To persuade Rome's citizens to fully embrace Christianity, Damasus turned his gift for propaganda to the city's greatest spiritual asset. Damasus had claimed Rome for St Peter. And now, cleverly, he claimed St Peter for Rome. St Peter had been martyred in Rome, and therefore, he was a Roman citizen, and this gave his direct heirs, the Bishops of Rome, special authority. By commandeering St Peter's legacy for the city, Damasus asserted Rome's primacy in the wider church, and enhanced the status of Christianity at home. Meanwhile, events beyond the reaches of the Empire were to have a devastating effect on Rome, changing the Holy City forever. By the beginning of the fifth century, barbarian tribes were on the move. The Huns migrated into central Europe, displacing the Germanic Goths, who became refugees on the borders of the Roman Empire. Defenceless and hungry, the Goths were forced to trade their own children for food, but the Romans sold them dog meat.


为了说服罗马民众全心全意信仰基督教，教皇达马苏斯竭力向人民宣传罗马城中最伟大的精神财富基督教教义。达马苏斯曾宣称罗马因圣彼得而改变。之后，他聪明多了，他称圣彼得为罗马牺牲。圣彼得在罗马殉道，因此，他是罗马公民，这赋予了他的直系继承人罗马教皇特别权威。达马苏斯还将圣彼得的遗物收归公有用以维护罗马超然的宗教地位（这里的教堂比其它地方的更大），稳固了基督教在国内的地位。在这个时期，事情一旦超出罗马帝国的控制就会给它带来巨大的影响，给这座神圣之城带来永久的变化。五世纪初，蛮族部落正在迁徙。匈奴人移居中欧，取代了当地的日耳曼哥特人。日耳曼哥特人逃难到了罗马帝国的边境并在此定居。那时的哥特人手无寸铁、又累又饿，他们不得不为了口吃的贩儿鬻女，而罗马人却将狗肉卖给他们充饥。