The Fall of the Roman Empire
…well, sort of
Roll call of the damned – 1 Corinthians
- creation of the “other”
- paganism; fornicators (homosexuality ?)
- Roman decline
- echo of Augustus
emphasized Greco-Roman concept of
jurisprudence
- spirit and letter of the law
Salvation always in peril – the Devil
- Zoroastrianism
Ahura Mazda – singular; all good
evil exists independently
- demons n’stuff
- problems of perfection
Paul organized early Christianity and made it
appealing to a wide array of people...
…but it was Roman oppression that gave
Christians an added sense of identity
through shared hardship
I. Meanwhile, back in Rome…
The Good, the Bad, the Flavian
A. Dynasties
1. Julio-Claudians
- Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero 14-69 CE
2. Flavians
69-96 CE
- Vespasian, Titus, Domitian
- Equestrian, provincial
3. The Five Good Emperors
Nerva
- on the job training
Trajan
- eastern expansion (Dacia)
- alimenta
“welfare”
96-180 CE
Hadrian
- travelin’ man
- Frumentarii
Antoninus
Marcus Aurelius
- Meditations
- Commodus, 180
II. Crises of the Third Century
For what shall it profit a man, to gain the whole
world, and forfeit his own soul?
- Mark 8:36
A. Economic instability
1. Disparity
2. Decline in investment capital
3. Environmental factors
- disease; pollution; soil erosion
B. Political instability
1. Challenges from outside
Marcommani
Sassanids
2. “Enrich the Army and scorn the rest”
- Septimius Severus
- 235-284, 17 “Barracks Emperors”
- End of the Pax Romana 192 CE
3. Decline of central control
III. The Empire Restored
(temporarily)
Diocletian 284-305
- dominus
A. Origins of serfdom
1. Social reform
- tax reform
B. East is East
2. Division / tetrarchy
C. West Germanic Revolution
200-400 CE
1. Battle of Teutoburg Forest, 9 CE
“Quinctilius Varus, give me back
my legions!”
2. “Imperial” Germans
- Weregeld
- oaths
3. Comitatus
Hermann
Arminius
4. Germanic “nations”
D. Diocletian’s Legacy
1. Byzantine Empire preserves
Roman/Western ideals
2. Beginning of serfdom and feudal system
3. Cult of Diocletian (backfired)
III. Imperial Christianity 312 A.D. -
A. Constantine
r. 312-337 CE
1. Persecution / conversion
2. Using one another
- church financing
- power of the bishops
Ambrose of Milan, 390 CE
Leo I & Attila the Hun, 450 CE
B. Religion & politics
1. Donatists
- source of priestly power
2. The Arian Heresy
- those darn Greeks
- Council of Nicaea 325 CE
- Nicene Creed
Trinity
“All things visible and invisible”
Rejection of rationalism
C. Christianity & the Fall of the
Roman Empire
1. Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
- Response to Donatists and Pelargins
- sack of Rome 410 CE
2. City of God
ca. 411 CE
city of God (Christianity) endures
city of Man (Rome) is falling
* Augustine argues for universal
salvation…
BUT, must be a member of the Church
- would give Roman Church unrivaled power and
legitimacy for the next 1000 years
Christianity rejects rationalism, humanism in favor of
mysticism and ritual