Ancient Rome and Early Christianity

Ancient Rome and Early Christianity (500 B.C. - A.D. 500)

• Rome began as a republic with elected officials, eventually transitioning to absolute rulers called emperors.
• At its peak, the Roman Empire spanned Europe, Asia, and Africa, bringing peace and prosperity for centuries before collapsing.
• Christianity, a monotheistic religion originating in Judea and based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, spread throughout Rome and beyond.

The Roman Republic

• The early Romans established a republic that grew in power and influence.
• Rome's fundamental values and institutions would later influence Western civilization.
• The great civilization of Greece declined around the same time a new city in the west developed, Rome.
• Rome grew from a small settlement into a mighty civilization that eventually conquered the Mediterranean world.
• According to legend, Rome was founded in 753 B.C. by Romulus and Remus.
• Being twin sons of the god Mars and a Latin princess, the twins were abandoned on the Tiber River and raised by a she-wolf
• The city was built on seven rolling hills at a curve on the Tiber River, near the center of the Italian peninsula.
• Rome’s location was midway between the Alps and Italy's southern tip, and near the midpoint of the Mediterranean Sea giving it a strategic advantage.
• The earliest settlers of the Italian peninsula were the Latins, Greeks, and Etruscans, beginning around 1000 to 500 B.C.
• The Latins built the original settlement at Rome.
• Between 750 and 600 B.C., the Greeks established colonies along southern Italy and Sicily.
• Around 600 B.C., an Etruscan became king of Rome, growing the city to cover nearly 500 square miles.
• The last king, Tarquin the Proud, was driven from power in 509 B.C.
• The Romans established a republic, from the Latin phrase res publica, meaning "public affairs."
• A republic is a government where power rests with citizens who have the right to vote for their leaders.
• Citizenship with voting rights was only granted to free-born male citizens.
• The patricians, wealthy landowners, held most of the power, inheriting their social status.
• The plebeians were the common farmers, artisans, and merchants who made up the majority of the population and were barred from holding important government positions.
• Rome’s leaders eventually allowed the plebeians to form their own assembly and elect representatives called tribunes to protect their rights from unfair acts of patrician officials.
• An important victory for the plebians was achieving a written law code, the Twelve Tables, which established the idea that all free citizens had a right to the protection of the law.
• Roman writers boasted that Rome had achieved a balanced government, with two officials called consuls commanding the army and directing the government.
• The senate was the aristocratic branch of Rome's government with 300 members chosen from the upper class of Roman society.
• The assemblies represented the more democratic side of the government, including the Tribal Assembly elected by the plebeians.
• In times of crisis, the republic could appoint a dictator.
• All citizens who owned land were required to serve in the Roman army, organized into large military units called legions, which were key to Rome’s rise to greatness.
• Rome sought to expand its territories through trade and conquest centuries after the founding of the republic.
• By the fourth century B.C., the Romans dominated central Italy, defeating the Etruscans and Greek city-states.
• Rome had different laws and treatment for different parts of its conquered territory, with varying degrees of Roman citizenship.
• This lenient policy toward defeated enemies helped Rome succeed in building a long-lasting empire.
• Rome's location gave it easy access to the riches of the lands ringing the Mediterranean Sea.
• In 264 B.C., Rome and Carthage went to war, beginning the Punic Wars, which lasted from 264 to 146 B.C.
• Hannibal, a 29-year-old Carthaginian general, assembled an army with elephants and sought to surprise the Romans with a daring move across the Alps.
• The Romans found a military leader, Scipio, who devised a plan to attack Carthage.
• Rome's victories in the Punic Wars gave it dominance over the western Mediterranean and expanded to conquer the eastern half

The Roman Empire

• The Roman Republic's government was unstable as it enlarged its territory.
• As Rome enlarged its territory, it transformed Roman government, society, economy, and culture.
• Rome's increasing wealth and expanding boundaries led to growing discontent among the lower classes and a breakdown in military order.
• Rome grew, and the gap between rich and poor also grew significantly.
• Small farmers found it difficult to compete with large estates run by enslaved people.
• Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus attempted to help Rome's poor by proposing reforms such as limiting the size of estates, but this made them ememies with the numerous senators who assassinated them.
• Generals paying soliders and promising them land led to the decline of generals recruiting soliders from the landless poor.
• Julius Caesar joined forces with Crassus and Pompey to dominate Rome as a triumvirate.
• In 60 B.C. Caesar was elected consul.
• Caesar led his legions in a successful campaign to conquer Gaul then he defied orders to disband his legions, marching his army towards Rome.
• Caesar's troops defeated Pompey's armies, and he was appointed dictator, governing as an absolute ruler and granting Roman citizenship as well as his own close friends.
• Senators plotted assassination expressing a concern over Caesar's popularity, success and growing power.
• Three of Caesar's supporters banded together to crush the assassins after his death.
• Caesar's grandnephew and adopted son Octavian became the unchallenged ruler of Rome, taking the title of Augustus.
• Rome was at its peak from the beginning of Augustus’s rule in 27 B.C. to 180 A.D., a time which became known as the Pax Romana.
• Its vast empire held together through efficient government and able rulers.
• Civil service was set up, paying workers to manage affairs of government.
• Agriculture was the most important industry in the Roman Empire and additional food and luxury could be earned through trade.
• Romans emphasized the values of discipline, strength, and loyalty.
• Most people lived in the countryside and worked on farms.

