Rome and the Rise of Christianity
750 B.C. – A.D. 500
• Italy
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The Rise of Rome
• Italy is a peninsula
• Apennine Mountains and the Tiber
River
• Rome built in central location
• Latins moved in around 1500 – 1000
B.C.
Etruscans
• Advanced civilization in Northern
Italy
• Lived in Etruria
• No written records, but they
were advanced
• Women were very important to
them
750BC Italy
The Rise of Rome
• Influenced by the Greeks
• Etruscans influenced Rome’s
development the most
• Influenced writing, religion, art,
etc
•
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Founding the City
• 753BC- traditional date as
founding of Rome
• Initially ruled by monarchy
• Mythical story of Remus and
Romulus
Monarchies
• 7 kings of Rome- 753-509BCE
• Tarquin the Proud (Tarquinius
Superbus)- last King of Rome
– Tyrannical, evil ruler who was exiled
– Rape of Lucretia
• Revolution by Brutus (son) and
Collatinus
• Rape of
Lucretia
http://www.historywiz.com/tarquin.htm
Revolt
• In 509, Romans overthrew the Etruscan
king and developed a republic
• Republic – a form of government where the
people are represented by another person.
– May be chosen by the people or appointed
• "res publica" - a public thing for the
people
The Roman Republic
• Two consuls chosen every year
• First two were Brutus and Collatinus
• Roman Senate
• 300 patricians who served for life
• Tribal Assembly
• Council of plebeians was created to
create political equality
S.P.Q.R
• Senatus PopulusQue Romanus
• Senate and People of Rome
Roman Law
• Twelve Tables
• Adopted in 450BC
• Provide political
and social rights
for Plebs
• Later became
inadequate
• Led the way for
Law of Nations
The Roman Republic
• Rome expanded their empire
• Allowed conquered areas to
remain free
• Good diplomats
• Excelled in military affairs
First Punic War
• Carthage was founded by
Phoenicians (punicus) around 800
B.C.
• Carthage and Rome wanted Sicily
• War broke out in 264 B.C.
• Romans built large naval fleet to
win
Second Punic War
• Hannibal – greatest Carthaginian
general
• Bring the War to Rome- didn’t really
work
• Scipio, of Rome, then attacked
Carthage- success!!
• By 129 Rome controlled Macedonia,
Greece, and Pergamum
Hannibal
Second Punic War
Assignment
• Using your computers, notes, books,
encyclopedias, etc, write an alternate ending to the
Punic Wars.
• What if Hannibal had been successful and
conquered Rome? What would be different? What
would we have? What wouldn’t we have?
• To do this, you will need to research what they
wanted, how they lived, government, etc.
• Write a one page story, and be creative!
• Chief Phoenician colony
• Founded in 813BC
• Rapid growth in fame and wealth
• Inhabited by Queen Tyre and aristocrats
• Battle Greeks for Sicily in 480
Roman Expansion
• Led to separation of social classes
• Need for a permanent army
• Call for Reform
– Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus urged for
land reform
– Each killed for the way the ruled
• As the Republic grew more unstable,
generals began seizing power for
themselves
Rise of the Armies
• Gaius Marius vs. Lucius Sulla
• Both Consuls of Rome by
different measures
• Marius by election from Plebs
• Sulla by appointment from Senate
Marius
Sulla
• Marius
– Free Roman
Army- pledge
allegiance to
him, not
S.P.Q.R.
