Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/243

 CHAPTER XIV A CENTURY OF DISORDER AND THE DIVISION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE I. DECLINE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 270. Signs of Decay. We have now studied the Roman Empire in its most flourishing period during the two centuries of relative peace that began with the reign of Augustus. We must now see how it declined in strength and was finally overrun by the North- ern barbarians. We know little of the period, as our sources of information are scanty and unreliable. The great historian Mommsen wrote four volumes on the rise of Rome to the time of Augustus and then was so discouraged when he considered the poor historical sources for the remainder of Rome's story that he confined the rest of his history to a single volume on the Roman provinces. Some things, however, are pretty clear. 271. The Villas and the Coloni. The decline in farming, so noticeable earlier, had gone on, and the land continued to pass over into the hands of the rich, whose vast estates were called villas. The growth of the villa had destroyed the small independent farmers not only in Italy but in Africa, Gaul, Britain, Spain, and other leading provinces. Moreover, the soil had gradually lost its fertility and become exhausted owing to careless cultivation. Unable to compete with the great villas, and finding the burden of taxes unbearable, most of the small farmers gave up the struggle. A discouraged farmer would often become the colonus of some wealthy villa owner. By this arrangement the farmer and his descendants were assured possession of the land that they worked, but were bound by law to it and passed with it from owner to owner when it changed hands. While not actually slaves, they 171