Ancient Rome and Judea

Geography of Ancient Rome

• Rome is in Italy, in Southern Europe.
• It was originally built on seven hills near the Tiber River.
• Rome became the capital of one of history's largest empires; this area is what we call "ancient Rome".

Physical Features of Italy

• Italy is mostly a peninsula, a landform surrounded by water.
• The Italian Peninsula is shaped like a high-heeled boot.
• Italy includes islands like Sicily and Sardinia.
• Mountains and hills cover most of Italy.
• The Alps surround Italy's northern border and are the largest mountain range in Europe.
• The Apennines extend across the center of the Italian Peninsula.
• Multiple rivers including the Po, Arno, and Tiber flow from the mountains.
• Rome's location near freshwater and Italy's warm climate provided optimal growing conditions for crops.
• The hills, mountains, and seas function as natural barriers that made invading Rome more difficult.
• The Mediterranean Sea gave Romans access to trade routes and civilizations outside the Tiber River.

The Romans

• Ancient Rome included the city of Rome and the Italian Peninsula.
• At its largest, ancient Rome covered about 2 million square miles and included parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
• The regions were divided into provinces, territories outside of Italy supervised by a Roman governor.
• People living in areas including Greece, Gaul (France), Spain, Britain, Egypt, North Africa, Asia Minor, Syria, and Mesopotamia were considered "Romans" because their territories were provinces of ancient Rome.

Religion of Ancient Rome

• Ancient Rome accommodated multiple religions from different cultures within the province.
• Romans practiced polytheism, worshipping many gods, and their religion was influenced by ancient Greek mythology.
• Followers tried to please gods through prayers, sacrifices, temple construction, and festivals.
• Monotheism (belief in a single god) spread during this time through religions like Judaism and Christianity.

Mythology

• Greeks established colonies in Italy and Sicily during the 700s BCE, encountering the Romans.
• Although the Romans eventually conquered Greece in 146 BCE, they adopted many Greek gods and created their own versions over centuries.
• The three most important were Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva.
  • Zeus = Jupiter
  • Ares = Mars
  • Hades = Pluto
  • Artemis = Diana
  • Hermes = Mercury
  • Hera = Juno
  • Poseidon = Neptune
  • Hestia = Vesta
  • Aphrodite = Venus
  • Dionysus = Bacchus
  • Athena = Minerva
  • Demeter = Ceres
  • Apollo = Apollo
  • Hephaestus = Vulcan

Roman Mythology's Importance

• Romans used mythology to explain unknown events and highlight their city's greatness.
• The founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus is the most famous legend.
• Abandoned as babies on the Tiber River, the brothers were considered threats to the man who overthrew their grandfather to become king.
• They were rescued by a wolf, adopted by shepherds, grew up, and restored their grandfather to the throne after a conflict with the king.
• Romulus and Remus decided create their own city, but fought over where to build.
• Romulus ultimately killed Remus, created Rome, and became its first king.
• Romulus and Remus were said to be descendants of Aeneas, a Trojan warrior who led followers to settle in Italy after Troy's destruction.
• Aeneas led a group of followers that settled in Italy after the Trojan war.

Religion and Roman Provinces

• Some provinces like Judea in Southwest Asia disagreed with Roman religious ideas.
• The Romans believed in many gods; polytheism became the official state religion, with Roman emperors also considered gods.
• The Jews only believed in one God.
• Rome conquered Judea, including Jerusalem, in 63 BCE.
• Most Jews were upset about losing independence and being governed by another civilization.
• The Romans built statues of their gods and emperors on holy grounds in Jerusalem, angering Jews.
• The Romans collected high taxes from Jews without improving Judea, causing poverty.

Judea’s Response to Rome

• Jews rebelled against the Romans multiple times in the Roman-Jewish Wars.
• These include the Great Revolt (66 - 73 CE) and the Bar Kokba Revolt (132 - 136 CE).
• The Romans won the wars, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths and severely punishing surviving Jews.
• The Roman army burned the Second Temple in Jerusalem, stealing valuable items.
• Jerusalem was largely destroyed after both conflicts.
• Many Jews were enslaved, sent to Rome, and forced to fight as gladiators or work on projects like the Colosseum.

Consequences of the Roman-Jewish Wars

• Emperor Hadrian created policies to eliminate Judaism.
• All Jews were forced to leave Jerusalem and live elsewhere, forbidden from entering Jerusalem except once a year.
• The Torah and Hebrew calendar were banned across Roman territories.
• A temple dedicated to Jupiter was built on the former site of the Second Temple.
• Jerusalem was rebuilt, renamed Aelia Capitolina after Hadrian's family, and Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina.

Origins of Christianity

• Christianity developed around 30 CE from teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.
• The religion evolved from Judaism as both faiths practice monotheism, believing in one God.
• Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah and God in human form, while Jews do not agree.
• A messiah is believed to be chosen by God to bring peace.
• Jesus is known as Jesus Christ in Christianity , "Christ" being the Greek translation for "Messiah”.

