part of North Africa. Though extremely rich, the Eastern Empire was plagued by internal instability and foreign invasions. The Eastern Roman Empire will start off with a large number of provinces, but will be on the verge of collapse. Heavy cavalry will be their greatest asset, and vital to the success of the Eastern Empire.

　　The Eastern Roman Empire lies between Europe and Asia and connects Orient and Occident. Due to its location, it has developed a unique culture and military. While the Empire's primary enemy is Sassanid Persia to the east, the approaching barbarian hordes from the west may become a considerable problem as well. Furthermore, if the people are unhappy and revolt a Roman shadow faction - namely the Eastern Roman Rebels - can emerge; they are a dangerous enemy, as they have powerful Roman troops as well.

　　One of the richest factions, the Eastern Roman Empire's army is a mixture of Eastern-style cavalry and Roman infantry (which, like the Western counterpart, is inferior to that of the earlier period). The Eastern Roman Empire has very good cavalry including Cataphracts, Clibinarii (which are very heavily armored cavalry, somewhat similar to Cataphracts), and Dromedarii, as well as excellent archer units. It is also more stable and prosperous than its Western counterpart.

　　The Western Roman Empire, less urbanized and less densely populated, experienced an economic decline throughout the late empire. The East was not so destitute, as Emperors like Constantine the Great and Constantius II had invested heavily in the eastern economy.

　　As a result the Eastern Roman Empire could afford large numbers of professional soldiers and augment them with mercenaries, while the Western Roman Empire couldn't afford this to the same extent. Even in the case of a major defeat, the Eastern Roman Emperors could easily buy its enemies off with a ransom.

　　Western Roman Empire

　　The Western Roman Empire was the western part of the Roman Empire which, later, became known as The Holy Roman Empire. By 285 CE the Roman Empire had grown so vast that it was no longer feasible to govern all the provinces from the central seat of Rome. The Emperor Diocletian divided the empire into halves with the Eastern Empire governed out of Byzantium (later Constantinople) and the Western Empire governed from Rome. Both sections were known equally as `The Roman Empire' although, in time, the Eastern Empire would adopt Greek instead of Latin and would lose much of the character of the traditional Roman Empire.

　　The two halves of the empire continued to prosper equally until the reign of the Emperor Theodosius I (379 - 395 CE) when internal and external forces exerted themselves to break the two halves apart. These forces included, but were not limited to: the excessive zeal of Theodosius I in spreading Christianity and stamping out pagan practices; corruption of the ruling class; incursions by Germanic tribes; and over-extension of boundaries and resources. The Gothic War of 376-382 CE severely weakened the Western Empire even though the battles were routinely fought by forces from the Eastern Empire. At the Battle of Adrianople in 378 CE, the Western Emperor Valens was defeated and historians agree that this marks the beginning of the end of the Western Roman Empire. A steady decline in power and prestige followed the defeat at Adrianople and culminated in the last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus, deposed by the Germanic king Odoacer on 4 September 476 CE.

　　While this is the traditionally accepted date for the end of the Western Roman Empire, that entity did continue on under the rule of Julius Nepos until his death in 480 CE. After Nepos' death, Odoacer annexed the Western Empire to his own lands. Following the failed attempt by Theodoric the Great of the Ostrogoths to wrest power from Odoacer, the latter consolidated his kingdom and the Western Roman Empire became the Kingdom of Italy, fully under the control of Germanic rulers.

　　As Christianity had been legitimized and spread under Roman rule, there were many Christians who refused to let the Roman Empire die so easily. Charlemagne of the Franks was proclaimed Western Roman Emperor in 800 CE by Pope Leo III and entrusted with the charge of protecting and perpetuating the Christian message. Many tales and poems, including the famous Chanson de Roland (the Song of Roland), were written praising Charlemagne and his knights for their chivalrous adventures defending Christian values.

　　The official beginning of the new empire, however, dates from 962 CE when Otto I of Germany was crowned King of Germany and proclaimed his realm The Holy Roman Empire of Germany. Otto I continued the policies of maintaining a Christian nation following Charlemagne's example. The Holy Roman Empire continued to see itself in this role as an entity championing truth until, through a slow decline involving political intrigue, almost incessant war and constant internal strife, it was dissolved in 1806 CE following defeat by Napoleon Bonaparte. The famous French writer, Voltaire, is quoted as saying in 1756 CE, "This agglomeration which was called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire" and historians since Voltaire have agreed. The Holy Roman Empire was so in name only and after the last mperor, Francis II, abdicated the throne, Napoleon disassembled the existing political structure which supported said name and the territory came under French control through the Confederation of the Rhine.