Chapter 4

The Flowering The Flowering of Religionof Religion

Faith and the Power of Belief in the Early First Millenium

Sects of Judaism in the 1st Century CE

• The Pharisees were a scribal group associated with the masses. They considered the Jerusalem Temple to be polluted and its priests, particularly the Sadducees, to be corrupt

• The Sadducees were priests and high priests associated with the aristocracy

• The Essenes were the most conservative. They banned women from their community and moved outside of Jerusalem to Qumran so that they might live a life of celibacy and purity. The Essenes probably were the group that produced the so-called Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest extant version of the Hebrew Scriptures

Model of the Second Temple of Jerusalemca. 20 BCE

The Second Temple was enlarged by the Roman client king, Herod the Great (r. 47-4 BCE). Today only the Western Wall survives; for centuries it has been known as the Wailing Wall.

Rome and the Jews

• In 63 BCE the Romans, led by Pompey, conquered Judea (modern Israel)

• Rome became less and less tolerant of the Jewish faith. In 66 CE, the Jews revolted. In 68 CE, the Romans destroyed Qumran. In 70 CE, they sacked the temple in Jerusalem

• In 135 CE, after yet another Jewish revolt, the Emperor Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as a Roman city, which Jews were forbidden to enter

The Rise of Christianity

• Jesus of Nazareth was born about 4 BCE

• After his followers identified him as the Messiah, or Savior—he did not make the claim for himself—both conservative Jewish leaders and Roman rulers were threatened

• An enemy of the state, Jesus was crucified in about 30 CE outside the city walls on a hillside known as Golgotha, now the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Cutaway Drawing of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem

Early Christian Art

• Very little early Christian art survives, and most of what we do have dates from the third and fourth centuries from paintings decorating catacombs and a few sculptures

• In almost all these works it is not so much the literal meaning of the image that matters, but rather its symbolic significance

• A very common image is that of Christ as the Good Shepherd, which derives from Jesus’ promise, “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10.11)

The Good ShepherdMarble, 3', ca. 300 CE

Christian Symbolism

• Over the course of the first 200 years of Christianity, before freedom of worship was legalized, Christians developed many symbols that served to identify them to each other and to mark the articles of their faith

• The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and omega, symbolize Christ’s presence from the beginning to the end of time

• Alpha and omega often flank the initials I and X, the first letters of Jesus and Christ in Greek

Alpha and Omega and Chi Rho

Christian Rome

• By the end of the third century, the Roman Empire included about 5 million Christians, nearly a tenth of the population

• In 312 Constantine I (r. 306-337) won a decisive battle after claiming to have seen a vision and then having his troops decorate their shields with crosses

• In 313 he issued the Edict of Milan, which granted religious freedom to all, ending religious persecution in the Roman Empire

Saint Peter's Basilica

• Begun under Constantine in 320 on the site of Peter’s crucifixion and tomb in Rome

• Consisted of a narthex, or entrance hall, and a nave with two aisles on each side

• A traverse aisle, or transept, crossed between the nave and the apse

• The nave was two stories high, the aisles one story, allowing for a clerestory, a zone with windows that lit the length of the church

Reconstruction drawing and plan of Old St. Peter’s, Rome

The Church of Santa Costanza

• The Church of Santa Costanza initially was conceived as a mausoleum for the daughter of Constantine, Constantia, a devout Christian who died in 354

• The central plan church is a circular structure topped by a dome

• A double ring of paired columns separates the circular central space from the barrel-vaulted ambulatory, the walkway or passage around the outside

• Later Christian churches would adopt this ambulatory to encircle the apse

The Church of Santa CostanzaRome, ca 350 CE

A Syncretic Religion

• As the early Christian churches developed from existing Roman plans, the religion itself incorporated many Greek and Roman traditions—a practice known as syncretism

• From the cult of Bacchus (Roman Dionysus) came the idea of sacrifice (a bull) with the promise of “reborn for eternity” for whoever received the bull’s blood. This ritual occurred near the beginning of the Christian Easter season

• From the cult of Mithras came baptism, periods of fasting, a communal meal of bread and wine, and sacrifice for the good of humanity. The birthday of Mithras was celebrated each year on December 25

Mithraic Reliefearly 3rd century

The Spread of Christianity by 600 CE

The Byzantine Empire

• In 325, Constantine, the first Christian ruler of the Roman Empire, decided to remake Byzantium, a relatively unimportant harbor city on the shores of the Bosporus Sea, as his new imperial capital

• Strategic location—straits linking the Black Sea with the Aegean, less likely to be invaded by the Germanic tribes that were threatening Rome

• He renamed the city to Constantinople, the polis of Constantine

• Following Rome’s collapse in 476, Constantinople would serve as the center of Christian culture throughout the early Middle Ages

"Building Constantinople”

From Trials and Triumphs in Rome: Christianity in the 3rd and 4th Centuries (length: 2:33). Item #9360 © 1999 on FMG

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Hagia Sophia

• First Hagia Sophia, erected by Constantine’s son, Constantius II, had burned

• Justinian (r. 527-65) hired as architects two mathematicians, Isidorus of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles

• Their completely original design consisted of a giant dome (184’ high and 112 in diameter) on a square base, the thrust of the dome carried on four giant arches. Between the arches are triangular curving vault sections, called pendentives

• At the base of the dome, 40 windows create a circle of light that makes the dome appear to float above the naos, underscoring its symbolic function as the dome of heaven

Hagia Sophia532-537

Interior of Hagia Sophia

Ravenna and the Western Empire

• The most extensive examples of Byzantine art survive in Ravenna, a relatively small city in northern Italy that in 402 had been made capital of the Western Empire

• Due to its position on the Adriatic, it became a thriving trade center

• As many as 60 churches may have been built in the city from 400 to 750

• San Vitale features a unique octagonal central plan building and interior mosaics, two of the most famous featuring Justinian and his empress Theodora

Emperor Justinian with Maximian, Clergy, Courtiers, and SoldiersSan Vitale, Ravenna, 547

Haloed Justinian carries a paten, the plate on which the bread is placed in celebration of the Eucharist.

