2.2 Rome & the Rise of
Christianity
The Emergence of Rome
The Emergence of Rome
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Indo-European peoples
moved into Italy from about
1500 to 1000 B.C.
One people spoke Latin, an
Indo-European language, and
lived as herders and farmers
on Italy’s hills
After 800 B.C., other people,
including the Greeks and
Etruscans, settled in Italy
Early Rome was ruled by
kings, some
of whom were Etruscan
The Emergence of Rome
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In 509 B.C., the Romans overthrew
the last Etruscan king and
established a republic
In a republic the leader is not a king
and certain citizens have the right to
vote
Enemies surrounded Rome, and so
the young republic began a long
period of continuous warfare
By 264 B.C., Rome had defeated the
Greeks and remaining Etruscan
states and controlled almost all of
Italy
The Emergence of Rome
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To rule, the Romans devised
the Roman Confederation
Some people had full Roman
citizenship
Other groups were allies who
controlled their local affairs
but gave soldiers to Rome
Such people could become
Roman citizens
Thus many of the conquered
peoples felt invested in
Rome’s success
The Emergence of Rome
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Rome faced a strong power in the
Mediterranean–Carthage, which was
founded around 800 B.C. on the coast of
North Africa
Carthage had a large trading empire in
the western Mediterranean
The Romans fought three wars with
Carthage- The Punic Wars
During the Second Punic War, the
victories of Carthage’s greatest general,
Hannibal, almost brought Rome to
disaster
After creating new armies and a navy,
the Romans defeated Hannibal’s forces
Spain became a Roman province, and
Rome controlled the western
Mediterranean
Rome completely destroyed Carthage in
146 B.C.
The Emergence of Rome
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In the second century
B.C., Rome also
conquered Macedonia
and Greece.
In 129 B.C.,
Pergamum became
Rome’s first province
in Asia
Rome was now master
of the Mediterranean
Sea
The Roman State
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The Romans distrusted kingship
because of their experience with
Etruscan kings
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Patricians were members of the small
amount of wealthy Roman families.
Early Rome was divided into two
groups, the patricians and the
plebeians
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Plebeians were the majority of the
population (workers, shopkeepers, and
peasants).
They built a different form of
government
Patricians were large landowners
who formed Rome’s ruling class
The plebeians were the less-wealthy
landholders, craftspeople,
merchants, and small farmers
Members of both groups were
citizens and could vote
Only patricians could be elected to
public office
The Roman State
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The chief executive officers of
the Roman Republic were the
consuls and praetors.
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Two consuls ran the
government and led the army
into battle
The praetor directed the civil
law–law as it applied to citizens
Later another praetor was
added to handle the law as it
applied to non-citizens
The Roman Senate was
especially important
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About three hundred patricians
who served for life made up the
original Senate
At first only an advisory body,
by the third century B.C. the
Senate had the force of law
The Roman State
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The most important people’s assembly was the
centuriate assembly
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It elected the consuls and praetors, and passed laws
It was organized by classes based on wealth, so the
wealthiest citizens always were the majority
There was often conflict between the patricians and
the plebeians
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The plebeians wanted political and social equality
Finally, in 471 B.C., a popular assembly called the council of
the plebs was created
New officials, called the tribunes of the plebs, were
empowered to protect the plebeians
The Roman State
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By 287 B.C., all male Roman citizens
were supposedly equal under the law
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However, a few wealthy patrician and
plebeian families formed a new senatorial
ruling class that came to dominate political
office
the Roman Republic had not become a
democracy
From Republic to Empire
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Between 509 and 264 B.C., Rome expanded to
control most of what is present-day Italy
By 129 B.C., Rome controlled the Mediterranean
Sea
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Rome’s republican institutions could not rule an
empire
The Senate became the real governing body
Rival factions within the Senate fought for power and
created disorder
In the first century B.C., Roman leaders began to
recruit armies that swore allegiance to the general
and not to the state
From Republic to Empire
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Between 82 and 31 B.C., various individuals including
Julius Caesar competed for power
After Caesar’s assassination, his grandnephew Octavian
took control
of the Roman world
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The period from 31 B.C. to A.D. 14 is known as the Age of
Augustus
In 27 B.C., the Senate awarded Octavian the title of Augustus
(“the revered one”)
Augustus controlled the army and thus had great power
The Senate gave Augustus the title imperator (commander in
chief) from which our word emperor is derived
Augustus became the first emperor of the Roman Empire.
