Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
The Foundations of Rome
Preview
• Starting Points Map: Italy and the Mediterranean
• Main Idea / Reading Focus
• Roman Civilization Develops
• Quick Facts: Etruscan Influences
• Rome Becomes a Republic
• Quick Facts: Checks and Balances in the Roman Government
• The Republic Expands
• Faces of History: Two Commanders of the Punic Wars
Rome and Early Christianity
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Section 1
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
The Foundations of Rome
Main Idea
From a small town on the banks of an Italian river, Rome grew to
control the entire Mediterranean region.
Reading Focus
• Where and how did Roman civilization develop?
• What led to Rome’s becoming a republic?
• What were the major events in Rome’s expansion?
Rome and Early Christianity
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Roman Civilization Develops
“All roads lead to Rome.” “Rome was not built in a day.” “When in
Rome . . .” How did Rome win such a place in modern popular
culture?
Italy’s Geography
• Peninsula logical place for
emergence of mighty empire
– Juts south from Europe far
into Mediterranean Sea
– Lies almost halfway between
eastern, western boundaries
of the sea
– Protected by mountains, sea
– Rich soil, mild climate
The Founding of Rome
• Legend: Romulus and Remus,
twin brothers raised by shewolf; founded city 753 BC
• Members of Indo-European
tribe, Latins, reached Italy
1000s BC; built Rome
• City prospered partly from
location on Tiber River
• Valuable trade routes, easy
access to sea
Rome and Early Christianity
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The Etruscans
• Rome first ruled by Latin Kings
• Came under Etruscan rule, 600 BC
• Etruscans came from northern Italy
– Evidence found at cemeteries indicates Etruscans great
metalworkers, jewelers
– Etruscan culture heavily influenced by Greeks
• Etruscans had great influence on Roman society
Rome and Early Christianity
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Rome and Early Christianity
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Summarize
What advantages did Rome’s location give
the city?
Answer(s): protected by mountains; sea provided
protection and transportation; had rich soil,
pleasant climate; located on major trade routes;
Tiber River provided easy access to the sea
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Rome Becomes a Republic
Etruscan Rule Ends
• Etruscans ruled Rome until about 509 BC
• Romans revolted, threw out last of kings, setup new type of government
• Republic—elected officials governed state
Patricians
• In early days, heads of a few aristocratic families, patricians, elected officials
• Patrician families controlled all society—politics, religion, economics, military
• Maintained power through patronage system
Plebeians
• From beginning, common people, plebeians, challenged patricians for power
• Invaders threatened 494 BC; plebeians refused to fight until changes made
• Patricians knew they would have no army, expanded plebeian rights
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Plebeian Council
• After receiving new rights, plebeians formed own assembly, Plebeian
Council, to oversee affairs and protect interests
• Gained right to elect officials known as tribunes
• Tribunes’ job—protect against unjust treatment by patrician officials
• Gained right to veto—ban laws that seemed harmful, unjust
Laws
• 450 BC, plebeians forced patricians to have all laws written down
• Laws displayed in Roman Forum, central square, on 12 large bronze tablets
• Because laws were posted, patrician judges could not make decisions based
on own opinions or secret laws
• One new law banned marriage between patricians and plebeians
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Rome and Early Christianity
Republican Government
New Offices and Institutions
• Patricians, plebeians worked
out practical constitution
• Created new offices of
government
• Consisted of three parts:
Senate, popular assemblies,
magistrates
• Initially dominated by patricians;
all state offices later open to
both patricians, plebeians
Elements of Government
• Senate: 300 members, advised
elected officials, controlled
public finances, handled all
foreign relations
• Popular assemblies: in these all
citizens voted on laws, elected
officials
• Magistrates: governed in name
of Senate and people, put laws
into practice, acted as priests
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Rome and Early Christianity
Governing Details
Consuls
• When last king thrown out, his
place taken by two magistrates
called consuls
• Elected for one year; chief
executives, army commanders
Praetors
• Primarily judges, could act for
consuls if consuls away at war
• After terms ended, given
military commands, appointed
provisional governors
Censors
• Next most important after
consuls
• Recorded wealth, residence of
population
• Filled vacancies in Senate
Constraints
• Government worked well
because of system of checks,
balances
• Each part could impose certain
constraints on others
Rome and Early Christianity
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Rome and Early Christianity
Life in the Republic
During the days of the Roman Republic, Rome was a thriving and
vibrant city. At its heart was the Forum, the public square and site of
the most important government buildings and temples.
