Transcript The Rise of Christianity & Fall Of The Roman Empire

The Rise of Christianity &
Fall Of The Roman Empire
SS.A.3.4.4; SS.B.2.4.1; SS.B.1.4.4;
SS.A.2.4.5
The Roman Religion
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Caesar Augustus restores Roman religion
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Religion had declined during the late Republic
Greek gods worshiped with Roman names
 Emperors worshiped as gods
 Observation of rituals brought humans into
better relationship with gods
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Success comes from pleasing the gods
Romans tolerant of others’ faiths; worship of
native gods allowed in provinces
 Religions of the East were considered trendy,
became popular among Romans looking for a
more emotional religion/faith

Jewish Background
In Hellenistic times, Jews given much
more independence than other cultures
 A.D. 6: Roman province of Judaea covers
land of the Israelites, ruled by procurator
 Unrest, difference of opinion about Rome
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 Sadducees:
cooperate with Rome
 Pharisees: observe religious law to keep
Jewish identity
 Essenes: lived as hermits waiting for God to
save them from Roman oppression
 Zelots: called for open revolt against Rome
Rise of Christianity
A.D. 30: Jewish prophet named Jesus
begins preaching in Judaea and Galilee
 Jesus’ Mission: complete salvation God
promised to the people of Israel “Messiah”
 Taught people to look for inner peace by
practicing humility, charity and love toward
others
 Put to death for “revolutionary” ideas
 Followers proclaimed he rose from the
dead three days after his death
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Words of Jesus:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish
the Law or the Prophets; I have not come
to abolish but to fulfill them”
 “So in everything, do to others what you
would have them do to you, for this sums
up the Law and the Prophets”
 “Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind and with all your strength. This
is the first commandment. The second is
this: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
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Spread of Christianity
Began as a movement with Judaism
 Prominent leaders include:
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 Simon
 First
Peter: Jesus’ friend, Jewish fisherman
leader of the Christian religion
 Paul:
educated Jewish citizen of Rome, who
took the message of Jesus to Gentiles
Paul believed that Jesus was the Son of
God, and humanity can be saved from sin
by accepting the teachings of Jesus
 Paul wrote letters outlining his beliefs
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Spreading the Word of Jesus
Followers wrote down Jesus’ sayings, and
stories from his life
 A.D. 40-100: Christians use these stories,
sayings to create Gospels (good news)
 Together with the letters of Paul and
others, they form New Testament
 By 100, churches found in most cities in
Eastern empire, and some in West
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The Christian Persecution
Christian values vs. Greco-Roman values
 Christians refuse to worship emperors
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 Romans
think of this as treason
 Christians believe in only one God, and
worshiping another endangers soul
Nero begins persecution (harassing to
cause suffering), blaming them for fire
 By the end of the rule of the five “Good
Emperors”, persecution mostly stopped
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Christian Triumph
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Even with persecution, Christianity grows
 Persecution
seen as strengthening faith
 Persecution forces organization
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Bishops lead whole communities in prayer
 System
of organization gives specific jobs to
clergy (church leaders) and laity (followers)

Christianity grew quickly in the 1st Century
A.D., took root in the 2nd, and spread
widely in the 3rd Century
Reasons for Growth

Christian message appealed to Romans
 Christianity
gives purpose to life
 Roman religion was impersonal and existed
for the benefit of the Roman Republic/Empire
 Christianity=personal, eternal life, salvation
Christianity seemed familiar, shared
qualities with other trendy faiths from East
 Christianity offered sense of belonging
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 Churches=close
community with common
goals, help one another; inclusive (rich/poor)
Christianity: Religion of the People
“You have put on the new self…Here there
is no Greek nor Jew, barbarian, Scythian,
slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in
all.”~ Paul’s Letter to the Colossians
 Christianity preached of spiritual equality
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 Rich,
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poor, free, slave all could be saved
Last persecution was in 4th Century, under
Emperor Diocletian, who admitted the
strength of Christianity was too much
Christianity: Official Religion of
Rome
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A.D. 313: Emperor Constantine issues
Edict of Milan, giving freedom of religion
 Constantine
becomes first Christian emperor
of Rome, baptized at the end of his life
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Theodosius the Great establishes
Christianity as the official state religion of
Rome
Roman Decline

The last of the Five Good Emperors—Marcus
Aurelius dies in A.D. 180
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Civil wars follow for next 13 years
Emperor Septimius Severus told his sons: “pay
the soldiers, ignore everyone else”
Severan emperors known for militaristic rule,
and brutality
235-284: Throne held by whoever can take it by
force
22 emperors of this period, most die violently
Constant invasion also caused problems
Economic & Military Problems
 3rd
Century: Invasions, civil wars and
plague almost ruins Roman economy
 Plague
causes less people to trade & soldiers
 Farm production down, armies ravage them
 Money loses value
No money to recruit and pay soldiers
 Germans fill in the gap, but have little
loyalty to generals, or the empire
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Diocletian & Constantine
Introduce Late Roman Empire with new
governmental, economic and social
structures—along with new religion +
 Diocletian believes empire too big to rule,
divides empire into four parts, each ruled
by own ruler—emperor still highest auth.
 Bureaucracy expanded, army reorganized
 Wage and price controls to help inflation
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New Empire=New Capital
Constantine builds new capital city in east
 Picks site of old Greek city Byzantium
 Renames city “Constantinople” (Istanbul)
 Had excellent strategic position
 Became his “New Rome” and capital of
Eastern Roman Empire, as the empire
continues to split between East and West
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An Empire Divided Cannot Stand
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Empire splits between East and West
 Western
capital=Rome
 Eastern capital=Constantinople
Western empire under attack by Germans
 350-400: Huns, tribe from Asia, and
pressures Germanic Visigoths, moving
them into Roman territory, become allies
of Rome against Huns—revolt soon after
 410: Visigoths sack Rome
 455: Vandals sack Rome
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The Fall of Rome
A.D. 476: Emperor Romulus Augustulus is
the last emperor of Rome, deposed by
German general
 Germanic kingdoms replace empire
 Eastern, Byzantine Empire survives
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 The
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Byzantine Empire lasts another 1,000 yrs
Many reasons are given for the fall of
Rome, none fully explain it.
Reasons Given For Fall of Empire:
Christianity’s embrace of spiritual life
 Non-Italians eroding Roman values
 Lead poisoning causes mental decline
 Plague kills 1/10 of population
 Failure to advance technology b/c of
slavery
 Inadequate political system for large
empire
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