Ancient Rome and the Rise of Christianity Chapter 6

Ancient Rome and the Rise of Christianity

Chapter 6

George CalcagniniGlobal II, F Period

4th Quarter Project

G. Calcagnini - Global II, F Period, 4Q Project

Timeline: 590 BC to AD 476

Timeline:

509 BC – Romans set up a Republic

218 BC – Carthaginian general Hannibal invades Italy during Punic War

27 BC – Roman Republic ends and Roman Empire begins under Emperor Augustus

180 AD – Pax Romana

392 AD – Christianity is the official religion of the Roman Empire

400s AD – Roman Armies battle Hun and Germanic invaders.

476 AD – Germanic leader seizes Rome


Section 1: The Roman World Takes Shape

Key Terms:

• Republic – a “thing” of the people. A government that would keep any individual from gaining too much power.

• Patrician – members of the landholding class.

• Connsul - elected officials whose job it was to supervise the business of government and command the armies.

• Dictator – in the event of war the Roman senate could elect a dictator, who is a ruler that would have complete control over a government.

• Plebeian – the farmers, merchants, artisans and traders who made up the bulk of the Roman population, but had little influence.

• Tribune - officials elected by the plebians to protect their interest.

• Veto – a vote to block laws that were not acceptable

• Legion – the basic military unit of the Roman army made up of 5000 men.


Geography and the Peoples of Italy

How the Romans built a world empire started with the land where they lived.

Geography

• Italian peninsula is centrally located in the Mediterranean

• The land was not broken up into small valleys, mountains were less rugged

• Fertile plains supported a growing population

Peoples

• Latins who settled along the Tiber River

• Greeks had settled in southern Italy and Sicily

• Etruscans settled north of Rome and ruled central Italy and Rome itself

• Romans got their alphabet, building arch, and other engineering techniques to drain land from the Etruscans


The Roman Republic

The Romans drove out the Etruscans in 590 BC – the date the Roman state was founded

The Government Takes Shape

• A republic was set up to prevent any individual from gaining too much power

• The patricians made up the senate of Rome. They were the most powerful landholding upper class

• 2 consuls were elected each year to supervise the business of government

• A dictator could be chosen by the senate during a war to have complete control over the government. Their term would be 6 months.

Plebeians Demand Equality

• Plebeians were farmers, merchants, artisans and traders who made up the bulk of the population, but had no power.

• Plebeians protested for more power, and gained the right to elect their own officials called tribunes to protect their interests.

• Tribunes could veto laws that were felt to be harmful to the plebeians.

A Lasting Legacy

• 2000 years later, the Constitution of the US would adopt ideas such as checks on power and veto power.


Roman Society and Expansion into Italy

The family was the basic unit of Roman society, and the father had absolute power.

• Roman woman played a larger role than Greek woman

• Girls and Boys learned to read and write

• Roman gods and goddesses resembled those of the Greeks and Etruscans.

By 270 BC strong Roman armies controlled most of the Italian peninsula.

• Soldiers were citizens who fought without pay and supplied their own weapons

• Rome treated its defeated enemies with justice

• They kept their own cultures, paid taxes to Rome, and supplied soldiers to the army

• People were loyal to Rome and some also became full or partial citizens.

• Rome put soldiers in conquered lands and built roads to these new territories

• Italy began to unite under Roman rule.

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Section 2: From Republic to Empire

Key Terms:

• Imperialism – the form of government that attempts to establish control over foreign lands and peoples.

• province – lands like Greece, Macedonia, and parts of Asia minor that surrendered to Rome and were under Roman rule.

• Latifundia – huge estates and mansions bought by wealthy families and filled with luxuries imported form the east.

• census – a population count taken by Augustus to make the tax system more fair.


Winning and Empire

Wars with Carthage

• Carthage, on the north coast of Africa fought the Punic Wars with Rome

• Rome defeated Carthage in the first Punic War and won Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia.

• Hannibal, led his troops from the north to surprise Rome in the second Punic War and won battle after battle in Italy.

• In the third Punic War, Rome completely destroyed Carthage

• Rome was committed to a policy of Imperialism or establishing control over foreign lands and peoples.

• Macedonia, Greece and parts of Asia Minor surrendered and became Roman provinces. Other regions, like Egypt, allied with Rome.