Location
• Nestled between
two hills: Palatine,
Capitoline
• Palatine, where
wealthy lived
• Capitoline, where
grandest temples
were
Political Center
• City leaders often
found in Forum
mingling with
common people
• Senate met in
Forum
• Key public
addresses made
there
Busy Place
• Forum more than
just political center
• Popular place for
shopping, gossip
• Busy shops lined
either side of
Forum
• Public celebrations
usually held there
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Rome and Early Christianity
Agrarian Roots
• Despite bustling nature of city, Romans prided themselves on
connection with soil
• Farming, landownership the noblest ways to make money
• Senators forbidden to participate in any career that did not involve
land, could not engage in commerce
Legend of Early Republic
• Roman tie to land illustrated in
legend of early Republic
• Romans turned to greatest general,
Cincinnatus, to save them from
invasion
• Cincinnatus plowing fields at the
time
Return to Farm
• People made Cincinnatus dictator
• Office of dictator had nearly
unlimited power but could be held
for only six months
• Cincinnatus defeated enemies and
returned to farm
• Had no interest in retaining power
Rome and Early Christianity
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Draw Conclusions
Why do you think the Romans established a
republic?
Answer(s): possible answer—They wanted a
system of laws to keep peace within their
expanding empire.
Rome and Early Christianity
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The Republic Expands
Growth
• As Rome’s government changed, the Roman population continued to grow
• Rome needed more land for expanding population
• Began to settle surplus population on land acquired by conquering neighbors
Military Might
• Successful expansion not possible without powerful army
• All Roman men between ages 17 and 46 with minimum amount of property
required to serve in army during times of war
Roman Army
• Organized into units called legions, backbone of which were centurions
• Centurions: noncommissioned officers who each commanded 100 men
• Army highly disciplined, well-trained force, could fight in all types of terrain
Rome and Early Christianity
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The Conquest of Italy
• 265 BC, Romans had defeated Etruscans and Greek cities in Southern Italy
• Romans imposed two strict conditions on subject people—subjects had to
provide troops for Roman army, abandon any dealings with foreign nations
• Other than those conditions, Rome rarely interfered with domestic affairs of
people it conquered
Sicily
• Once in control of Italy, Rome turned attention to Sicily, large island to south
of Italian Peninsula
• In Sicily, Rome came into conflict with Carthage, powerful North African
trading city
• Conflict grew into series of three wars
• Punic Wars raged for nearly 80 years
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Rome and Early Christianity
The Punic Wars
Violence between Rome and Carthage broke out in 264 BC. Because
the First Punic War was fought mostly at sea, Carthage’s powerful navy
dominated the early fighting. Soon, however, the Romans built a navy
of their own and were able to defeat Carthage.
Hannibal
Scipio
• Violence soon broke out again
• 218 BC, Carthaginian general
Hannibal led army across
Pyrenees, Alps to invade Italy
• Romans decided to take war to
Africa
• General Publius Cornelius Scipio
sailed to Africa, besieged Carthage
• Hannibal ravaged Italy, defeated
every army he faced
• Romans needed new strategy
• Forced Hannibal to sail home
• Scipio defeated Hannibal, took
Carthage, won Second Punic War
The Romans had defeated Carthage, but it did not destroy the city as
many citizens had wanted.
Rome and Early Christianity
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Rome and Early Christianity
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Carthage Falls
Huge losses of Second Punic War remained in
memories of many Romans
• 149 BC Rome decided to destroy old enemy once and
for all
– Declared war on Carthage for third time
– After siege of three years, Carthage fell
– Romans enslaved entire population, completely destroyed
city
– They banned any people from living there
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Rome and Early Christianity
The Conquest of Greece
• Punic Wars raged in western republic; Rome involved in politics of
eastern Mediterranean
• Hellenistic kingdoms of Macedonia, Persia, and Egypt fought
constantly; Greek city-states feared being conquered
• City-states sought alliance with Rome
Macedonia, Persia
• Romans, Greek allies fought, and
defeated Macedonia, Persia
• Both became Roman provinces
• Eventually Romans annexed
Greece as province as well
• Romans adopted many elements of
Greek culture, particularly art
Greek Culture
• Romans also borrowed ideas of
religion from Greeks, adopted their
gods but changed the names
• Not all Romans happy with growing
Greek influence, thought Rome
should remain purely Roman
• Influence continued for many years
Rome and Early Christianity
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Sequence
How did Rome come to dominate the
Mediterranean world?