Christian Teachings

• Christian beliefs and teachings are written in the Bible.
• The Bible is divided into the New Testament and Old Testament
• The Old Testament contains similar texts as the Hebrew Bible of Judaism.
• The New Testament includes accounts about Jesus and early Christianity.
• The first four books of the New Testament are the Gospels, which present four accounts of Jesus' life and teachings.
• Most of the other books in the New Testament are epistles: formal letters written by Jesus' followers that explain Christian ideas.

Jesus of Nazareth

• Historical information about Jesus mostly comes from the Bible.
• Scholars estimate he was born between 6-4 BCE.
• Jesus grew up in Nazareth and is traditionally thought to have been a carpenter.
• He became a preacher around 30 years old, teaching about God in a region between modern day Israel and Lebanon.

Jesus’s Ministry

• Jesus spent about three years traveling from Galilee to Judea to spread his message about the kingdom of God.
• According to the Bible, Jesus Performed several miracles and some believed him to be the Messiah.
• Some miracles include walking on water, healing illnesses, and feeding a large crowd with only five loaves of bread and two fish.
• Jesus often taught his followers through parables, short stories that teach about behavior.
• A notable parable is the Good Samaritan where Jesus explains love and compassion towards everyone.
• Jesus gained followers and named twelve of them Apostles, who became his closest companions and the first people to expand Christianity after his death.
• One of the Apostles, Peter, became the first leader of the Christian Church.

Opposition to Jesus

• Many Jewish religious leaders disagreed with Jesus' teachings and the claims saying he was the Messiah and son of God.
• Jesus was arrested in Jerusalem during Passover for chasing away money changers and customers at the Second Temple.
• Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, ordered Jesus' crucifixion.
• Crucifixion was a common form of Roman execution by nailing a person to a wooden cross, with the person then left to die.
• After his crucifixion, Jesus came back to life three days later in an event known as the resurrection.
• Jesus then revealed himself to the Apostles and instructed them to pass on his teachings before going to heaven.

Core Christian Beliefs

• Jesus stated that the most important Hebrew Bible commandments were to love God and one's neighbors.
• Christians are taught to love the sick, the poor, the outcasts of society, and even their enemies.
• Jesus sacrificed himself for the sins of his followers.
• Christians believe that those faithful to Jesus and his teachings will join God in heaven.
• Christians believe in the Trinity, in which God exists in three forms:
  • God, the Father, created Earth and the Universe.
  • Jesus, the Son, is God in human form.
  • The Holy Spirit is God's presence on Earth and in people's lives.

Christianity's Spread

• The Apostles spread Jesus' teachings to other Jews following Jesus' death.
• A Jewish man named Paul, later played a role in spreading Christianity past Judea.
  • Paul made three journeys across Roman provinces, establishing churches to teach Christian ideas.
  • Paul wrote most of the epistles in the New Testament.
  • He was the first to share the religion with non-Jews
• Roman officials saw Christianity as a threat after Christian leaders started convincing citizens to change their religion, since Christians only worshipped one God.
• This threatened the traditional Roman gods.
• Roman officials mostly ignored Christians, but some emperors persecuted them for centuries.
• Persecution means to mistreat or punish people because of their beliefs.
• Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in 312 BCE.
• He issued the Edict of Milan in 313 CE, legally recognizing Christianity and ending its persecution in ancient Rome.
• Constantine organized Christian leaders ("bishops") to attend the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE.
• Members established consistencies among different interpretations of religious ideas.
• Another Roman emperor named Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of ancient Rome in 380 CE.

Roman Achievements in Architecture

• Vitruvius, a famous Roman architect, said “all buildings must be executed in way as to take account of durability, utility and beauty.”

The Republic

• A republic is a type of government where people elect a leader.
• The Roman Republic suffered from instability and war in its early years, so temporary dictators were selected sometimes and given almost all the power.
  • Cincinnatus was a farmer who became the most notable dictator of their early republic
  • He is considered to be the ideal dictator because he led the Romans to victory before resigning and returning to his farm
• Conflict came up because the Romans split into two groups: Patricians, the powerful and wealthy, and Plebeians, the common people.
• Plebians were not able to be involved in the government, so they went on strike and formed their own groups. This led Patricians to include Plebians.

Roman Language

• The Roman language, Latin, was first developed by those on the Tiber River.
• As Romans expanded, Latin became the official language of ancient Rome.
• As such, Romance languages, such as French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Spanish, developed out of Latin after Rome fell.
• Latin was also the language of the Catholic church and is still used today and scientists to name animals and plants.

Roman Society

• Ancient Rome was a patriarchy, which means that men were in charge of their families and people used their male ancertors to keep track of their family lines.
• The man individually owned each family's property and had complete authority over his wife, children, enslaved, and underage siblings.
• Women were responsible for raising the children and taking care of the families home.
• Only children from wealthy families were expected to go to school.

Explore the complex relationship between Rome and Judea, encompassing religious clashes, economic grievances, and armed conflicts. Learn about key figures like Jesus and Aeneas, and pivotal events such as the Jewish revolts and the rise of Christianity.