Christianity and the fall of Rome

Christianity

Rome tolerates many religionsStill had to honor Roman Gods and

acknowledge divine spirit of emperorJudea

Conquered in 63 BCJews were monotheistic

Excused to worshipping Roman Gods

Some still not happy with Roman and Greek influenceJews rebelled and were crushed by the

RomansNew religion came from Judaism with

Jesus being the leaderChristianity

Jesus spread his word

JesusBorn in 4 B.C.Worshipped God and followed Jewish lawBegan preaching and performing miracles

of healingBeliefs based in Judaism, but had new ideas

Bring spiritual salvation and eternal life to anyone who believes in him

Condemned to death for his beliefs

Christianity spreadsMany are martyred and oppressed for

their beliefsConstantine declares Rome a Christian

empire, 313 A.D.Church develops

Has huge impact on government

Structure of ChristianityHad to be baptized to join

Sins forgivenFollowed in Jesus’ teachings

Everyone is equal At first

Pope was the leaderBishops, responsible for diocesePriest, leader in diocese

Differences ariseDebates on power, beliefs

Councils met to decide official Christian teachings

Assignment

Create a comic strip that shows the progression of religion in the Roman Empire Starting with Gods, ending with structured

Christianity

Comic strip must have Understanding of evolving beliefs 6 slides

Picture Description Color

Fall of Roman Empire

Marcus Aurelius dies in 180 A.D.No true leader after him26 emperors in 50 years

1 died of natural causes

Social and economic problemsHigh taxes place huge burden on farmers

and business owners

ReformsDiocletian and Constantine place many

reforms on Roman empire Improved economy

Split Roman empireConstantine sets up new capital in the east

ConstantinopleNew Rome

Invasions Huns

Nomadic tribe that conquer lands from Central Asia toward Eastern Europe

Forced Germanic tribes to come into Roman empire

Conquered many lands and eventually Rome

476- Rome emperor taken from throne