Rome & Christianity

Rome & ChristianityRome & Christianity

Chapter 6

The Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic

•Myth of Rome– Founded by Romulus and

Remus•Twins abandoned and raised by she-wolf

http://www.sbceo.k12.ca.us/~vms/carlton/Rome_Reading_1.html


•Benefits of location– Hills– Tiber River– Peninsula– Alps


•Latins, Greeks, and Etruscans– Alphabet and

arch


•After being taken over and ruled by a number of Etruscan kings, the people of Rome wanted new government– Republic: power rests with the

citizens who have the right to vote for their leaders


•Social classes– Patricians:

wealthy landowners with most power

– Plebeians: commoners who made up majority of population


Patricians• Inherited status• Make laws• Forced to write

the Twelve Tables– All free citizens

have right to protection of law

Plebeians• Right to vote• Couldn’t hold

government positions

• Tribunes: assemblies of plebeian representatives


•By the 1st century B.C.


•Two consuls– Like kings– Ran military– One-year term– Can veto each other


•Senate– Originally

only had patricians

– Made foreign and domestic policies


•Tribunes & Assemblies– Mostly

plebeians– Made laws

for the common people


•Dictator– In times of

crisis– In power

for only 6 months


•Roman army– Responsible for much of

Rome’s success•All landowners must serve•Highly organized:

– Legions: largest military unit


•Page 157– With a partner, answer

questions #1 and 2 that go with the chart “Comparing Republican Governments”


•By 265 B.C. Rome had conquered most of Italy– Latins became full citizens– Conquered people had all rights of

citizens except the vote

•Why do you think the Romans gave full citizens to conquered people living close to Rome?

The Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic• Rome’s only enemy

was Carthage (pg. 159)– Punic Wars (264-146

B.C.):• Rome vs. Carthage• Hannibal: famous

general of Carthage led a massive attack through Spain to Italian peninsula

• Finally defeated Carthage under General Scipio

• Rome becomes the power in the Mediterranean!

Assignment

Read Ch.6.2 The Roman Empire

Complete the 6.2 Study Guide

The Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire

• What are the benefits of having a What are the benefits of having a single ruler in power?single ruler in power?

• What are the drawbacks?What are the drawbacks?


• Problems in Roman Republic:Problems in Roman Republic:1. Rich/poor gap widened

– Poor totaled over half of population

2. Murders of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus– As tribunes, attempted to give more land to

the poor– Civil war began

3. Power-hungry military leaders– Recruited the poor by promising land

» Soldiers now felt allegiance to generals, not the republic


• One military leader One military leader takes controltakes control

– Julius Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey• Triumvirate: group of three

rulers• Won men’s loyalty because

he also fought in war• Served one year as consul,

then governor of Gaul


• Becoming dictatorBecoming dictator– Success in Gaul gains Success in Gaul gains

popular supportpopular support• Pompey feared Caesar was

power-hungry, ordered him to disband his army

• Marched to Rome and the senate declared him “dictator for life”


• Good absolutism?Good absolutism?– Had total power, but used it

to make reforms• Citizenship granted to

provinces• Expanded senate• Created jobs• Increased soldiers’ pay• Created regions where poor

could own property


• Many feared Caesar’s Many feared Caesar’s power and popularitypower and popularity

– Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius plotted to kill him at the Senate

– Assassinated on March 15, 44 BC

– The irony of his murder? The senators killed Julius Caesar in order to preserve the republic. Instead, it led to the demise of the republic!


• Second Triumvirate:Second Triumvirate:– Lepidus, Octavian, Marc

Antony• Octavian forced Lepidus to

retire and defeated Marc Antony/Cleopatra’s forces– Declared “Augustus”: exalted

one

• Augustus Caesar become Rome’s first emperor!

