1. Which group of people led to Rome’s decline due to invasions? 2. Which type of leaders led the Archaic Rome? 3. What was the name of the Eastern Roman Empire?

4. Who was the leader responsible for making Christianity the official religion of Rome?

5. List four legacies that the Romans left behind for our world.

6. List the 8 major reasons that led to the decline of Rome.

7. Why was the saying “all roads lead to Rome” created?

8. Rome is located in which European country?

9. In which Roman era did elections become popular?

10. Who was Rome named after and why?

BELLWORK REVIEW

OBJECTIVE & STANDARDI can analyze the impact of Constantine on the Roman Empire.

7.2 Summarize the consequences of the fall of the Roman Empire including the continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire as the Byzantine Empire, Justinian and the significance of Constantinople.

BYZANTINE EMPIRE

EMPEROR CONSTANTINE

Emperor Constantine

• Constantine was born in Naissus or Nish in modern Serbia probably from 274 to 288 CE.

• His parents were Constantius, an emperor, and Elena, a Christian.

• Constantine was name emporer in 306 CE.

• In a dream, he saw a cross in the sky and the words “conquer in this sign.” He saw this as proof of the power of Christ and the superiority of the Christian religion.

What did Constantine do for the Christians?

• In 312 CE onwards, he favored Christianity openly and supported it in every way .

• In 313 CE he granted Christianity full equality with all religions in the empire.

• In 315 CE, he decreed the abolition of death on the cross.

• In 321 CE, he gave the church permission to accept bequests and donations and decreed Sunday as a public holiday.

In this council, Constantine was known as the Pontifex Maximus which means “the greatest bridge-maker.” WHY WAS HE A BRIDGE

MAKER?

Emperor Constantine made Christianity a part of the public life and because of this the Church faced a truly new world situation.

• Constantine was wary of alienating his pagan subjects by seizing their sites and temples.

• In 356 CE, Constantine’s son Constantius decreed that all pagan temples should close and he prohibited sacrifices to the gods on pain of death.

• Christians turned from persecuted to persecutors in the Roman world.

How would you feel if the President made an announcement stating that all Americans must follow 1 religion?

All people are required to become Pastafarians and worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

What would you do?

10 minutes

End

CLOSE READING

• Read the article closely

• Highlight or underline important evidence about Constantine.

• Answer the questions below the article.

CONSTANTINE