The Early Empire
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The period called the Early Empire lasted from A.D. 14 to
180
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During part of this time (A.D. 96–180), a series of five so-called
good emperors–Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and
Marcus Aurelius–led Rome and created a time of peace and
prosperity called the Pax Romana (“Roman Peace”)
The good emperors respected the ruling classes, ended arbitrary
executions, maintained peace, and supported domestic policies
that benefited the empire
These emperors, however, also took power away from the
Senate
Officials appointed and directed by the emperor began to run
the government
The Early Empire
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The good emperors instituted programs to help
the people
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Trajan provided funds to help the poor educate their
children
Trajan and Hadrian were especially active in building
public works–aqueducts, bridges, roads, and harbor
facilities
By the second century, the Roman Empire
covered about three and a half million square
miles and had a population estimated at over 50
million
The Early Empire
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The Early Empire was prosperous
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Internal peace helped trade grow
Merchants from across the empire came to the main
Italian ports
Trade went beyond the empire’s frontiers and
included silk goods from China
Large amounts of grain were imported to feed the
people, and luxury items came in for the rich
Farming, however, remained the chief occupation and
the basis of Roman prosperity
Roman Law
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One of Rome’s most important contributions
to society was its system of law
Rome’s first code of law, the Twelve Tables,
was adopted in 450 B.C.
Later Rome adopted a more sophisticated
system of civil law, which applied to Roman
citizens only
As Rome expanded and special rules were
needed, a body of law was developed known
as the Law of Nations, which the Romans
considered as natural law, or universal law
based on reason
These standards included principles still
recognized today:
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a person was innocent until proven guilty
people accused of wrongdoing were allowed to
defend themselves
judges weighed evidence carefully before
arriving at a decision.
Slavery in the Roman Empire
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No people relied on slavery as much as the Romans
As Rome conquered the Mediterranean area, large
numbers of war captives were brought to Italy as slaves
Greeks were prized as tutors, musicians, doctors, and
artists
Slaves worked in shops, made crafts, and performed
household tasks such as cleaning and gardening
Slaves also built roads and public buildings, and farmed
large estates of the wealthy
Conditions for slaves were often pitiful
One Roman writer argued that it was cheaper to work
slaves to death and replace them than to care for them
Slavery in the Roman Empire
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Some slaves revolted
The most famous slave revolt in
Italy was led by the gladiator
Spartacus in 73 B.C.
Seventy thousand slaves joined
Spartacus and defeated several
Roman armies before being
defeated in 71 B.C.
Spartacus was killed, and
thousands of his followers were
crucified
Daily Life in the City of Rome
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Rome had the largest population of any city in the
empire, close to one million by the time of Augustus
Rome was overcrowded and noisy
Wagons and carts were banned from the streets during
the day to ease the congestion
There was a great gulf between rich and poor
While the rich lived in comfortable villas, the poor lived
in apartment blocks called insulae
As tall as six stories, these poorly constructed buildings
often collapsed
Fires were a constant threat
Daily Life in the City of Rome
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High rents forced entire families to live in one room
The apartments did not have any plumbing or central
heating
These uncomfortable conditions caused many Romans to
spend most of their time outdoors in the street
Rome had unequaled public buildings–such as baths,
temples, theaters, and markets–but poverty remained a
problem
Beginning with Augustus, the city’s two hundred
thousand poor received free grain from the emperor
Daily Life in the City of Rome
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Grand public spectacles entertained the
people
Emperors often mounted these spectacles
as part of religious festivals
The festivals featured horse and chariot
races at the Circus Maximus, dramatic
performances in theaters, and very
popular gladiatorial shows
Roman Culture
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Latin literature’s high point was during the Age of Augustus.
The most distinguished poet of the Augustan Age was Virgil, who
wrote his epic poem the Aeneid in honor of Rome
The character Aeneas displays the virtues of the ideal Roman–duty,
piety, and loyalty
By establishing the Romans in Italy, Aeneas started the city on its
divine mission to rule the world
In the third and second centuries B.C., the Romans developed a
taste for Greek art
Greek statues adorned their cities and homes
Reproductions became popular
Roman sculptors added realistic, even unpleasant, features to the
idealized Greek forms
Roman Culture
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The practical-minded Romans excelled in architecture
The Romans continued to use Greek styles (colonnades
and rectangular buildings) and created forms based on
curved lines: the dome, arch, and vault
They were the first people to use concrete on a massive
scale
The Romans were first-class engineers who built
enduring roads, bridges, and aqueducts.
