Western Civ : Chapter 6

People could not keep much of the money they earned or the food they grew.

"Barracks emperors" levied very high taxes in the regions they controlled.

Just as pagan emperors claimed the title pontifex maximus, at the apex of traditional Roman religious institutions ...

... Christian emperors asserted their right to intervene in Church development, as when Constantine called the Council of Nicea.

Just as competing emperors struggled for supremacy within a divided Roman Empire ...

... Christian patriarchs in Rome, Alexandria, and Constantinople competed to claim leadership of the entire Church community.

Just as Roman leaders like Decius and Diocletian saw religious pluralism as a challenge to political unity ...

... Christian theologians worked to define orthodoxy (correct teaching) and condemned heresy (to choose for oneself).

What two arguments does Symmachus make?

No one religion should take precedence over others because they are just different ways to seek the same goals. Traditional Roman worship has protected the empire for hundreds of years.

Which elements of Roman rule were exemplified in the empire's response to Jesus?

Noncitizens had fewer legal rights than citizens living under Roman rule. Rome maintained good relations with local elites to help prevent rebellions against imperial control.

Based on Pliny's letter to Trajan, how did social status affect the government's treatment of individuals suspected of being Christians?

-Slaves were tortured to obtain information -Roman citizens had legal rights, even when they admitted to being Christians. -Non-citizens could avoid execution if they publicly rejected Christianity.

The coin of the left depicts Constantine. The image on the right is from a mosaic found under St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. In what ways do these images suggest that some Romans associated Jesus with Sol Invictus?

-The figure in the mosaic seems to depict Jesus as Sol Invictus -Constantine, who supported Christianity, is depicted as a worshipper of Sol Invictus.

This sculture depicts Deiocletian and Maximian embracing they respective Caesars, Galerius and Constantius. What best express the message of this sculpture?

-The loyalty between the augusti and their younger Caesars is like that between a father and a son. -The tetrarchy is stable, unified, and dedicated to protecting the Roman state.

What is Arianism?

-The sect of Christianity that was condemned as heresy after protracted struggles -A Christian belief that was strongly influenced by Neoplatonic ideas.

How did Institutes, by Cassiodorus, help to keep Roman classical scholarship alive? Put the events in chronological order

1) Like Augustine, other Christian scholars believed monks needed to study the bible to fully engage in a life of worship 2)In order to truly understand the bible, monks had to study Greek and Roman classical literature 3)To make sure monks had access to Greek and Roman classical literature, monasteries became sites where classical works were stored and copied. 4)Many of the classical Greek and Roman texts studied by modern scholars were copied and preserved in monasteries.

By the mid-400s, Rome had been sacked, a Visigothic kingdom occupied modern Spain, the Vandals controlled North Africa, and the Franks and the Burgundians lived in modern France. Put the evens that led to this situation in chronological order.

1)Central Asian Huns migrated into the Black Sea region, forcing the Goths to enter the Roman Empire as refugees 2)The Roman army was defeated by the Goths at Adrianople when they tried to quell a Gothic rebellion. 3)In order to get Alaric--now a Roman military commander---to stop looting Greece, the eastern Roman Emperor encouraged him to move his people to Italy. 4)Alaric and the Goths invaded and sacked Rome, but Alaric didn't shift from conqueror of Rome to ruler of Rome. Instead, he and his people went to Spain.

Review the letters from Sidonius to the Frankish Arbogastes and the Roman Syagrius. Match each passage from Sidonius with its meaning. 1)"You have no idea what amusement it gives me, and the others too, when I hear that in your presence the barbarian is afraid to perpetrate a barbarism in his own language." 2)"... by constant reading you will discover for yourself.. that the educated are no less superior to the unlettered than men are to beasts." 3)"...you are intimate with the barbarians but are innocent of barbarisms, and are equal in tongue, as also in the strength of arm, to the leaders of old..." 4)"...observe a just balance between the two languages, retain your grasp of Latin lest you be laughed at, and practice the other, in order to have the laugh of them."