• Roman power extended from Spain to Egypt and they called the Mediterranean Öur Sea”or Mare Nostrum.


Social and Economic Effects and Reform

• Trade brought riches to Rome and a new class of wealthy Romans emerged.

• Wealthy families bought up hughe estates call latifundia

• As Romans conquered more land they forces the captured people into slavery on the latifundia, but small farmers could not compete with the latifundia

• They lost their business and went to Rome and other cities and became part of a restless unemployed class of society

• The new wealth also developed greed and corruption

• Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus tried to reform Rome asking that land be given to poor farmers.

• The Senate was angered by them, and they were killed with thousands of their followers.


Decline of the Republic

Unable to resolve its social problems, Rome was plunged into a series of civil wars.

• Julius Caesar was a successful military commander who conquered Gaul.

• Another successful commander, Pompey was fearful of Caesar’s rise to power and tried to disband his army

• Caesar crushed Pompey and his supporters, and used the famous expression, “Veni, Vidi, Vici” which means, I came, I saw, I conquered.

• Caesar forced the Senate to make him a dictator of Rome and started programs to help the poor and jobless.

• He introduced the calendar we used today - the Julian calendar.

Caesar’s enemies worried that he would make himself the king of Rome and plotted against him, and in 44BC, in the Senate, he was stabbed to death

• This started new civil wars and fights for power


Roman Empire and Roman Peace

• Caesar’s Cousin Octavian won the struggle for power and the senate gave him the title of Augustus” – or exalted one. Under is reign of 17 years, the Republic came to an end – and the Roman Empire began.

• The next 20 years were called Pax Romana – or Roman Peace

• Augustus enforced laws and gave jobs to unemployed to build roads and temples and sent others to farm land and allowed self-government for cities

• He ordered a census to count the population, and made new coins for trade

• This government ruled for over 200 years, but whenever an emperor died, there were problems

• Some emperors like Nero and Caligula were evil.

• Nero burned parts of Rome, and others persecuted Christians


Pax Romana and “Bread and Circuses”

• There was peace an prosperity in an empire about the size of the United States.

• People were safe, trade flowed freely, Egyptians supplied Romans with grain, ivory and lions for entertainment, and spices, cotton and jewels came from India

• Ideas and knowledge spread freely

“Bread and Circuses”

Gladiaor fights and chariot races were held at the largest race course called the Circus Maximus.

• This entertainment, along with free bread was a way to keep the restless mobs of the poor happy

• Underlying social problems were hidden - problems that could not be solved with “bread and circuses”


Section 3: The Roman Achievement

Key Terms

• satirize – to make fun of something. In this case, it was poets who made fun of Roman Society.

• mosaic – a picture made from chips of colored stones or glass

engineering – the applying of science and math to develop useful structures and machines.

• • aqueducts – bridgelike stone structures that brought water from the hills into

Roman cities


Greco-Roman Civilization

Rome absorbed ideas form Greek colonists who lived in southern Italy and from their conquests in Greece.

Literature, Philosophy, and History•Poems like the Aneid by Virgil tried to show the glory of Rome and its equality to Greece.

Art and Architecture•Roman art and architecture were based on Greek and Etruscan models•Roman sculpturs stressed realism•Mosaics became popular forms of art•They improved on devices such as the arch and column

Technology and Science•Romans excelled in engineering to build roads, bridges, harbors and aqueducts to bring water into Roman cities.

Roman Law•One of Rome’s greatest legacy was a commitment to the rule of law and justice. •Principles such as “innocent until proven guilty” came from Roman law.


Section 4: The Rise of Chirsitianity

Key Terms:

•messiah – Jews believed that the messiah was an anointed king sengt by God. •apostle – twelve close followers of Jesus. •martyr – people who suffer or die for their beliefs. •bishop – a Church official responsible for all Christians in an area called a diocese. •diocese – a geographic area defined by the Church that is under the control of a bishop •patriarch – an authority over bishops in their area. •pope – the bishop of Rome that began to claim greater authority over all other bishops. •heresy – beliefs said to be contrary to official teachings of the Church


Religious Diversity in the Early Empire

Early in Pax Romana, Christianity sprang up and grew rapidly, and by 395 AD, it was declared the official religion of the Roman empire.