Answer(s): by conquering its Mediterranean
neighbors, including Carthage and Greece
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
From Republic to Empire
Preview
• Main Idea / Reading Focus
• Problems in the Late Republic
• Rome Becomes an Empire
• Map: The Roman Empire
• The Pax Romana
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
From Republic to Empire
Main Idea
Governmental and social problems led to the end of the Roman
Republic and the creation of a new form of government.
Reading Focus
• What problems did leaders face in the late Roman Republic?
• How did Rome become an empire?
• What helped tie the Roman empire together during the Pax
Romana?
Rome and Early Christianity
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Problems in the Late Republic
By the mid-100s BC, Rome had no rival anywhere in the
Mediterranean world. However, the responsibilities of running their
vast holdings stretched the Roman political system to its limits.
Social Unrest
• Revolution began
in political, social
institutions
• Tensions grew
between classes of
Roman society
• Gracchi brothers
tried to resolve
tension
Soldier-Farmers
• Tribune Tiberius
Gracchus noted
mistreatment of
soldier-farmers
• Many reduced to
poverty
• Tiberius, brother
Gaius tried to help
soldiers
Public Land
• Gracchi tried to
redistribute public
land to farmers
• Had public support,
but Senate feared
Gracchi trying to
reduce its power
• Senate urged mobs
to kill brothers
Rome and Early Christianity
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The Military in Politics
• 107 BC, social unrest reached new level
• General Gaius Marius elected consul
– Eliminated property restrictions
– Accepted anyone who wanted to join army
• Armies, private forces devoted to general
– Poor hoped to share plunder at end of war
– Ruthless generals realized loyalty of troops could be used as
political tool
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Rome and Early Christianity
Social and Civil Wars
The Social War
• Rome’s Italian allies had been
trying to obtain Roman
citizenship
• Senate wanted to maintain
monopoly on power, refused
Civil War
• Social War revealed talent of
General Lucius Cornelius Sulla
• Sulla became consul, 88 BC;
after consulship ended, Marius
tried to prevent Sulla from
taking military command
• 90 BC, Social War broke out
• Italian rebels were defeated, but
Senate agreed to give them
citizenship
• Sulla marched on Rome, won
civil war, became dictator
• Carried out program of reforms
to protect power of Senate
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Summarize
What challenges faced Rome in the late
Republic?
Answer(s): slave revolts, social unrest, the Social
War, and a civil war in which Sulla became
dictator
Rome and Early Christianity
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Rome Becomes an Empire
Sulla paved the way for major changes in Rome’s government. The
end of the Republic resulted from the ambitions of a few individuals.
The First Triumvirate
• Julius Caesar, Gnaeus
Pompey, Licinius Crassus
helped bring end to Republic
End of Triumvirate
• Crassus died; Pompey,
Caesar fought civil war
• Caesar, Pompey successful
military commanders
• Caesar defeated Pompey,
took full control of Rome,
became dictator for life, 44 BC
• Crassus one of wealthiest
people in Rome
• Caesar brought many changes
to Rome, popular reforms
• 60 BC, the three took over
Roman state, ruled as First
Triumvirate
• Senate feared he would
destroy Roman Republic,
murdered him, Ides of March
Rome and Early Christianity
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The Second Triumvirate
• Caesar’s murder did not save the Republic
• 43 BC, Second Triumvirate took power—Caesar’s adopted son,
Octavian; loyal officer Marc Antony; high priest Lepidus
• Lepidus pushed aside; Antony, Octavian agreed to govern half the
empire each, Octavian in west, Antony in East
Civil War
• Civil war between Octavian, Antony broke out
• Octavian defeated Antony and his ally, Egypt’s Queen Cleopatra
• Cleopatra, Antony committed suicide; Octavian alone controlled
Rome
• Republic effectively dead; new period in Roman history beginning
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
From Octavian to Augustus
Octavian Takes Power
• Octavian faced task of restoring
order in empire
• Had no intention of establishing
dictatorship when he took
power
Principate
• Octavian careful to avoid title of
king or emperor
• Called himself princeps, “first
citizen”
• Government called Principate
New Political Order
• Octavian decided it impossible
to return Rome to republican
form of government
• Created new political order,
known today as the empire
New Title
• 27 BC, Senate gave Octavian
title Augustus, “the revered
one”
• Title a religious honor; able to
wear laurel and oak leaf crown
Rome and Early Christianity
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The Augustan Age
New Imperial Government
• Augustus head of state more than 40 years, made smooth transition to new
imperial government with power divided between him and Senate
• Most financial, administrative matters under Augustus’s control
Foreign Affairs
