Chapter 6 - Ancient Rome and Early Christianity

apostle

12 men taught directly by Jesus. First called disciples and later called apostles

Twelve Tables

A group of ten officials began writing down Rome's laws. The laws were carved tablets and hung in the Forum. They became the basis for later Roman law and established the idea that all free citizens had a right to the protection of the law.

TIBERIUS GRACCHUS quoted in Plutarch, The Lives of Noble Greeks and Romans

After warriors return from battle, they have nothing left of their former lives, so are forced to live on the streets.

What aspects of Roman Culture influenced future civilizations?

Architecture, government, language, laws, literature, philosophy

Augustus lifestyle

Augustus was the most powerful ruler of the mightiest empire of the ancient world. Yet, amid the pomp of Rome, he lived a simple and frugal life. His home was modest by Roman standards. His favorite meal was the usual food of a common laborer. Augustus was also a very religious and family-oriented man. He held to a strict moral code. He had his only child, Julia, exiled from Rome for not being faithful in her marriage.

Caligula

Bad Emperor • 37-41 • Mentally disturbed

Nero

Bad Emperor • 54-68 • Good administrator but vicious • Murdered many • Persecuted Christians

Domitian

Bad Emperor • 81-96 • Ruled dictatorially • Feared treason everywhere and executed many

Hannibal

Carthaginian General who was the mastermind behind the second Punic War with Rome. Cannae was greatest victory.

The Jewish Diaspora

Centuries of Jewish exile followed the destruction of their temple and the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. This period is called the Diaspora, from the Greek word for "dispersal." Jews fled to many parts of the world, including Europe. In the 1100s, many European Jews were expelled from their homes. Some moved to Turkey, Palestine, and Syria. Others went to Poland and neighboring areas. The statelessness of the Jews did not end until the creation of Israel in 1948.

Name the three parts of government under the Roman Republic

Consul, Senate, Tribune

Constantine

Emperor of Rome who adopted the Christian faith and stopped the persecution of Christians (280-337).

How did Rome treat different sections of its conquered territories?

Gave them all rights except for voting rights

Hadrian

Good Emperor • 117-138 • Consolidated earlier conquests • Reorganized the bureaucracy

Antoninus Pius

Good Emperor • 138-161 • Reign largely a period of peace and prosperity

Marcus Aurelias

Good Emperor • 161-180 • Brought empire to height of economic prosperity • Defeated invaders • Wrote philosophy

Nerva

Good Emperor • 96-98 • Began custom of adopting heir

Trajan

Good Emperor • 98-117 • Empire reached its greatest extent • Undertook vast building program • Enlarged social welfare

How did Augustus change the Roman government?

He set up civil services

Alaric

In 408, this King led the Visigoths across the Alps to Rome, they stormed and plundered it

Julius Caesar's death

In 44 B.C., on March 15, Caesar prepared to go to speak to the Senate, unaware that important senators plotted his death. When Caesar arrived at the Senate chamber, he sat in his chair. Soon the plotters encircled him, took knives hidden in their togas, and stabbed him 23 times. They were led by Gaius Cassius and Caesar's friend Marcus Brutus. Caesar's last words were "You, too, Brutus?"

heresy

In Christianity, disagreements about beliefs which appeared to contradict the teachings

Immediate Cause of Fall of the Western Roman Empire

Invasion by Germanic tribes and by Huns

How did Rome's population fare during the golden age of Pax Romana?

It flourished

Pompeii

Mt. Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, killing about 2,000. Best example of frescoes, large, bright murals found here

Augustus

Octavian was his given name. He was Caesar's grand nephew and adopted son. Ruled with Mark Antony and Lepidus until rivalries developed. Fought against Antony and Cleopatra. Became the unchallenged ruler of Rome and changed his name to this

Peter

Peter, leader of the apostles, who helped spread Jesus' teachings over Palestine and Syria

Scipio

Roman general who attacked Carthage.

LIVY, The Early History of Rome

The placement of Rome was perfect because of the different geographical factors around.

St. Jerome

This early Church leader did not live to see the empire's end, but he vividly describes his feelings after a major event in Rome's decline—the attack and plunder of the city by Visigoths in 410.