1)It's great that you've gained control over the barbarians by learning their language! We all think it's funny! 2)If you keep educating yourself in the Roman style, you'll understand that there is a vast difference between an educated person and an uneducated one. 3)You aren't like the other barbarians. In fact, you're just as strong and eloquent as Roman leaders of the past. 4)Keep your proficiency in that barbarian language so you can keep tricking them, but don't forget your own culture or your fellow Romans will look down on you.

The succession crises of the second and third centuries yielded significant policy changes within the Roman Empire. Put these crises and policy changes in chronological order.

1)Marcus Aurelius died. 2)Severus, who came to power through civil war, raised soldiers' pay and allowed them to marry while in service. 3)Caracalla, who took power by assassinating his own brother, extended Roman citizenship to all free people in the empire. 4)Heliogabalus was assassinated after he tried to replace the Roman god, Jupiter, with the eastern god, Sol Invictus. 5)Diocletian brought an end to the Third-Century Crisis when he took control of the empire and divided it into four administrative regions,

After the death of Marcus Aurelius, Romans suffered because of political instability. Match the actions of second and third-century Roman leaders to their deleterious effects. 1)Rome suffered from severe inflation. 2)People could no keep much of the money they earned or the food they grew. 3)People experienced food shortages 4)Formerly independent people pledged their labor on the estates of large landholders in exchange for food and (relative) safety.

1)Severus devalued Roman currency 2)"Barracks emperors" levied very high taxes in the regions they controlled. 3)Widespread warfare trampled crops and reduced trade. 4)People from all classes and occupations were desperate to escape poverty and famine

When did Constantinople, the wealthy eastern capital of the Roman Empire, finally fall to foreign conquest?

1453

What did Augustine argue in The City of God?

All humanity is divided into two communities: those who live for material rewards and those who seek spiritual salvation

Why did women lose prominence in the Christian Church as the Church gained prominence within Rome?

Ascetic and monastic practices rejected food and sex, activities that were strongly associated with women. Old Church structures, which allowed women to hold office, changed to mirror Roman government, which excluded women.

Boethius wrote The Consolation of Philosophy, in which he answered philosophical questions using a mix of pre-Christian thought and Christian ideas.

Can a Roman be a Christian while also respecting the intellectual contributions of his (pagan) ancestors?

Hellenistic philosophies and religious cults focused on individuals.

Christianity emphasized community

Hellenistic cults often involved stories of sacrifice and regeneration.

Christianity taught that Jesus sacrificed himself for mankind, then was resurrected.

exclusion of women from Church hierarchy and doctrine

Cults of Sol Invictus and Mithras

The Roman government made the shift from anti-Christian hostility to embracing Christianity fairly quickly. Place the events of that change in chronological order.

Diocletian When his succession Constantine associated When he marched Constantine funded

Hellenistic Rome was a patriarchal, hierarchical society.

Early Christian Churches drew members from different social classes and allowed women to hold office.

Why was the impact of barbarian invasions greater in the western empire than in the eastern empire?

Eastern Rome used its wealth to buy off barbarian attackers and direct them toward the West. Roman legions were pulled away from the West to defend the East.

Christian scholars fervently rejected all Greek and Roman philosophies because the philosophies were pagan.

False

The biggest threat to Rome in the third century was the growing power and defiance of Christians.

False

After his conversion, what important concept did Paul champion, in opposition to the original Jewish Christians of Jerusalem?

He supported the idea that non-Jews could become Christians.

Ambrose, patriarch of Milan, said, "The emperor is within the Church, not above the Church." What is the most accurate interpretation of his meaning?

He was challenging the traditional idea that the emperor was both a political leader and the pontifex maximus (high priest)

the king of Galilee, who tried to maintain good relations with local elites

Herod

What kinds of changes occurred in the Christian Church after the Edict of Milan?

