The Birth of Christianity and
the Fall of the Roman Empire
I. Life of Jesus
A. Jesus was born in the
Roman province of
Judea in a city called
Bethlehem around 4
BC.
B. History of Jesus is from
the Gospels in the New
Testament
C. His followers were
twelve men called
disciples, which means
student or pupil.
D. Jesus would preach
justice, compassion,
and the coming of God’s
kingdom
E. He would teach in
parables or moral
stories.
F. Jesus angered the
Jewish and Roman
leaders because he
forgave those who
broke religious law,
associated himself with
sinners, and many
claimed he was the
“Messiah.”
G. Jesus was arrested as
the Romans saw him as
a threat to their authority
H. Jesus was sentenced to
death by crucifixion.
I. According to the
Gospels, he resurrected
3 days after his death.
J. According to Christians,
this proved Jesus’
divinity
II. Birth of Christianity
A. Early Christians were
converted Jews
B. Gentiles or Non-Jews
would be accepted into
the religion by Apostle
Paul.
C. Paul would spread
Christianity throughout
the Roman Empire
because of the Roman
Roads.
D. Rome was tolerant of
many religions but
would not let them
inspire rebellion or
challenge authority.
III. Persecution of Christians
A. When Gentiles
D. Nero blamed the
joined the Christian
movement, Rome
became concerned
B. Christians refused to
worship the emperor
C. Christianity
appealed to slaves
and women which
caused alarm
Christians for the fire
in Rome in 64 AD.
E. For the next 250
years, Christians
would be tortured
and killed for their
beliefs. (Crucifixions,
burnt alive, fed to
lions, etc)
IV. Christianity spreads throughout
the Roman Empire
A. Constantine claimed the throne
after a civil war broke out for
control of Rome
B. In a battle for control of Rome,
Constantine had a vision of a
cross in the sky with the words
“In this sign you will conquer.”
C. He commanded that crosses will
be placed on all shields and
battle flags
D. Constantine would then stop the
persecution of Christians and
advance the power of Christians
in the Roman Empire
E. In 380 AD, Emperor Theodosius
would make Christianity the
official religion of the Roman
Empire
V. Economic Decline
A. Poor farming tactics
B.
C.
D.
E.
caused food shortages
and prices increase
Taxes were too high,
that people stopped
paying them
Without tax money, the
army was not being paid
so the empire relied on
Germanic mercenaries.
Slave labor=Worker
unemployment
Roman currency
becomes less valuable
through inflation
VI. Diocletian
A. Tried economic
reforms liked fixed
prices on food
B. Ignored the Senate
for absolute control
C. Put soldiers on
empire’s borders
D. Divided empire into
two parts (Eastern
and Western)
VII. Constantine
 After civil war,
Constantine reunites
the empire
 Moves capital of the
empire to Byzantium
and renames it
Constantinople
(Today it is Istanbul)
 After his death, the
empire would split
once more
VIII. Germanic Invasions
A. Asian nomadic warriors
known as the Huns would
drive Germanic tribes to
search for new land and
protection in the Roman
Empire.
B. Without proper defenses
the Germanic tribes would
attack different parts of the
empire.
C. Visigoths would ask for
protection from the
Romans, but were treated
very badly and forced to
pay high food prices.
D. Germanic Tribes
1. Ostrogoths-defeated by the
Huns
2. Visigoths-Rebelled and
attacked Rome
3. Angles and Saxons-would
settle in the British Islands
4. Franks-settle in Gaul or
present day France
5. Vandals-conquered Spain
and northern Africa. Would
vandalize the city of Rome.
E. In 410 AD, Visigoths
led by Alaric captured
Rome, marking the 1st
time Rome was
conquered in 800
years.
F. Again in 455 AD,
Vandals would enter
Rome and loot the city.
G. A Germanic General
Odacer took control
from the last Roman
Emperor, Romulus
Augustus, in 476 AD
marking the historic fall
of the Western Roman
Empire
IX. Byzantine Empire
A. Rome’s Eastern
Empire would endure
for 1000 more years
B. Stronger economically
thanks to the
convergence of trade
between Asia, Africa,
and Europe
C. Cities were much
larger and better
fortified in the East
D. The Black Sea would
also serve as a natural
barrier between
Constantinople and
potential invaders
E. Justinian
1. Justinian would serve as
Emperor from 527-565 AD
2. Justinian was successful in
reuniting parts of the
Roman Empire, but would
not have enough money to
keep the territory.
3. Justinian Code - Revised
and created a uniform code
of laws based on Roman
Law. (Marriage, Slavery,
property ownership,
women’s rights, etc)
4. Wife Theodora influenced
him to give divorced women
rights and Byzantine wives
could own land.
X. Rise of the Catholic Church
A. The Church of Rome would
survive the Fall of the Western
Roman Empire and would
become the Roman Catholic
Church.
B. With no emperor in the West,
the Pope would begin to
accumulate power.
C. The Pope claimed he was the
head of all Christian churches
including the Byzantine Empire,
which caused a feud since the
Emperor was the head of the
Church in the East
D. The Two sides would not help
each other militarily when
outsiders would invade
E. The Pope turned to a loyal
Germanic Tribe, the Franks
and their leader Charlemagne
F. The Pope would make
Charlemagne the Emperor of
the Holy Roman Empire,
which angered the
Byzantines
G. The two sides
excommunicated each other
which caused a split into two
churches:
1. Roman Catholic Church
2. Eastern Orthodox Church