Luke

This quote from Jesus explains in depth "Do for others just what you want them to do for you."

The First Romans

Three groups inhabited the region and eventually battled for control. They were the Latins, the Greeks, and the Etruscans. The Latins built the original settlement at Rome, a cluster of wooden huts atop one of its seven hills.

Gladiator Games

Thumbs up or thumbs down—that is how a match often ended for a gladiator When one of the combatants fell, the organizer of the games usually determined his fate. A thumbs up sign from him meant that the fighter would live. Thumbs down meant his death. The crowd usually played a key role in these life-and-death decisions. If the masses liked the fallen gladiator, he most likely would live to fight another day. If not, he was doomed.

TACITUS, Annals

Torquatus Silanus was able to obtain followers by bribing them with gifts. When Nero found out, he captured all of Silanus' friends, so that when Torquatus saw, he slit his wrists to kill himself. When asked by the public, Nero said that he would have shown Torquatus to be innocent out of merciful feelings, as a dictator would do to please his people.

How did the apostle Paul encourage the spread of Christianity?

Travel and taught and he wrote influential letters, called Epistles, to groups of believers. In his teaching, he stressed that Jesus was the son of God who died for people's sins. He also declared that Christianity should welcome all converts, Jew or Gentile (non-Jew).

Constantinople

When Byzantium became capital instead of Rome, massive walls protected it. It was filled with imperial buildings and renamed this

Hannibal

When he was only a boy of nine, his father, Hamilcar Barca, a general in Carthage's army, made him swear that he would always hate Rome and seek to destroy it. After his defeat at the battle of Zama and Carthage's loss in the Second Punic War, he took refuge among Rome's enemies. He fought against Roman forces as an ally of the kings of Syria and Bithynia. When Roman agents came for him in Bithynia on the Black Sea in Anatolia in 183 B.C., he committed suicide rather than submit to Rome.

What were Diocletian's motives?

While Diocletian shared authority, he kept overall control. He took the eastern half for himself and appointed a co-ruler for the West. His half of the empire, the East, included most of the empire's great cities and trade centers and was far wealthier than the West.

What do you think of Diocletian's decision to divide the empire in two parts? Was it wise?

Yes. The empire had grown too large and too complex for one ruler.

Tacitus

a Roman historian who is known for presenting the facts accurately. He was concerned about the Roman's lack of morality

civil war

a conflict between two political groups within the same country

republic

a form of government in which power is in the hands of representatives and leaders are elected by the people

legion

a military unit of the ancient Roman army, made up of about 5,000 foot soldiers and a group of soldiers on horseback

Pax Romana

a period of peace and prosperity throughout the Roman Empire lasting from 27 BC to AD 180

AUGUSTINE, The City of God

a quote by St. Augustine stating that the people who live by man's standards will go to hell but the people who live by God's will live forever with God.

bishop

also a priest, supervised several local churches. designation arose as church developed a governing structure

Paul

apostle Paul, not one of the original 12, had enormous influence on Christianity's development. Named Saul and persecuted the Jews until his road to Damascus incident

mosaic

art consisting of a design made of small pieces of colored stone or glass

Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus

attempted to help Rome's poor and proposed such reforms as limiting the size of estates and giving land to the poor. The brothers made enemies of numerous senators, who felt threatened by their ideas. Both met violent deaths

Diocletian 284 AD

became emperor who restored order to Rome and increased its strength. Governed as an absolute ruler and limited personal freedoms. Also created a tetrarchy in which there were 2 main leaders and 2 co-rulers.