They built 50,000 miles of roads throughout the empire
Rome’s many aqueducts supplied one million people with
water
The Emergence of Christianity
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By A.D. 6, Judaea, which covered the
lands of the ancient kingdom of Judah,
was a Roman province under the direction
of a procurator
Unrest was common in Judaea, even
among factions of Jews
A Jewish revolt began in A.D. 66 but was
crushed by the Romans four years later
The Emergence of Christianity
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A few decades before the revolt, a Jewish
prophet named Jesus began to preach
throughout Judaea
Jesus taught that inner transformation was more
important than adhering to laws or rituals
Individuals should treat others as they would
like to be treated
People should love God and love each other,
treating all as neighbors
Jesus taught the virtues that would later shape
the value system of Western civilization:
humility, charity, and love of others
The Emergence of Christianity
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Jesus’ opponents turned Jesus over to the
Roman authorities because they feared he might
cause people to revolt against Rome
The procurator, Pontius Pilate, ordered Jesus
crucified
Followers of Jesus, however, believed
he overcame death
Many Jewish followers believed that Jesus was
the Messiah, the long-expected savior of Israel
The Spread of Christianity
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Simon Peter was a prominent leader in early
Christianity
Peter and the other apostles taught that Jesus was the
Savior and Son of God come to Earth to save all people
Jesus’ death had made up for people’s sins and made
salvation possible
Individuals had only to accept Christ as their Savior to be
saved
Another prominent leader was Paul, who followed Jesus’
command to preach the gospel to both Jews and nonJews, or Gentiles
He founded many Christian communities in Asia Minor
and along the Aegean Sea
The Spread of Christianity
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Christian teachings were passed down orally,
and some were preserved in writing by Jesus’
disciples and followers
Between A.D. 70 and 100, these writings
became the basis of the written Gospels (“the
good news”)
The Gospels tell of Jesus’ life and teachings, and
they form the basis of the New Testament,
the second part of the Christian Bible
By 100, Christian churches had been established
throughout the eastern empire and parts of the
western empire
The Triumph of Christianity
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Romans came to see Christianity as harmful to
the public order because Christians would not
worship the Roman gods, an act of treason
Christians believed in one God only and would
not worship false gods or the emperors for fear
of endangering their salvation
Roman persecution of Christians began under
Nero (A.D. 54–68), who blamed them for the
fire that destroyed much of Rome
He subjected them to cruel deaths
The Triumph of Christianity
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Roman persecution strengthened Christianity by forcing it to
become more organized
The emerging control of bishops over Christian communities was an
important part of this change
The Christian Church created a new structure in which the clergy
(church leaders) were distinct from the laity (everyday church
members)
Christianity attracted many followers
First, it was more personal than the Roman religion and offered
eternal life and salvation
Second, it gave people a sense of belonging to a community
Third, Christianity appealed to every class and was especially
attractive to the poor and powerless
Every individual, regardless of status, could gain salvation
The Triumph of Christianity
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Christianity prospered in the fourth
century
Constantine became the first Christian
emperor
In 313, his Edict of Milan proclaimed
official toleration of Christianity
Under Theodosius the Great, the Romans
adopted Christianity as their official
religion
The Decline
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A long period of civil wars, political disorder, and economic decline
followed the death of the last good emperor, Marcus Aurelius, in
A.D. 180
At the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth centuries,
the emperors Diocletian and Constantine revived Rome, founding a
state called the Late Roman Empire
This state had a new governmental structure, a rigid economic and
social system, and a new religion–Christianity.
Diocletian ruled from 284 to 305
Believing the empire was too large for only one ruler, he divided the
empire into four sections, each with its own ruler
Diocletian’s military power gave him ultimate authority over the
other three rulers
Constantine, who ruled from 306 to 337, extended many of
Diocletian’s policies
The Decline
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Both emperors expanded the bureaucracy and
enlarged the army to five hundred thousand
troops.
Their expansion of the civil service and the
military drained the treasury
More money was needed, but a lack of
population growth meant that the tax base could
not be increased
To preserve the existing tax base, the emperors
issued edicts forcing people to stay in their
assigned jobs
The Decline
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By 324, Constantine was the sole ruler of the Roman Empire
His biggest project was building a new capital city in the east on the
site of Byzantium on the shores of the Bosporus
Constantine filled his “New Rome” with a forum, large palaces, and
an amphitheater
Constantinople would become the center of the Eastern Roman
Empire and one of the world’s greatest cities.
The policies of Diocletian and Constantine were based on control
and coercion
In the long run, they stifled the vitality that the empire needed to
survive
The Fall
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The empire restored by Diocletian and Constantine
continued for another hundred-plus years
It was divided into two parts and had two capitals, Rome
in the west and Constantinople in the east
In the second half of the fourth century, Huns from Asia
moved into eastern Europe and put pressure on the
German Visigoths
The Visigoths moved south, crossing the Danube River
into Roman territory
Initially Roman allies, the Visigoths revolted and
defeated a Roman army in 378
The Fall
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More Germans crossed into Roman lands.
In 410 the Visigoths sacked the city of Rome
In 455 another group called the Vandals also sacked the
city
Our modern word vandal comes from the name of this
ruthless tribe
In 476 the western emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was
deposed by the Germanic head of the army
This event is usually used to mark the end of the
Western Roman Empire
The Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire,
however, continued to thrive