• Pax Romana: 200-year period of peace1. Stable government

• Paid civil service

2. Stable economy• Agriculture- 90% of ppl worked in farming• Denarius- same coin throughout empire• Extensive network of roads


The Roman Road System

Augustus as emperor begins the Pax Romana from

25 BC – AD 180.

• “Roman Peace.” Rome had become the Mediterranean and European superpower. It used this power to create peace and prosperity throughout the region.

• There was no one to seriously challenge it and Rome could keep people in line or put down rebellions.

• Also protected trade.

• No civil wars.

• There were still wars, mind you, but most of them were to expand Rome’s boundaries or preserve them. Most action was on the borders while the interior stayed safe.

• Agriculture was the most important industry in the empire, with farming employing 90% of the people.

Entertainment and Bread and Circuses

• Wealth and Social Status made huge differences in how people lived. RICH VS. POOR

• Much of Rome’s populace was poor and many unemployed.

• This is a recipe for disaster if they’re not kept occupied.

• Emperor’s, at state expense, would put on massive entertainment events.

• Chariot races at the Circus Maximus.

• Gladiator battles at the Colosseum.

• Everybody also got grain rations- Rome becomes a welfare state.

• Roman values• Gravitas: Strength, loyalty, usefulness, power,

and discipline


Assignment• Read Section 6.3 The Rise of

Christianity

• Complete the Ch.6.3 Study Guide (vocab and questions)

ChristianityChristianity

Development, Teaching, and Spread of the

Religion

Rise of Christianity

• This religion grew out of Jewish traditions.– Jewish prophets predicted that a messiah, or

one anointed by Yahweh, would be sent to deliver the Jews from foreign rule

• Jesus, founder of Christianity


• Gospels: written by the followers of Jesus, tell about the life of Jesus


• Roman officials worried about Jesus’ popularity– They considered him to be a rebel

• Jesus was sentenced to die by crucifixion

Teachings of Jesus

• Monotheism– Believed in the Jewish God and the Ten

Commandments

• Placed less emphasis on law– More emphasis on compassion, forgiveness,

and equality of all people

• Taught with parables: short stories with simple moral lessons

Teachings of Jesus

• Bible: the holy book of Christianity– Includes all prophets of Torah and most

books of the Torah– Adds the New Testament, which includes the

Gospels and other books by Jesus’ followers

• Compared with Judaism, Christianity spread over far distances in a very short time

• This was due to a few factors:– Judaism is mostly an ethnic religion– Missionaries and martyrs– Appeal of Christianity

Spread of Christianity


• Followers of Jesus were called “Christians”– Christ= Savior= messiah

• Missionaries were able to spread Jesus’ teachings by taking advantage of a peaceful time in the Roman empire, and also good roads were available

• Eventually, enough people were involved in Christianity that the Roman empire began to respond

• Christians were persecuted for not believing in the Roman gods

• Many Christians became martyrs: people who suffer or die for their beliefs


• Widespread persecution continued until 313 AD– Emperor Constantine ended persecution of

Christians with an Edict of

tolerance– He converted on his deathbed


ASSIGNMENT

• Homework:– Read Ch. 6.4/6.5– Complete Section 4 and 5 worksheets

Ch.6.4 and 6.5

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Rome and the Roots of Western Civilization

• How have people responded to difficult economic times and political uncertainty?

• Panic• Pessimism• Anxiety• Anger/blame

Fall of the Roman EmpireFall of the Roman Empire

Contributing Factors to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire

• Economic Reasons

• Military Reasons

• Political Reasons

• Social Reasons

• 180 AD is the end to Pax Romana1. Reached limit of expansion, lacked new

resources

2. Crushing taxes

3. Inflation: drop in value of money and rise in prices

4. Poor harvests• Overworked soil• Warfare destroyed land

Economic reasonsEconomic reasons

Can an empire become too big???Fall of the Roman EmpireFall of the Roman Empire

Military reasons Military reasons (One of the bigger reasons for the split)

• Long bordersLong borders• As the empire expanded, so did its borders.

• Maintaining those borders against enemies became a massive and expensive endeavor.