• Started program to bring peace to west, particularly to Gaul, Spain
• Began series of conquests that pushed border eastward to Danube River
• Also took special care of Rome itself
Legacy
• Created police force, fire brigades; stockpiled food, water
• Began building program; presided over moral, religious reforms
• Great period of cultural creativity; great writers like Horace, Ovid, Virgil
Rome and Early Christianity
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Julio-Claudians and Flavians
•
•
•
•
Augustus died AD 14, empire ruled by Caesar’s relatives for 54 years
Julio-Claudian Emperors’ abilities varied widely
Tiberius a good soldier, competent administrator
Caligula, brutal, mentally unstable; appointed favorite horse as
consul
• AD 68, last of Julio-Claudians, Nero committed suicide
Flavians
• Following Nero’s death, civil wars
raged in Rome
• Four military leaders claimed
throne in turn
• Last, Vespasian reestablished
order, as did reigns of two sons
• Stability returned under Flavians
The Good Emperors
• AD 96, new line of emperors
established—Good Emperors
• Five rulers governed Rome for
almost a century
• From provinces different than
Rome, continued opening Roman
imperial society
Rome and Early Christianity
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The Good Emperors
Empire grew tremendously under Good
Emperors
• Reached limits of expansion under Trajan
• Added what are now Romania, Armenia,
Mesopotamia, and the Sinai Peninsula
• Successor Hadrian thought empire too large
– Withdrew from almost all eastern additions
– Built defensive fortifications to guard against invasions
– Built wall 73 miles long in northern Britain
Rome and Early Christianity
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Rome and Early Christianity
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Explain
How did Rome grow and change after it
became an empire?
Answer(s): The Roman Empire reached the limits
of its territorial expansion and made developments
in building, government, and culture.
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Rome and Early Christianity
The Pax Romana
The period from the beginning of August’s reign in 27 BC until the death
of the last of the Good Emperors in AD 180 is often called the Pax
Romana—the Roman Peace. This era was characterized by stable
government, a strong legal system, widespread trade, and peace.
Government
• Roman government strongest
unifying force in empire
• Maintained order, enforced laws,
defended frontiers
• Aristocracy participated, but
emperors made all important
decisions
Provinces
• Empire divided into provinces ruled
by governors appointed from Rome
• Provincial government fair, efficient
• Government in Rome kept close
check on governors
• Any citizen could appeal unfair
treatment directly to emperor
Empire brought uniformity to the cities of the Mediterranean world,
which were governed in imitation of Rome.
Rome and Early Christianity
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Legal System
Laws
• Roman law unified the empire
• Laws specified what could, could not be done; penalties for breaking law
• Same laws applied to everyone in empire, wherever they lived
Agriculture
• Agriculture remained primary occupation throughout Pax Romana
• Most farms, independent with little, no surplus to sell
• Tenant farmers began to replace slaves on large farms
Manufacturing
• Manufacturing increased throughout empire
• Italy, Gaul, Spain—artisans made cheap pottery, textiles
• Fine glassware made in eastern cities like Alexandria
Rome and Early Christianity
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Opportunities for Trade
Trade
• Italy imported grain, meat, raw materials from provinces
• Merchants brought silks, linens, glassware, jewelry, furniture from Asia
• Rome, Alexandria became commercial centers
Transportation
• Commercial activity possible because of empire’s location around
Mediterranean and extensive road network
• Ultimately about 50,000 miles of roads bound empire together
Military and Merchant Routes
• Most roads built, maintained for military purposes
• Cheaper to transport grain by ship from one end of Mediterranean to other
than to send it overland; most goods went by sea
Rome and Early Christianity
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Analyze
How did government, law, and trade tie the
Roman people together?
Answer(s): The Roman government was the strongest
unifying force, maintaining order, enforcing the laws, and
defending the frontiers. Roman law provided stability and,
with few exceptions, the same laws applied to everyone in
the empire. Trade provided opportunities for commerce
between people in different parts of the empire.
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Roman Society and Culture
Preview
• Main Idea / Reading Focus
• Life in Imperial Rome
• Quick Facts: Roman Society
• Rome’s Cultural Legacy
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Roman Society and Culture
Main Idea
The Romans developed a complex society and pioneered
cultural advances that, even today, affect life all over the world.
Reading Focus
• What social and cultural factors influenced life in imperial
Rome?
