Chapter 6: The Transformation of Rome (InQuizitive)

As Christianity developed in Rome, Christian thinkers developed ideas and practices to address major questions. Match each question or issue, on the left, with the way in which it was addressed, on the right.

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? 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? 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?

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 instituted the Great Persecution, stripping Christians and Manicheans of their citizenship rights and government jobs. When his succession to caesar failed, Constantine joined his father—the co-emperor Constantius—as a military commander in Gaul and Britannia. Constantine associated himself with the cult of the sun god, Sol Invictus. When he marched on Rome to assert his title as augustus, Constantine added Christian symbols to his banners and shields. Constantine funded the building of Christian churches and issued the Edict of Milan (313 C.E), guaranteeing freedom of worship to all citizens.

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

False Residents experienced economic crises, but the region remained culturally Roman, even including the continuation of some Roman bureaucratic structures.

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

False, Christian scholars worked to keep the earlier works that they felt supported Christian doctrine, while heavily editing or rejecting the rest.

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

False, a small population

When it became a legal, favored religion in Rome, Christianity took on some of the features of the imperial establishment. Match each Roman feature, on the left, with the related Church development, on the right.

... Christian patriarchs in Rome, Alexandria, and Constantinople competed to claim leadership of the entire Church community. Correct label: Just as competing emperors struggled for supremacy within a divided Roman Empire ... ... Christian theologians worked to define orthodoxy (correct teaching) and condemned heresy (to choose for oneself). Correct label: Just as Roman leaders like Decius and Diocletian saw religious pluralism as a challenge to political unity ... ... Christian emperors asserted their right to intervene in Church development, as when Constantine called the Council of Nicea. Correct label: Just as pagan emperors claimed the title pontifex maximus, at the apex of traditional Roman religious institutions ...

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.

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. A Western military leader, Stilicho, allied himself with the Goths to defend against the invasion of Gaul by a different group: the Vandals. 5. Alaric and the Goths invaded and sacked Rome, but Alaric did not shift from conqueror of Rome to ruler of Rome. Instead, he and his people went to Spain.

Fill in the blanks to complete the passage about the political situation in Galilee around the period of Jesus's life. 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.

1. Jewish elites 2. poor city-dwellers and rural people 3. religious interpretation 4. the Temple priests 5. the Jewish elite and the Roman government 6. Zealots

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

1453

In some ways, Christianity was appealing because it fit with existing Hellenistic cultural ideas. In other ways, Christianity was appealing because it met desires that were unaddressed by other Hellenistic belief systems. Match each aspect of Christianity with the reason for its appeal.

Hellenistic Rome was a patriarchal, hierarchical society: Early Christian Churches drew members from different social classes and allowed women to hold office. Hellenistic cults often involved stories of sacrifice and regeneration.: Christianity taught that Jesus sacrificed himself for mankind, then was resurrected. Hellenistic philosophies and religious cults focused on individuals: Christianity emphasized community. Stoic philosophy was widely influential in Hellenistic Rome: Jesus preached ethical behavior, tolerance, and forgiveness.

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.

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.

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

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

Paul of Tarsus spread Christianity throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Decius and Diocletian targeted Christians for persecution. Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, protecting Roman citizens' religious freedom. The Council of Nicea asserted that Arianism was heresy and defined an official Christian creed. Thinkers like Augustine, Boethius, and Benedict developed Christian theology and monastic practice.

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.

Where did early Christianity originate?

The correct answer is "the Hellenistic eastern Mediterranean"

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. "Diocletian, who held the title dominus, and his caesar, Galerius, controlled the wealthier eastern half of the empire."

This sculpture depicts Diocletian and Maximian embracing their respective caesars, 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.

The image on the left depicts Constantine in the foreground; Sol Invictus is both behind him and on his shield. The image on the right is from a mosaic found under St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. 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.

After reading the textbook, watch the video about the contrast between traditional Roman and Christian views. 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.

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

insufficient bureaucratic systems long, porous borders destabilizing succession crises