Empress Theodora with Courtiers and Ladies of Her CourtSan Vitale, Ravenna, ca. 547

The Empress holds a chalice of wine for the Eucharist. On the bottom of her robe are the Three Magi, who like her come bearing gifts to the Virgin and Child.

The Rise of Islam

• In Mecca, in about 570, the prophet Muhammad was born to a prominent family that traced its ancestry back to Ishmael, son of Abraham

• Muhammad received a message in 610 CE from the Archangel Gabriel commanding him, “Recite!”

• Over the next 22 years Muhammad received more messages through Gabriel from Allah (the Arab word for God)

The Muslim Worldca. 700 CE

Islam’s Five Pillars

• Shahadah: Repetition of the shahadah, or “creed”—”There is no God but Allah; Mohammad is the messenger of Allah”

• Prayer: Five times daily (dawn, midday, mid-afternoon, sunset, and nightfall) facing Mecca

• Alms: Giving at least one-fortieth of one’s assets to the poor and needy

• Fasting: Abstaining from food, drink, medicine, tobacco, and sexual intercourse from sunrise to sundown during the lunar month of Ramadan

• Hajj: At least once, in the twelfth month of the Muslim calendar, the undertaking of a pilgrimage to Mecca

The Qur’an

• The Qur’an is a work of poetry that is believed to be the direct word of Allah

• Translations of the Qur’an are problematic because the beautiful, melodic qualities of the Arabic language are lost in translation. Further, since the Qur’an is believed to be the direct word of God as dictated to Muhammad, a translation of the Qur’an is no longer the Qur’an

• In Islamic culture, calligraphy—artistic, stylized writing—developed into the preeminent form of art. Because the language of divine revelation was believed to have a sacred nature, the writing, too, was thought to have a divinely inspired power

Page from the Qur’anInk and gold on parchment, 7¼" 10¼"

Syria, ninth or tenth century

The Mosque

• The mosque plan was based on Muhammad’s house in Medina, which was surrounded by a large, open courtyard, which served as a community gathering place, on the model of the Roman forum

• Hypostyle (from the Greek hupostulos, “resting on pillars”)—a many- columned covered area is a required feature of all Muslim mosques

• Other required features were the qibla, a wall that indicated the direction of Mecca, the minbar, the stepped pulpit for the preacher, and the mihrab, a niche commemorating the spot at Medina where Muhammad planted his lance to indicate the direction in which people should pray

The KaabaCenter of the Haram Mosque, Mecca

The Spread of Islam

• Following the death of Muhammad in 632, Islam spread with a rapidity that is almost unimaginable

• It appealed both as a religion and as a form of social organization

• The mosque was the umbilical cord that linked the faithful to their cultural center and spiritual home; it served as the community meetinghouse, courthouse, council chamber, military complex, administrative center, and eventually grew to have teaching colleges, or madrasas

Islam in Africa and Spain

• After gaining control of virtually all of the Middle East, the Arabic Muslim armies moved into North Africa in 639

• Part of the reason for their success in Africa was Muhammad’s authorization of slavery, a just spoil of war. Because the faithful were exempt from slavery, many Africans may have converted to Islam to avoid becoming slaves

• Starting in Alexandria, they took Carthage in 698 and crossed into Spain at the Strait of Gibraltar in 711, then turned northward into France, where in 732 they were defeated by Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer) and pushed back south of the Pyrenees

Djingareyber Mosque, Timbuktuca. 1312

This mosque was built by Mansa Moussa, the fabulously wealthy king of Timbuktu who embarked on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1334, distributing so much gold along the way to the poor that in Egypt the value of gold fell dramatically and did not recover for a number of years.

Great Mosque of CórdobaBegun 785

Buddhism: “The Path of Truth”

• Buddhism originated in India

• Its founder, Shakyamuni Buddha (563 to 486 BCE), was born Prince Siddhartha Gautama and raised to be a ruler

• Troubled by the suffering of humankind, he abandoned the luxurious lifestyle to live six years in the wilderness

• Buddhism, which aims to end suffering, became the official state religion of India as a reaction to warfare

Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths

1. Life is suffering

2. This suffering has a cause, which is ignorance

3. Ignorance can be overcome and eliminated

4. The way to overcome this ignorance is by following the Eightfold Path of right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration

Buddhist Architecture: The Great Stupa

• A stupa is a kind of burial mound

• The earliest were built around 483 BCE as reliquaries for Buddha’s remains, which were themselves divided into eight parts

• It is a deeply symbolic form, consisting first and foremost of a hemispheric dome (the Dome of Heaven). Atop the dome is a small square platform supporting three circular discs or “umbrellas” (the tree under which Buddha achieved enlightenment and the three levels of Buddhist consciousness)

The Great StupaSanchi, Madhya Pradesh, India3rd century BCE to 150-50 BCE