• What achievements shaped Rome’s cultural legacy to the
modern world?
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Rome and Early Christianity
Life in Imperial Rome
Images of Rome from movies and stories: Gladiators in combat,
temples of marble, soldiers marching to war. What was life really like?
Life for the Rich
• Pax Romana provided
prosperity for many
• Rich citizens
– Had both city, country homes
– Homes had conveniences like
running water, baths
• Wealthy men spent much time
in politics
Public Life
• Public officials not paid; only
wealthy could afford to hold
office
• Roman politicians worked to
perfect public-speaking skills
• Ties of marriage, friendship,
family alliances as important
as common interests for public
officials, political groups
Rome and Early Christianity
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Life for the Poor
• Nearly 1 million Romans lived in crowded three- or
four-story apartment buildings
• Fire a constant threat
– Torches used for light
– Charcoal used for cooking
• To keep poor from rebelling
– Free food, public entertainment offered
– Two things interested public—bread, circuses
Rome and Early Christianity
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Public Entertainment
Entertainments
• Romans of all classes enjoyed circus, chariot races
• Held in Circus Maximus—racetrack could hold 250,000 spectators
• Also liked theater, mimes, jugglers, dancers, acrobats, clowns
Bloody Spectacles
• Romans enjoyed spectacles in amphitheaters
• Wild animals battled each other and professional fighters
• Gladiator contests most popular, performed in Colosseum for 50,000 people
Public Baths
• Popular places for entertainment
• Romans well aware of importance of bathing, hygiene for health
• Many public baths had steam rooms, meeting rooms, and pools for
socializing
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Rome and Early Christianity
Family
Patriarchal Structure
Education and Religion
• Head of family—paterfamilias,
family father—oldest living male
• Had extensive powers over
other members of family
• Within family structure, virtues
of simplicity, religious devotion,
obedience emphasized
• Adoption important in Roman
society, a way to ensure family
name would be carried on
• Women could do little without
intervention of male guardian,
more freedom in lower classes
• Upper class Romans placed
great value on education
• Parents taught children at
home; wealthy families hired
tutors or sent sons to exclusive
schools to learn Latin, Greek,
law, math, public speaking
• Romans adopted much from
Greek mythology, also from
Egyptians, others
• Each family worshipped local
household gods, penates
• Many worshipped emperor
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Signs and Augurs
Worshipping the gods
• Romans believed gods sent signs, warnings
– Came in form of natural phenomena
– Flight of birds, arrangement of entrails of sacrificial animals
• Paid respect to augurs
– Priests who specialized in interpreting signs
– Nothing important undertaken without first consulting augurs
Rome and Early Christianity
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Rome and Early Christianity
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Contrast
How was life different for rich and poor
citizens in Rome?
Answer(s): Rich—often had two homes and
spent time in politics, women's lives controlled by
guardians; Poor—lived in crowded conditions,
lower-class women had more freedom, often
worked outside the home
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Rome and Early Christianity
Rome’s Cultural Legacy
Although the Western Roman Empire fell in 476, much of Roman
culture continued to influence life for centuries. In fact, we can still see
many of the legacies of the great empire today.
Science and
Engineering
• Romans less
interested in
original scientific
research than in
collecting and
organizing
information
Galen
Other Thinkers
• Physician, AD 100s
• Ptolemy stated
knowledge of
others as single
theory in astronomy
• Wrote volumes
summarizing all
medical knowledge
of his day
• Greatest authority
in medicine for
centuries
• Pliny the Elder
wrote about Mount
Vesuvius
Rome and Early Christianity
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Practical Knowledge
• Romans practical, tried to apply knowledge gained from science to
planning cities, building water, sewage systems, improving farming
• Roman engineers constructed roads, bridges, amphitheaters, public
buildings, aqueducts to bring water to cities
• Without aqueducts, cities would not have grown as large
Concrete
• Romans developed concrete, with which they built amazing
structures that still stand today
• Roman bridges still span French, German, Spanish rivers
• Roads that connected Rome with provinces still survive today
• Added urban plan to every city they conquered; many still seen today
Rome and Early Christianity
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Architecture and Language
Locations
Advances
• Many examples still seen
throughout southern Europe,
northern Africa, Southwest Asia
• Arch, vault allowed Romans to
construct larger buildings than
earlier societies
• Dominant advances—round
arch and the vault
• Have been used for centuries,
still seen in many countries
Ruins
Beyond Latin
• Ruins of buildings inspired
generations of architects
• Romance languages developed
from Latin
• Michelangelo, Thomas
Jefferson, others
• Spanish, French, Italian,
Portuguese, Romanian
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Rome and Early Christianity
Legacies
English
Literature
• English owes much vocabulary
to Latin
• Technique of satire derived from
Roman authors
• Examples: et cetera, veto,
curriculum
• For centuries, writers have
borrowed from authors like
Virgil
Law
Civil Law Systems
• Romans used system called
civil law, based on written code
• Systems carried to Asian,
African, American colonies
• Adopted by many countries in
Europe after empire fell
• Roman influence still seen in
today’s legal system worldwide
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Summarize
What are some areas in which Rome’s
influence is still seen?