•Mystery Religions that emphasized secret rituals and promised special rewards had some followers in the empire

•Rome tolerated varied religious traditions as long as citizens showed loyalty to Roman gods.

•The Jews were excused from worshiping Roman gods since they practiced a monotheistic religion, but many Jews did not want to live under Roman rule after Judea was captured

•Jews revolted but Rome captured Jerusalem and many Jews left and scattered throughout the Mediterranean.

•The life of a Jew named Jesus was captured in the Gospels

•Jesus taught Jewish tradition as well as new beliefs, and many saw him as the messiah.

•Jesus was crucified by Jewish priests who considered him dangerous and a troublemaker


The Spread of Christianity and the Early Church

•Jesus’disciples began Christian communities and converted Jews to Jesus’thinking. They became the first Christians.

•Peter established Christianity in Rome, and Paul’s letters explained that Jesus dies for our sins and spread Christianity throughout the Mediterranean

•Roman leaders believed Christians were disloyal to Rome, and Roman leaders began persecuting and killing Christians. These Christians were called martyrs.

•Christianity continued to spread regardless, and persecution ended in 313AD by emperor Constantine in the Edict of Milan granting freedom of worship to all citizens.

•Baptism, the Mass and the Eucharist became a pattern and way of life for Christians.

•Each community had a priest, and larger areas called diocese had a leader called a bishop.

•Bishops of large cities were called patriarchs and the bishops of Rome were called popes.

•Although Roman power was fading, the power of the Church grew stronger and inherited many of the functions of the government.


Section 5: The Long DeclineKey Terms:

•inflation – the rapid rise of prices. •mercenary – foreign soldiers serving for pay hired to fight for Rome to defend its borders.

The end of Roman greatness did not occur overnight. Decay had set in centuries before the fall.

•In 180 AD Pax Romana ended and Rome was in turmoil with power struggles•The people were burdened with high taxes, and farmers were unproductive•Emperor Diocletian divided the empire into Eastern and Western•He tried to control inflation by fixing prices•Emperor Constantine granted toleration to Christian•He created Constantinople as a second capital in the Eastern Empire•But, the Empire continued to decline


Foreign Invasion

•For centuries, Roman soldiers stopped attacks from Germanic people who lived north and east of the Roman empire.

•But when the Huns began conquering these Germanic people, the Visigoths, Ostrogoths and other Germanic tribes migrated to Rome to seek safety in there.

•Rome could not deal with the bands of invading people and in 378 the Roman amry was defeated by the Visigoths at Adrianople.

•Rome surrendered Britain, Spain and France which were also under siege.

•In 378 AD, the Visigoths beat the Roman army and plundered Rome and moved through Gaul, Spain and North Africa.

•In 434 AD, Attila the Hun, savagely conquered all of Europe sending more people into Roman Empire.

•In 476, the Roman leader was ousted and this was considered the fall of Rome.


Causes of the Fall of RomeMilitary:

•Roman legions coul not stop the Germanic invasions.•Soldiers were not disciplined and well-trained.•Many soldiers were mercenaries, paid to fight, but had no loyalty to Rome.

Political: •Government had become more oppressive and authoritatrian and lost the support of the people•Officials were corrupt

Economic: •High taxes were needed to support the large government•Reliance on slave labor discouraged Romans from exploring new technology•Farmers abandoned land and the middle class sank into poverty

Social: •Rome lost its values of patriotism, discipline and devotion to duty•Upper class was devoted to lu•Bread and Circuses were expensive undermined the self-reliance of the masses.


Questions 1. What was the name of the form of Roman government that had officials chosen by the

people? A) Democracy B) Monarchy C) Republic D) Dictatorship

2. What City did Rome fight in the Punic Wars? A) Athens B) Carthage C) Constantinople D) Alexandria

3. What was the purpose of “bread and circuses”? A) Make money from ticket sales B) Select the best gladiators for the Roman army C) Keep the city’s restless masses entertained D) Kill Christians

4. From what country did Rome get most of its art and science? A) Egypt B) Germany C) Carthage D) Greece

5. What military cause contributed to the fall of Rome? A) many soldiers were mercenaries without loyalty B) bad leadership C) poor weapons D) not enough troops

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Ancient Rome and the Rise of Christianity Chapter 6