• Military spending took a significant chunk of the treasury and took money away from many public projects.

• Use of MercenariesUse of Mercenaries• Rome also began hiring mercenaries. These guys

worked for cash, not loyalty, and could be highly unreliable. They were also loyal to their general, and not to the idea of “Rome”.

Political Reasons Political Reasons

• Political office seen as a burden, not a reward

• Military interference in politics

• Civil war and unrest (at one point, there were 50 emperors in the space of 25 yrs!)

• Division of the empire between East and West

• Moving of the capital to Byzantium

Social ReasonsSocial Reasons

• Decline in interest in public affairs

• Low confidence in the empire

• Disloyalty, lack of patriotism, corruption

• Contrast between rich and poor

• Decline in population due to disease and food shortage

• Immorality

• Severely limited personal freedoms

• Doubled size of Roman army

• Set fixed prices on goods to control inflation

• Claimed descent from Roman gods

• Split the empire in two– Greek East– Latin West

Attempts to fix the empireAttempts to fix the empire

Emperor Diocletian’s reforms:

The empire is eventually and officially divided into two halves: the western and eastern Roman empires.

This leads to an economic and cultural divide

• Emperor Constantine’s Reforms– Re-united East and West– Moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium

• Why this city? (pg. 175)• Renamed Constantinople• Shifted power of empire to East

More attempts to fix the More attempts to fix the empireempire

• Fall of the West– Germanic invasions

• Attila the Hun• “barbarians” sacked Rome in 410 and 476 AD

– Romulus Augustulus was the last emperor of Rome


The “Official End of the Western Roman Empire”?

476 AD

• East becomes the Byzantine Empire and thrives for another 1000 years!


Ch.6.5

Rome and the Roots of Western

Civilization

Objectives

• Know and understand the contributions Rome made to Western culture.

• Artistic

• Legal

• Architectural

• Language

• Technology/engineering

• Write these down! You can count on an essay regarding these points!!!

Classical civilization

• Greco-Roman culture or the mix of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman influences.

• Bear in mind that the Roman Empire spanned a wide expanse of territory and incorporated a number of cultures. Just as Roman culture influences them, they influence Rome and a whole new mix comes out.

• Your understanding of the term “classical” is key to your understanding the Renaissance!

Fine arts• Greek sculpture emphasized the ideal human form.

Roman sculpture presented more realistic representations of people. The Romans were practically-minded, after all.From This…

To This

• Bas-relief

• Type of sculpture with figures that project from a flat background. Often used to tell stories.

Trajan’s Column

Bas-relief of a play

Mosaics

• Very intricate and made by many small tiles.

Close-up of a mosaic.

PompeiiPompeii

August 24, August 24, AD 79AD 79

What Rome gave us… (continued)

• Language

• Latin became the basis for the Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, and French languages – the Romance languages.• Started off as just bad Latin, but then

established themselves as separate languages.

• Architecture• Many important buildings, like government

buildings, use neo-Classical architecture. Like say, the U.S. Capitol Building.

The columns, the dome, the arches.

The Romans were also big on the arch.

• It’s an extremely efficient weight-bearing structure.

• You see them a lot in their aqueducts, for example.

AqueductsThe aqueducts were used to supply Rome with

water and were engineering marvels.

• They supplied Rome with nearly 300 million gallons of water a day. That’s for a population of just 1 million. That makes for about 300 gallons of water per day per person.

• The Pantheon- dedicated to all the gods of the empire (not to confused with the Parthenon of Athens)

• The roads and road system were also engineering marvels, but we’ve already talked about them.

• Law

• Big contribution, mainly the rights of individuals.

• Rights under the law.

• Innocent until proven guilty.

• Burden of proof on accuser.

• Punishment for actions.

• The legal system also became basis of most Western countries’ legal systems.

Would you be able to write an essay explaining Rome’s

influence on Western Civilization?

I hope so…

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Rome & Christianity