– Uses military to
conquer other
lands- elects
proconsul to
rule in his place
• Sulla
• Uses army to
capture and
kill enemies
in Rome
• Takes over
as dictator
with the
military
A Nation in Trouble
• Rome is no longer a nation of laws,
but becoming a nation of men
– Generals building up armies
• Loyalty to men, not loyalty to the
state
• We are seeing the beginnings of an
Empire
The First Triumvirate
• Triumvirate – govt. by three people
with equal power
• After 50 years of civil war, three
men gained power
• Crassus- Richest man in Rome
• Pompey – military hero from Spain
• Julius Caesar- military commander
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
• Julius Caesar leads army in Gaul in
Great Campaign
• Pompey tries to bring Caesar home
without his army
• Caesar responds by bringing loyal
army home into Rome
• Pompey flees and Caesar made Consul
for Life – Dictator- 47BC
Caesar’s Rome
•Absolute Ruler
•Reforms
– Granted Roman citizenship to provinces
– Land Reforms
– Increased pay for his soldiers
•Senate planned/ Assassinated Caesar
• March 15, 44 BC – Beware the Ides of
March – Shakespeare
Beware the Ides of March44BC
Second Triumvirate
• New leaders emerge
• Octavian- 18yrs old, grandnephew of Caesar
• Marc Antony- Experienced Military Leader
• Lepidus- Powerful politician
• Fight between Octavian and Antony
– Antony and Cleopatra were defeated at
Actium, Greece in 31BC
• Period from 31 B.C. – 14 A.D. – Age
of Augustus
Octavian
Age of Augustus
• Augustus – the Sacred one
• Senate gave Augustus imperium
for life- complete rule
• Wanted to fix Rome, finish what
Caesar Started
• Expands empire
• Roads to provinces, beautifies Rome
• Ever expanding empire, but defeat to
barbarians in Germany helped realize
that Rome was not invincible
• Period after death of Augustus is
called the Early Empire
The Early Empire
• New political system
– Allowed the emperor to select successor
– Augustus chooses family
• Gaius Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero
• Slowly took control of everything
• After Nero, Rome realized they
needed to change the system
Nero
The Good Emperors
• Beginning with the 2nd century,
there were five “good” emperors
• Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius,
Marcus Aurelius
• Led Pax Romana
• Time of peace and prosperity
• Senate’s power declined
• Taken by Emperors
The Good Emperors
Trajan
Marcus Aurelius
Hadrian
Wall built to protect N.
border of Britain
Roman Empire
• Empire continued to expand until it
was too big to defend
• In 212 citizenship was given to
every free person in the empire
• Latin in the West, Greek in East
– Create Greco-Roman world
• Economy boomed- farming, trade,
commerce, slave labor
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Roman Empire
• Romans adopted Greek art
• Excelled in architecture- many
building projects
• Literature was at its height during
the Age of Augustus
• Family was at the heart of Roman
life
Roman Architecture
Roman Architecture
Slave revolts
• Spartacus
– Gladiator
– Led Slave revolt
– 70,000 followers
– Captured and
killed
– 6000 followers
were crucified
Roman Empire
• Rome was a true capital city with
close to a million residents
• Overcrowded and noisy
• Insulae – apartment blocks, up to
six stories high
• Entertainment
– Gladiators, Circus Maximus, Dramas
Insulae
Roman Baths
Roman Baths
Roman Religion
• Officially a polytheistic state
– Some emperors were officially made gods
• Romans were tolerant of other
religions
• Eastern religions began to threaten Rome
Roman Religion
• Kingdom of
Judea became a
Roman province,
but still followed
own laws/
religion
– Revolt in 66 BC
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• Rise of Jesusteachings led
to Christianity;
Jewish man,
stirred
controversy
Issues w/ Christianity
• At first, Christians were persecuted
and thought to be a threat to the
Roman society
– Many were killed regularly
• Christianity gained popularity and by 3rd
century, Christianity was widespread
Rise of Christianity
• Why did it grow so fast?
– Personal religion with a meaning to life
– Familiar
– Fulfilled human need to belong
• In the 4th century, Constantine became
the first Christian emperor
– Edict of Milan- Constantine
– Adopted as official religion in 378 under
Theodosius the Great
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After Pax Romana
• Period of instability after the Five Good
Emperors: 3rd century A.D.
• Plague , invasions bombarded empire
• Economic hardships
• Decline in trade and small industry
Late Roman Empire
• Diocletian- 284- 305
– New governmental structure, economy and
religion
– Divided kingdom into 4 units for control
• Constantine
– Built a new capital at Constantinople- East
– Enlarged Army and civil service w/ reform
– Inflation used to pay off
Diocletian
Constantine
Decline of Rome
• Rome became split into the Eastern
and Western Roman Empires
• Inflation
rapid increase
in prices
Decline of Rome
• Pressure from the Huns and the
Visigoths
• In 476 Romulus Augustus out as the
Germanic head of state, ending the
Western Roman Empire
Why Rome Failed?????
• Emphasis on Christianity weakened the military
• Traditional values declined as non-Italians gained
prominence
• Lead in the water led to a mental decline
• Plague
• Failed to advance technologically due to slavery
• No workable political system
Pompeii
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What happened?
What can we learn?
What was pompeii like?
Pictures. Pictures. Pictures.
Internet site?