It became a more centralized, bureaucratically governed organization. The Church struggled to resolve doctrinal disputes by developing unified positions on theological questions.

Which of Diocletian's changes illustrated his adoption of the title dominus, in place of the more traditional princeps?

His clothing, palace, and public ceremonies began to resemble those of Persian royalty. He moved his capital to Nicomedia (in modern Turkey) but left the Senate in Rome.

Cassiodorus developed the Institutes, an educational plan that taught the foundations of Hellenistic, Roman, and Christian philosophy.

How could the Church be sure that monks understood the historical context in which Christianity developed?

Augustine theorized that evil entered into human society in the Garden of Eden, with Adam and Eve's Original Sin: eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.

If an all-knowing, benevolent God created us, why do people do so many evil things?

What was the Third-Century Crisis?

It was the fifty-year period when twenty-six different military commanders attempted to claim leadership of Rome. It began as a result of the fact that Rome had no single, legitimate method for passing power from one emperor to the next.

a Jewish preacher who challenged the ideology of the hereditary Temple priesthood

Jesus

How did Jesus's teachings differ from the common practice of Judaism in his lifetime?

Jesus emphasized ethical behavior and de-emphasized ritual observances.

Stoic philosophy was widely influential in Hellenistic Rome.

Jesus preached ethical behavior, tolerance, and forgiveness.

Residents of Galilee felt differently about Roman rule: - participated in the Roman system and benefitted from it, while - disliked it. At the same time, there were disagreements about - among Jewish groups. Because of this preexisting tension, Jesus's conflict with - was seen as a dual attack on both -. Decades after Jesus died, the - made two unsuccessful attempts to overthrow Roman control.

Jewish elites poor city-dwellers and rural people religious interpretation the Temple priests the Jewish elite and the Roman government Zealots

The Pharisees believed in life after death, eagerly awaited a messiah, and sought out converts to Judaism. What can one say about the relationship between the Pharisees and the origins of Christianity?

Many Christian concepts originated with the Pharisees. By saying that Jesus was the Messiah, his followers went beyond Pharisee teachings.

How did the economy of the western empire change in the century after the barbarian invasions and the establishment of barbarian kingdoms?

Overland trade decreased significantly. The population decreased

a Hellenized Jew who spread early Christianity to Gentiles

Paul

Place these events in the establishment of Christianity in chronological order.

Paul of Tarsus spread Christianity Decius and Diocletin Constantine issued The counsil of Nicea Thinkers like augustine

Formerly independent people pledged their labor on the estates of large landholders in exchange for food and (relative) safety.

People from all classes and occupations were desperate to escape poverty and famine.

the governor who was responsible for Roman government in Galilee

Pontius Pilate

Diocletian stabilized the currency and altered the tax system.

Rome suffered from economic instability and extreme income inequality.

Diocletian's two caesars, Galerius and Constantius, were in training to eventually become augusti.

Rome suffered from repeated succession crises.

Diocletian divided the empire into four sections, each under the control of a regional emperor.

Rome was too vast and diverse to be governed by a single, central administration.

Rome suffered from severe inflation.

Severus devalued Roman currency.

In response to the plague of 251 C.E., Rome insisted that its citizens swear loyalty to the state and worship Rome's traditional gods. What can you infer from this about Roman beliefs?

Some Romans believed the plague was punishment for abandoning the traditional Roman gods

Diocletian separated the military chain of command from the bureaucratic hierarchy.

The Roman military had become enmeshed in the administration of the empire.

What does Diocletian's distribution of power suggest about the regions within the Roman Empire?

The eastern part of the empire was more valuable than the western part.

What is "Sol Invictus"?

The eastern sun god and he symbolized victory

This sculpture depicts Diocletian and Maximian embracing their respective caesars, Galerius and Constantius. The porphyry statue of the Tetrarchy, showing the two augusti Diocletian and Maximian, embracing their younger ceasars, Galerius and Constantius. Select the statements that best express the message of this sculpture.

