Unit 2-2 Notes
The Roman Republic,

Empire and Christianity
Unit 2 Essential Question –
 How did the government and philosophies of
the Greek city-states influence the development
of Rome and its preservation throughout the
scope of the Byzantine Empire?
I.
Geography
A. Peninsula centrally linking Asia, Africa, and Europe
1. Bordered by the Tyrrhenian Sea (west) Adriatic Sea (east)
B. Mountainous terrain with fertile fields
1. Separated from Europe by the Alps
2. Many passes prevent isolation
II. The Roman Republic
A. Rome was a small citystate in Italy
1. Native Romans were
ruled by a foreign
(Etruscan) King
2. Overthrew the king in
509 B.C.E.
1. Established a
democratic republic
2. In times of crisis a
dictator with
absolute power
would be elected for
6 months
B. Class Structure
1. Social Classes – Determined at birth
a. Patricians – upper class; authority to make laws
b. Plebeians – lower class; could vote; couldn’t hold
office
c. Both required to serve in the army
C.
Creating a balanced government
1. Plebeians were denied many
rights
a. Refused to fight in the army
until reforms are granted
i. Ended debt slavery
ii. Allowed marriage
between classes
b. The Twelve Tables
i. First Roman written code
of law
ii. Gives both classes equal
legal protection
c. Reduces number of conflicts
III. Rome Spreads Its Power
A. Rome Conquers Italy by 265 B.C.
B. Rome’s Commercial Network
1. Central location allows for easy control of trade
2. Creates trade conflict with Carthage – The Punic Wars
3. Rome won all three (3) Punic Wars against Carthage
4. Gain control of all trade in the Mediterranean
IV. The Gracchi
Brothers - Tiberius
& Gaius Gracchus
A. Roman Tribunes
B. Both propose
land
redistribution
reforms
C. Both killed by
the Senate
V. Problems with Dictators
A. Marius
1. Saved Rome from German invasion
B. Sulla
1. Defeated Marius in a civil war
2. Appointed himself dictator for life
I.
The First Triumvirate
A. Pompey emerged as the dominate general after Sulla’s death
B. Julius Caesar emerged as the dominate politician
1. Caesar was funded by a rich Roman: Crassus
2. The three (Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus) rule Rome as a
three member consul
C. Caesar lacks military experience
1. Takes Pompey’s army and sets out to conquer Gaul
2. Crassus died leaving Pompey in control of Rome
3. Caesar gained popularity winning many victories
4. Pompey grew jealous / married Caesar’s daughter
a. Ordered Caesar to disband his army and return to Rome
D. Caesar
refused &
crossed the
Rubicon River
w/ his army
and occupied
Rome
E. Pompey fled to Greece and
eventually Egypt. (Egypt was in
the middle of a civil war
between Cleopatra and her
younger brother.)
II. Caesar’s Rise and Fall
A. Caesar sought a truce with
Pompey and traveled to Egypt
1. The younger brother
greeted Caesar and gives
him Pompey’s head
attempting to gain Caesar
as an ally
2. Caesar becomes furious –
sides with Cleopatra
a. Stays in Egypt 3 years
and has a child with
Cleopatra
B. Returns to Rome with
Cleopatra and Child
(Already had a wife in
Rome)
C. Senate appointed Caesar
dictator for life
1. Caesar made many
reforms that upset the
Patricians (Including
land reform)
D. Assassinated on March
15, 44 B.C.
The roman republic at
Caesar‘s death
III. The Second Triumvirate
A. Mark Antony, Octavian, and Lepidus vow to avenge
Caesar
a. Kill more than 100 senators and 2,000 businessmen
b. Following their revenge the 2nd Tri. cannot rule jointly
B. Octavian defeats Lepidus
C. Mark Antony
1. Marries Octavian’s sister (Octavia) as a sign of loyalty
2. Has an affair with Cleopatra divorces Octavia
3. Octavian defeats Antony at the Battle of Actium
a. Cleopatra flees in the middle of the battle
b. Antony abandoned his troops to follow her
c. Both commit suicide in a Romeo and Juliet scenario
d. Octavian makes Egypt another province of Rome
D. Octavian becomes
the First Emperor
1. Rules wisely as the
“first citizen”
2. Given the title of
Augutus – “exalted
one”
a. Marks the
beginning of
the empire
E. The senate and the
assembly still met
although powerless
The rise of
christianity
I.
Rome Controls Judea
A. Jewish kingdom came under Roman control in 63 B.C.
1. Allowed to be an independent kingdom
2. A.D. 6 became the Province of Judea
3. Jews believed a Messiah would restore the kingdom
of God
II. Jesus
A. Born a Jew approximately
6-4 B.C.
B. Began a public ministry
around the age of 30
C. Preached, taught, did
good deeds & miracles for
3 years
1. Teachings are based on
Jewish tradition, but
include non-Jewish
elements
2. Love of all, forgiveness
of sins, individual
relationship w/ God, &
nonviolence
D. Arrested by Jewish officials for blasphemy
E. Convicted & crucified by the Roman governor Pontius
Pilate
F. Christians believe he rose from the dead and ascended
into heaven and will return to Earth to save humanity.