Jesus

both Jew and a Roman citizen. born around 6 to 4 BC Many believed he was the long awaited Messiah. taught apostles. town to town ministry ignoring wealth and status. Crucified

Attila

chieftain who united the Huns. With 100,000 soldiers, he terrorized the kingdom

circ-

circle, around - circumference, circumnavigate, circus

Why did so much Roman culture have a Greek flavor?

conquered greece and had a great respect for Greek philosophy, architecture, and literature

aqueduct

designed by Roman engineers to bring water into cities and towns

What type of person do you think became a martyr?

devout true-believers

Diaspora

dispersal of Jews from their homeland

inflation

drastic drop in the value of money coupled with a rise in prices

Julius Caesar

elected as consul in 60 BC to rule Rome. Served in a triumvirate with wealthy Crassus and popular general Pompey. Appointed self governor of Gaul. In military served along soldiers and endured their hardships. Governed as an absolute ruler. Assassinated by the Senate

patr-

father - patriarch, patrician, patriotic

pope

father or head of the Christian church

mercenary

foreign soldiers who fought for money

What was the most significant reform the emperor Diocletian made?

he divided the empire into the Greek- speaking East (Greece, Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt) and the Latin-speaking West (Italy, Gaul, Britain, and Spain)

capt-, capit-

head - capital, captain, caption, decapitate

patrician

in ancient Rome, a member of the wealthy, privileged upper class

dictator

in ancient Rome, a political leader given absolute power to make laws and command the army for a limited time

tribune

in ancient Rome, an official elected by the plebeians to protect their rights

plebeian

in ancient Rome, one of the common farmers, artisans and merchants who made up most of the population

gladiator

in ancient Rome, one of the professional fighters who engaged in battles to the death in public arenas

senate

in ancient Rome, the supreme governing body, originally made up only of aristocrats

triumvirate

in ancient Rome, three leaders sharing control of the government

consul

in the Roman republic, one of the two powerful officials elected each year to command the army and direct the government

Greco-Roman culture

mixing of elements of Greek, Hellenistic and Roman culture

cent-

one hundred - centipede, centurion, centimeter

gen-

origin, birth - generate, generation, gene

What were the results of Diocletian's decision?

plans for orderly succession failed. Civil war broke out immediately.

Virgil

poet who spent ten years writing the most famous work of Latin literature, the Aeneid, the epic of the legendary Aeneas. which praised Rome and its virtues. It was modeled after the Greek epics of Homer

dict-

say, speak - dictionary, dictator, dictation

Why did the Western Roman Empire fall?

social disorder; inflation; invasions; disloyalty to Rome; lack of patriotism; population decrease; attacks from the huns

Stoicism

the philosophy of the Greek teacher Zeno, was especially influential and encouraged virtue, duty, moderation, and endurance.

Why did the Roman Empire persecute Christians?

they refused to worship Roman gods. This refusal was seen as opposition to Roman rule. Some Roman rulers also used Christians as scapegoats for political and economic troubles.t.

spec-, spic-

to see, to look - inspect, respect, spectacle

Romulus and Remus

two twins who according to legend founded the city of Rome in 753 BC. According to legend, they were twin sons of the god Mars and a Latin princess. The twins were abandoned on the Tiber River as infants and raised by a she-wolf. The twins then decided to build a city near the spot.

Rome's Geography Rome

was built on seven rolling hills at a curve on the Tiber River, near the center of the Italian peninsula. It was midway between the Alps and Italy's southern tip. Rome also was near the midpoint of the Mediterranean Sea.

Contributing Social factors to Fall of the Western Roman Empire

• Decline in interest in public affairs • Low confidence in empire • Disloyalty, lack of patriotism, corruption • Contrast between rich and poor • Decline in population due to disease and food shortage

Pompeii after Vesuvius

• Of the 10,000 to 20,000 people who lived in there, only 2,000 bodies have been uncovered. •About three-fourths of the city has been excavated.

Contributing Political factors to Fall of the Western Roman Empire

• Political office seen as burden, not reward • Military interference in politics • Civil war and unrest • Division of empire • Moving of capital to Byzantium

Contributing Economic factors to Fall of the Western Roman Empire

• Poor harvests • Disruption of trade • No more war plunder • Gold and silver drain • Inflation • Crushing tax burden • Widening gap between rich and poor and increasingly impoverished Western Empire

Contributing Military factors to Fall of the Western Roman Empire

• Threat from northern European tribes • Low funds for defense • Problems recruiting Roman citizens; recruiting of non- Romans • Decline of patriotism and loyalty among soldiers