Answer(s): science, engineering, architecture,
language, literature, and law
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
The Rise of Christianity
Preview
• Main Idea / Reading Focus
• Christianity and Judaism
• Jesus of Nazareth
• The Spread of Christianity
• Map: The Spread of Christianity
• The Early Christian Church
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
The Rise of Christianity
Main Idea
A new religion called Christianity developed within the Roman
Empire and gradually spread throughout the Roman world.
Reading Focus
• How was Christianity rooted in the teachings of Judaism?
• What were the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth?
• How did Christianity spread throughout the Roman world?
• What was the early Christian Church like?
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Rome and Early Christianity
Christianity and Judaism
Judaism in the Roman World
Roman Compromise
• Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth
developed into new religion—
Christianity
• Jews had to pay tribute to
Romans but unwilling to
abandon religion for polytheistic
religion of Romans
• Many of teachings rooted in
beliefs, customs of Judaism
• 63 BC, Romans conquered
Judaea, chose new ruler for
region, installed him as king
• Roman leaders allowed Jews to
practice religion as long as they
paid tribute, maintained civic
order
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Judaism in the Roman World
Reactions to Roman Rule
• Judaism had different branches, varying ideas on cooperation with Romans
• Zealots called on fellow Jews to drive Romans from Judaea, reestablish
Kingdom of Israel
Zealots
• Zealots formed pockets of resistance against Romans of Judaea
• After mass uprising AD 66–70, Romans sacked Jerusalem, killed thousands
of Jews, destroyed Second Temple
Messianic Prophecies
• After revolt in 130s, all Jews banned from Jerusalem
• Not all Jews willing to take up arms; others waited coming of Messiah—
spiritual leader prophesied to restore ancient kingdom, bring peace to world
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Make Generalizations
What were two Jewish reactions to Roman
rule?
Answer(s): refused to give up religion; Zealots
wanted to rise up against Roman rule
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Rome and Early Christianity
Jesus of Nazareth
Against this background, a spiritual leader named Jesus of Nazareth
emerged, teaching people to prepare for God’s Judgment Day.
Life
Preaching
• Nearly all knowledge of Jesus
comes from Gospels—first four
books of New Testament
• Jesus preached message of
renewal and warning
• New Testament and books of
Hebrew Bible make up today’s
Christian Bible
• Created excitement by
performing miracles of healing;
defending poor, oppressed
• Jesus born in Bethlehem, near
Jerusalem
• Instructed people to repent of
sins, seek God’s forgiveness
• Learned carpentry, studied
writings of Jewish prophets
• Must love God above all, love
others as much as self
• Gathered group of disciples
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Death and Resurrection
Jesus’s popularity, crowds alarmed authorities who
feared political uprisings
• Jesus arrested, tried, sentenced to death
• According to New Testament, after crucifixion
– Jesus rose from dead
– Spent 40 days teaching disciples
– Ascended into heaven
• Followers believed Resurrection, Ascension revealed
Jesus as the Messiah
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Summarize
What was the main message of Jesus’s
teaching?
Answer(s): Followers must love God above all
else, and love others as they loved themselves.
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
The Spread of Christianity
After Jesus’s death, his disciples began teaching that all people could
achieve salvation—the forgiveness of sins and the promise of
everlasting life.