The Rise of Christianity

• As Rome enlarged its territory, Christianity arose in Roman-occupied Judea.
• It became widespread as it emphasized a more personal relationship between God and people that also attracted many Romans.
• Roman power spread to Judea around 63 B.C. but Jews believed they would once again be free with the savior Messiah.
• Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea and began his public ministry at age of 30.
• His teachings contained many ideas from Jewish tradition, but he emphasized God’s personal relationship to each human being, even his enemies by loving others.
• Jesus' growing popularity grew but did concern both Roman and Jewish leaders.
• The chief priests of the Jews denied that Jesus was the Messiah, and he was accused of blasphemy.
• The Roman governor Pontius Pilate sentenced him to be crucified.
• Jesus' followers became more convinced that he was the Messiah as he began appearing to them.
• His apostles continued to spread his ideas without contradicting Jewish law.
• Paul's teachings had tremendous influence on the Christianity's development and declared all should be welcomed to it.
• In A.D. 66, a band of Jews rebelled against Rome, and the Romans stormed Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
• Christians refused to worship Roman gods, which also posed a problem for Roman rulers.
• Tertullian wrote in Latin concerning why the blood of Christian martyrs are seeds.
• Christianity became a powerful force in which they embraced all and gave hope the powerless.
• The widespread appeal of Christianity appealed to those who were repped by the Imperial Roman extravagances.
• It offered a personal relationship and promised eternal life.
• Roman emperor Constantine was fighting three rivals for leadership of Rome, and he had marched to the Tiber River at Rome to battle his chief rival.
• Constantine announced and end to the persecution of Christians A.D. 330.
• Now Christians had given their religion a structure, much as the Roman Empire had a hierarchy.
• Priests led the small groups of Christians, bishops supervised the churches and eventually, every city had its own bishop.
• Christians began believing in one belief and that belief was heresy.
• Constantine moved to solidify further the teachings of Christianity.

The Fall of the Roman Empire

• The decline and fall of great civilizations is a repeating pattern in world history.
• Internal problems and invasions spurred the division and decline of the Empire.
• Historians generally agree that the end of the reign of the Roman Empire Marcus Aurelius marked the end of two centuries of peace.
• A.D. The rulers that followed in the next century had little idea of how to deal with the giant empire.
• Most empires go through the four noble truths.
• Hostile tribes outside the boundaries of the empire and pirates on the Mediterranean Sea disrupted trade.
• Coins the government raised in taxes contained less silver with the economy would experience inflation, a drop in the value.
• Harvests in Italy and western Europe became increasingly meager since soil was losing it's fertility, and there were food shortages and the population was declining.
• Soldiers in general had become less diciplined.
• Diocletian restored order to the empire, claiming decent from ancient roman gods, creating elaborate ceremonies to present himself, in a god like aura.
• Constantine continued social and economics.
• In A.D. 330 he moved the capital to the Greek city of byzantium what is. Currently is Turkey.
• Since The days of civil Julius Ceasar, Germanic people had since. The Hun's Moved into the regions and began destroying everything.

Rome and the Roots of Western Civilization

• Roman developed many ideas and institutions that became fundamental

• There was much influence in Africa and Asia

• During the empire the Romans where knitted into a single state. They where prideful however they acknowledged Greek leadership in art, architecture, philosophy

• The Greco-Roman culture also influenced Western Civilization

• They adapted then their own

• In Roman time strength and solidarity.

• Art and literature

• Fine arts had inspiration they where Greek

• Sculpture became more life like

• Roman artist also we're particularity skilled

• Fresoes where painted all over walls in Bright colors

• Stoicism encouraged virtue, pity, modernizarion

• Virgil was a model in greece

• Greek form

• Tacitus was also known for creating facts

• Tacitus showed Nero who as evil

• Roman was the main world

• Latin was the language of the Western Language.

• The Roman had arches.

• Master builders.

• The legal and the rights were fair

• People were still innocent.

• Rome Enduring Influence