III. The Spread of Christianity
A. 12 Disciples begin teaching
following resurrection
1. Begins as a new Jewish
denomination
B. Paul’s Mission
1. Persecuted Christians early
in his life
2. Devoted life to Christianity
after seeing a vision of Jesus
a. Spreads the Christian
message to Jews and
Gentiles
C. Common language and Roman
roads facilitate spread
IV. Persecution of Jews and Christians
A. The Jewish Rebellion
1. In 66 A.D. the Jews revolted against Roman Rule
a. Rome stormed Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and burned the
Jewish Temple to the ground
b. 500,000 Jews killed during the rebellion
B. Jews are driven from their homeland (the Diaspora) and would
not return for more than 1,800 years
C. Christians refused to worship Roman gods and emperors
1. Romans see this as a threat to traditional values
D. Thousands of Roman Christians were martyred for their
beliefs – crucified, burned, or killed in gladiator games
V. A World Religion
A. Constantine Accepts Christianity
1. A.D. 312 three generals are competing for control of Rome
a. Constantine prayed before the Battle of Milvian Bridge
b. Saw a vision of a cross with the words “in this sign
conquer” inscribed on it
c. Orders troops to paint crosses on their shields – they win
2. A.D. 313 issued the
Edict of Milan –
legalizes Christianity
3. A.D. 380 the
Emperor Theodosius
made Christianity the
official Roman
religion
B. The Early Christian Church
1. Priests led each local
community of Christians
2. Bishops oversaw several
churches within one
region
3. The Bishop of Rome was
established as the Pope
a. The Apostle Peter was
the first Pope
4. Petrine Doctrine – states
that the Pope has authority
over all Christian churches
C. Conflicts among early
churches led to the
establishment of the
Christian Bible
1. A.D. 325 Church leaders
composed the Nicene
Creed
D. St. Augustine Bishop of
Hippo – Humans need the
“grace of God” to be saved
1.The City of God – Earthly
cities would be destroyed
but the city of God could
never be destroyed
The Fall of the
Roman Empire
I. The Rule of Augustus
A. The Pax Romana
(Roman Peace) /
27 B.C. – 180 A.D.
1. Period of peace
and prosperity
B. Constructed a massive system of roads
1. Improve both trade and communication
2. Created a need for civil service
3. Provided jobs for freed slaves to be paid with taxes
C. The Problem of
Succession
1. A method for
choosing a new
emperor was
never established
2. Death of Emperor
often decided by
civil war
D. Crisis of the Third Century
1. Economic Decay – Pirates on the Mediterranean and
Barbarians north of the Danube disrupt trade – high inflation
2. Military Decay – Loyalty replaced by greed, mercenaries
hired into the army
3. Political Decay – People lost interest in politics, many refused
to pay taxes, officials had to repay any lost taxes out of
pocket
III. Diocletian
A. Issued reforms to end the
Crisis of the Third Century
1. Enlarged army to better
defend borders
2. Fixed prices to control
inflation
3. Persecuted Christians
to restore traditional
values
B. Divides empire into an eastern and western halves
1. Western uses Latin; Eastern uses Greek
2. Diocletian takes control of the richer Eastern
portion
C. Retired in 305 A.D. – Civil War broke out immediately
IV. Constantine – (See Rome
Notes Part 4) for his impact
on Christianity)
A. Moves the capital from
Rome to Byzantium
1. Renames Byzantium,
Constantinople
2. Allows for a Christian
city to replace pagan
Rome
IV. The End of the Western Empire
A. The Huns: Asian steppe nomads invade northern Europe
1. Germanic tribes flee from the Huns into Roman territory
a. Due to lack of infrastructure Rome unable to organize an
effective army
b. Rome sacked by the Visigoths in A.D. 410
c. Rome sacked by the Vandals in A.D. 455
B. Attila the Hun
1. Sacked 70 cities in the
Eastern Empire
2. Fails to conquer
Constantinople
3. Marches on Rome in
A.D. 452
4. Convinced to retreat
by Pope Leo I
C. In 476 A.D. Romulus
Augustulus , the last Roman
Emperor, conquered by
Odoacer .
1. This marks the end of
the Roman Empire in
the West.
2. The Eastern Empire
would survive another
1,000 years as the
Byzantine Empire.
3. The only institution to
survive in the West was
the Christian church,
governed by popes.
V. The Legacy of Rome
A. Greco-Roman (Classical) culture replaced Hellenism
1. Mosaics and frescoes decorated upper class homes
B. Latin became the foundation of the Romance Languages
2. Half the words in the English language have Latin roots
C. Roman architecture perfected the arch
1. Use of concrete allows for the building of
bridges, aqueducts, and domes
D. Roman Law became the basis for most Western
legal systems