Apostles
• Jesus’s 12
disciples worked
to spread message
• Earliest Christian
missionaries
• Apostles traveled
widely, teaching
mostly in Jewish
communities
Paul of Tarsus
Conversion
• Paul, originally
known as Saul,
born in Tarsus, in
Asia Minor
• Paul had
conversion on way
to Damascus,
became Christian
• Had actively
opposed those
teaching that Jesus
was the Messiah
• If not for his work,
Christianity might
have remained a
branch of Judaism
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Converting the Gentiles
• Paul believed God sent him to convert non-Jews, or Gentiles
• Paul helped make Christianity broader religion, attracted many new followers
• Helped establish Christian churches throughout eastern Mediterranean
• Paul’s epistles, or letters, to those churches later became part of the New
Testament
Roman Christianity
• Paul found some Jewish customs hindered missionary work among nonJews, dispensed with those requirements for Christians
• Paul emphasized new doctrines that helped distinguish Christianity from
Judaism
• Christianity spread; message of love, eternal life after death found appealing
• By AD 300, some 10 percent of Roman people were Christian
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Persecution
Results
• As Christianity spread through Roman world, some local officials feared
Christians conspiring against them; arrested, killed many Christians
• Those killed seen by Christians as martyrs, people who die for their faith
Threat
• Christians persecuted at local level, but large-scale persecution rare during
first two centuries after Jesus’s life
• Large-scale persecution by Romans grew as rulers saw Christianity as threat
Imperial Approval
• Spread of Christianity hastened by conversion of emperor Constantine
• AD 313, Constantine made Christianity legal within empire, Edict of Milan
• By late 300s, polytheism gradually disappeared from empire
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Find the Main Idea
What helped spread Christianity through the
Roman world?
Answer(s): Paul of Tarsus and other disciples;
Constantine’s conversion; outlawing of public nonChristian sacrifices by Theodosius
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
The Early Christian Church
Communities
• Earliest Christian churches not
only spiritual organizations but
close-knit communities
• Provided all kinds of support for
members
Deepening Faith
Complex
• Support included burial
services, food, shelter
• Christianity grew; organization
became more complex
Ceremonies
• Ceremonies developed to
inspire people’s faith, make
them feel closer to Jesus
• During Eucharist, people eat
bread, drink wine in memory of
Jesus’s death, resurrection
• One ceremony was Eucharist
• With baptism, people are
admitted to the faith
Section 1
Rome and Early Christianity
Expansion of the Church
By about 100, priests who were trained in these ceremonies became
prominent within Christianity. The authority of the priests was based on
the authority Jesus gave the Apostles. This spiritual authority
distinguished the priests from the general congregation of the church.
Administrative Structure
• Church expanded, developed
administrative structure
• Bishop oversaw church affairs,
had authority over other priests
• 300s, heads of oldest
congregations, patriarchs, had
authority over other bishops
Peter the Apostle
• Many believed Peter founded
Roman Church, was first bishop
• Later bishops of Rome, popes,
Peter’s spiritual heirs
• Gospel of Matthew: Jesus gives
Peter keys to kingdom of heaven
• Therefore future popes inherit keys
Patriarchs did not recognize the popes’ supremacy claims at first, but
over time popes gained more influence within the Christian Church.
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Summarize
How did the Christian Church change as it
grew?
Answer(s): Special ceremonies and rituals
developed; priests became a special class within
Christianity; bishops had authority over priests;
the bishop of Rome became a pope.
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
The Fall of Rome
Preview
• Main Idea / Reading Focus
• The Empire Weakens
• Attempts at Reform
• Invasion and Fall
• Map: Division and Invasion of the Roman Empire
• Quick Facts: Causes and Effects of the Fall of Rome
• Visual Study Guide / Quick Facts
• Video: The Impact of Ancient Rome on the World Today
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
The Fall of Rome
Main Idea
Events and conditions inside as well as outside the Roman
Empire weakened it and led to its collapse in the west in the
400s.
Reading Focus
• What problems weakened the empire in the 200s?
• How did Diocletian and Constantine attempt to reform the
empire?
• What caused the invasion and ultimate fall of the empire in the
400s?
Section 1
Rome and Early Christianity
The Empire Weakens
The Roman army’s inability to stop the Huns was one symptom of the
weakness that befell the empire after the end of the Pax Romana.
Weak Leaders
• After 180, empire confronted
by challenges from outside,
growing problems within
• When last of Good Emperors
died, Rome had no strong
leader
• Civil wars broke out
• Rome under increasing threat
of invasions on eastern,
western frontiers
Military Dictatorship
• Emperors increased size of
Rome’s army
• Demands on financial
resources, military caused
economic crisis
• Empire: military dictatorship
• Legions deposed emperors,
elevated own leaders to throne
• Twenty emperors in 49 years;
all but one died violently
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Economic Troubles
• Insecurity of civil wars, invasions affected Roman life
• Robbery, piracy increased; travel hazardous
• Merchants feared to ship goods
• Military needs required more revenue; emperors raised taxes
Inflation
• Value of money declined as taxes rose
• Emperors minted new coins with copper, lead, and silver
• People refused to accept currency at face value
• Result was dramatic rise in prices, or inflation
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Analyze
What problems faced Rome in the late
200s?
