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• Octavian became the first Roman Emperor in 27 B.C.
• The Senate gave him the title of Augustus which meant exalted.
• Augustus began the Julian line of emperors.
• He began a period of peace and prosperity known as the Pax Romana which began with Augustus and continued for 200 years.
Octavian - Augustus:
Rome’s First Emperor
• Encouraged widespread trade
• Glorified Rome with splendid buildings
• Created a stable system of government that lasted for centuries
• Encouraged the old values of simplicity, sober conduct and patriotism (Gravitas)
• Created a common coinage throughout the empire which made trade easier
• Established fair taxation
• Began highway construction to bind his empire together
• Began public works programs
• Established a civil service
Octavian - Augustus:
Rome’s First Emperor
Jesus of Nazareth
•Born in Judea in town of Bethlehem and
raised in village of Nazareth.
•Baptized by a prophet John the Baptist
•As a young man he was a carpenter.
•Around age 30 began a public ministry
where he preached, taught, did good
works, and reportedly performed many
miracles.
Teachings of Jesus
• Based on Jewish traditions of monotheism and the
Ten Commandments
• Stated that He was the true Son of God.
• His teachings emphasized:
• A personal relationship of all believers with God
• Love for God, one another, enemies and self.
• God would end wickedness and create an eternal
kingdom for those who believed and repented of
their sins
Death of Jesus
• Jesus drew large crowds who claimed He was the
Messiah that had been prophesized in Jewish
scripture.
• His growing popularity worried Roman and Jewish
leaders.
• Jewish leaders denied His deity and claimed that his
teachings were blasphemy.
• He was accused of disloyalty to Rome and its
leaders.
• He was sentenced to crucifixion by Roman
authorities around 30 AD.
Rise and Spread of Christianity • According to the Christian tradition:
• Jesus was resurrected from the dead after three
days and appeared to many of His followers.
• He ascended into Heaven after 40 days.
• He will return to establish a kingdom on earth for
believers.
• His disciples became known as apostles and began
spreading His teachings.
• They referred to Him as Christos (messiah or savior).
The name Christianity derives from it.
• Large numbers of people throughout the Roman
Empire were attracted to the new religion.
Apostle Paul • A Jewish scholar originally known as Saul of
Tarsus. He persecuted early Christians.
• On a trip to Damascus he claimed to have had a
vision of the resurrected Jesus who commanded
him to spread the gospel.
• Saul converted to Christianity and became
known as the Apostle Paul.
• Spent the remainder of his life teaching and
writing about Jesus on several journeys
throughout the Roman Empire.
• Had tremendous influence, especially on
Gentiles (non-Jews) because he claimed that
Christianity was open to all people.
• New Christian churches were formed
throughout the Empire and drew large numbers
of converts.
Diocletian - Divided the
Empire into Eastern
and Western halves in
order to better
manage it.
The Decline of the Empire Following the death of Marcus Aurelius, the Empire began
to slowly decline. Civil War, barbarian invasions and
internal strife threatened its very existence. Two strong
leaders managed to hold the Empire together for a while.
Constantine - Established a new Roman capital at
Byzantium which later became Constantinople.
He converted to Christianity in 310. He was the
last effective ruler.
The Decline of the Empire
Decline of the Roman Empire Political Weaknesses
• The Empire became to large to administer
• Decline of the military and loyalty to
government
• Series of weak rulers
Economic Decline
• Heavy government expenses drained the treasury
• Trade, industry, and agriculture began to
disappear
• Revenue from conquered lands declined
• Heavy taxation caused internal strife
Decline of the Roman Empire
Outside Invasions
• Germanic tribes invaded the outposts of the
Empire gradually weakening the defenses
• Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Vandals were the main
invaders.
• They were pushed into Roman territory by the
Huns
Other Factors
• Population of the Empire declined
• Decay in family life and morals
• Spread of Christianity discouraged aggressiveness
Fall of the Roman Empire
• In the late 300’s barbarian tribes began to
invade the Western Empire
• In 476 the Western Empire fell to the
invaders and ended the Empire.
•This date marks the end of the ancient
period of history.