The loyalty between the augusti and their younger caesars is like that between a father and a son. This new governing arrangement rests on traditional Roman values.

Why might some scholars assert that the mosaic blends Jesus and Sol Invictus?

The sun rays around Sol Invictus's head are similar to the figure's halo in the mosaic. The figure in the mosaic is driving a chariot, as is the figure of Sol Invictus on Constantine's shield.

In what ways were the so-called barbarians on the periphery of Rome connected to the empire?

They fought for Rome as foederati. They had extensive trade relationships with Romans. Many of them lived within Roman territory.

How did barbarian cultures on the periphery of the Roman Empire differ from Roman culture?

They spoke neither Latin nor Greek. They had no tradition of urban culture. They practiced either Arian Christianity or pagan religions.

Which fact about the barbarian kingdoms most clearly signaled their independence from Roman imperial authority?

They stopped sending tax revenues to the imperial authorities

After 476 C.E. the Roman emperor in Constantinople continued to exercise limited influence over the government of the western Roman Empire.

True

True or False: Practicing Christianity was not officially protected until the Edict of Milan but, generally speaking, Christians recognized Roman authority. The exception to this was that they did not venerate the Roman emperor.

True

True or False: Sidonius seems concerned by the idea that living among so many barbarians might change Syagrius's identity.

True

Benedict designed a monastic lifestyle that mixed isolation, study, work, prayer, and reflection.

Was it possible to live a spiritual, reflective life without performing extreme acts of asceticism?

With which statement would Salvian agree?

We are no longer good Romans nor are we good Christians.

After Theodosius, the increasingly different eastern and western halves of the Roman Empire were never again united under the rule of a single emperor. Match each feature of the empire with the region it best describes.

West the poorer half of the empire the Latin-speaking region of the empire The city of Ravenna became its capital East most of the Roman military was stationed here the more populous part of the empire

People experienced food shortages.

Widespread warfare trampled crops and reduced trade.

How did Christianity challenge the Roman government and Roman mos maiorum?

Youth sometimes defied their fathers' wishes by converting. Christian churches allowed women and slaves to wield power. Christians would not venerate the Roman emperor.

How much time elapsed between Diocletian's Great Persecution (303 C.E.) and Emperor Theodosius's prohibition of all forms of pagan worship? In other words, how long did it take Christianity to go from being illegal in Rome to supplanting Rome's traditional religion?

about ninety years

By the mid-400s, Rome had been sacked, a Visigothic kingdom occupied modern Spain, the Vandals controlled North Africa, and the Franks and the Burgundians lived in modern France. Put the events that led to this situation into chronological order.

central asian the roman army in order to get alaric a western military leader alaric and the goths

What were the main challenges to Roman rule during the third century?

destabilizing succession crises long, porous borders insufficient bureaucratic systems

Diocletian divided the Roman Empire into quarters, with each quarter divided into smaller administrative units. What were these smaller units called?

dioceses

The barbarian invasions brought a rapid shift of culture and identity to western Europe.

false

the Hellenistic eastern Mediterranean

false

Historians have access to narratives of Jesus's life, written by his followers and other early Christians. How long after his execution (c. 30 C.E.) was the earliest-known narrative written?

less than 40 years

At the time of the Great Persecution of 303, what portion of the Roman population was Christian?

less than 5 percent in the West and no more than 10 percent in the East

asceticism, fasting, celibacy, monasticism

neoplatonism

Creatively building on Plato's ideas, Neoplatonism taught that - created everything. According to its founder, Plotinus, each person is made up of physical matter and -, which seeks to be reunited with the divine. People can achieve this reunion through -, including fasting and other forms of self-inflicted physical hardship. This philosophy was a gateway to - for educated Romans, as well as an influence on later religious practice.

one supreme being a soul asceticism Christianity

messiah, damnation or reward for individuals, seeking converts

pharisees

Where did early Christianity originate?

the Hellenistic eastern Mediterranean