Answer(s): The empire had weak leaders, civil
wars, threats of invasion, and inflation led to a
weak economy. Piracy and robbery made travel
hazardous.
Section 1
Rome and Early Christianity
Attempts at Reform
The crises of the 200s shattered the Roman world. Drastic reforms
had to be made if the empire were to survive. Two capable emperors
rose to power and gave the empire another two centuries of life.
Diocletian
• Diocletian took
power, 284
• Changed empire
into absolute
monarchy
• Placed self above
subjects, ruled with
no accountability to
anyone
Divided Empire
• Divided empire in
two to improve
efficiency
• Ruled eastern half
himself, appointed
co-emperor to rule
western provinces
• Caesars helped run
empire
Rigid Order
• Forced society into
rigid order
• Sons to follow
trades, social
positions of fathers
• Peasants tied to
land they farmed
• Increased army, full
attention to defense
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Economic Reforms
Imperial economy came under state direction
with Diocletian
• Commercial, manufacturing activities geared toward
needs of imperial defense
– New tax system raised more money for government, army
– Reforms drastic, successful
• Saved empire from immediate economic collapse
Section 1
Rome and Early Christianity
Constantine
Diocletian Retires
State Control
• Diocletian’s initiatives worked
well while he remained emperor
• Constantine continued state
control over society
• Diocletian, co-emperor retired,
305; two caesars rose to
become co-emperors
• New emperors quarreled;
empire plunged into civil war
• Made two profound decisions to
affect direction of future empire:
converted to Christianity; built
new capital—Constantinople,
“city of Constantine”—on site of
village of Byzantium
• 312, order restored when
Constantine declared emperor
by his troops; put end to fighting
• Eastern half of empire richer,
better defended; Constantine
wanted capital there
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Analyze
How did Diocletian and Constantine try to
save Rome?
Answer(s): Diocletian—tried to make
governmental and economic reforms and build up
the army; Constantine—moved capital to the
eastern half of the empire
Section 1
Rome and Early Christianity
Invasion and Fall
Unfortunately, the reforms of Diocletian and Constantine did not solve
the overwhelming problems of the empire. During the 300s and 400s,
these problems were only worsened by tribal peoples’ increasing
pressures on the empire’s frontier.
The Invaders
• Germanic tribes lived along, raided
Rome’s frontiers for centuries
Huns
• New peoples moved west from
Central Asia, pushed Germanic
tribes into empire
• Late 300s, Huns stormed out of
east and sent Germanic tribes
fleeing
• Imperial defenses in east held, but
those in west overwhelmed
• Rulers in Rome, Constantinople
tried to hold empire together
• Huns formed vast empire among
nomadic steppe peoples of Eurasia
About 370 Huns attacked the Ostrogoths, a Germanic people living
north of the Black Sea.
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Migrating Tribes
Goths
• Assault on Ostrogoths frightened kinsmen, Visigoths
• Visigoths fled into Roman Empire, Italy
• Visigoths captured and sacked Rome itself, 410
Vandals
• Other migrating tribes soon attacked Roman Empire
• Infamous for destroying everything in path; Vandals attacked Rome in 450s
• Term vandal came to mean “one who causes senseless destruction”
Attila
• Leader of Huns, led attack on Gaul
• Roman army allied with Visigoths, defeated Huns, 451
• Attila next turned on Rome; but Pope Leo I persuaded him to leave Italy
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Fall of the West
Western Empire
• Despite Huns’ withdrawal, Western Empire in shambles
• Germanic tribes ruled most of western provinces, including Italy
• Ostrogoths overthrew last emperor
• Many historians consider this the end of the Western Roman Empire
Eastern Empire
• Despite western collapse, Eastern Empire endured for several
centuries
• People of Eastern Empire always thought of selves as Romans
• Over time other influences, especially Greek, crept into culture
• As a result of these influences, historians refer to the later period of
the Eastern Empire by a new name, the Byzantine Empire.
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Identify Cause and Effect
How did invaders contribute to Rome’s fall?
Answer(s): The invasion of tribes from Central
Asia caused Germanic tribes to flee into the
Empire, where resistance had been weakened.
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Rome and Early Christianity
Section 1
Video
The Impact of Ancient Rome on the World
Today
Click above to play the video.