Chapter 6: The Roman Empire and Early Christianity

Senātus Populusque Rōmānus ("The Senate and People of Rome“)

How was Rome founded?

• Legend holds that twin brothers, Romulus and Remus, were raised by a she-wolf until a shepherd adopted them.

• Eventually, they grew up and decided to build a city on the Tiber River. However, Romulus killed Remus during a fight over the city’s design.

• Romulus named the new city Rome and ruled it as king for 40 years beginning in 753BC.

What are some of Rome’s geographical features?

• Rome is located in Italy.• The Alps are to the north,

while the Mediterranean Sea surrounds the Italian Peninsula to the east, west, and south.

• Italy’s land is very fertile, which supports agriculture, and the sea allows for trade.

What groups originally led Rome?

• Those who originally built Rome were members of an Indo-European tribe known as the Latins. They encouraged trade, which helped the growth of the city.

• In 616BC, Rome came under the rule of the Etruscans, who historians believe were great metalworkers from the north.

How did the Etruscans influence Rome?

• They built the city’s first walls and sewer;• They introduced architectural developments, such as the arch;• They introduced the alphabet and number system;• They helped shape the system of government;• They introduced gladiator games and chariot races;• They influenced styles of sculpture and painting.

How did the government change in 509BC?

• The Romans revolted and overthrew Lucius Superbus, the last Etruscan king of Rome, whom they considered to be a tyrant.

• Instead of the monarchy, they created a republic, or a system in which elected officials governed the state.

What were the social classes who made up early Roman society?

• The patricians were the wealthy 2% of the population. They had power and controlled politics, economics, religious affairs, and the military.

• The plebeians made up the lower class. When they refused to fight for the patricians in 494BC, the patricians grudgingly gave the plebeians basic rights.

• The plebeians then created the Plebeian Council and elected tribunes, who gained the right to veto laws that were unfair to the plebeians.

• In 450BC, Roman laws were written down on 12 bronze tablets and displayed in the Roman Forum for all citizens to witness. These were called the Law of the Twelve Tables. The Forum was a place to listen to political speeches, shop, gather, and watch entertainment.

• Slaves comprised one-third of the population, were considered to be property, and had no rights.

Describe the basic political structure contained in the Roman constitution.

• The government consisted of three parts:– The Senate had 300 members who advised

elected officials, controlled finances, and handled foreign relations;

– Popular assemblies, in which all citizens voted on laws and elected officials;

– The Magistrates, who put the laws into practice, governed in the name of the Senate and people, and acted as priests.

• After Superbus was overthrown, two consuls were elected to be chief executives and commanders in chief for one year terms.

• Censors kept records on the population and property and appointed Senators when a vacancy arose.

• Praetors acted as judges and sometimes stood in for the consuls when they were away at war.

• Overall, the Roman government was regulated by a system of checks and balances.

• Eventually, all positions became open to both patricians as well as plebeians.

What were some of Rome’s early military conquests?

• Rome’s strength came, in large part, due to its well-trained and well-organized military. All men between 17-46 had to serve in the army during times of war in units called legions.

• By 265BC, the Romans conquered the Etruscans in the north and Greek cities in the south.

• In 264BC, Rome sided with Sicily against Carthage in the First Punic War. Initially, most of the fighting took place at sea; however, in 218BC, a general from Carthage known as Hannibal, invaded Italy with a fierce army and forces of war elephants and defeated the Romans.

• In the Second Punic War, Roman general Publius Scipio invaded Carthage itself, forcing Hannibal to leave Italy and defend his homeland. In 202BC at the Plains of Zama, Scipio defeated Hannibal. After the complete destruction of Carthage in 149BC in the Third Punic War, Rome became the strongest power in the region.

• Finally, the Greeks sought and alliance with Rome to contain the threat the faced from the Hellenistic kingdoms of Macedonia, Persia, and Egypt. Once they were quelled, the Romans annexed the Greeks. Greek culture, art, architecture, and religion heavily influenced Roman society.

What were some of the problems in the Late Republic?

• There was social unrest between the rich and poor. The Gracchi brothers proposed land redistribution, but were assassinated by the rich.

• Gaius Marius allowed poor people to join the army. Thus, the army’s ranks swelled, but troops were loyal to their general.

• Italians outside of Rome rebelled for citizenship rights in the Social War.

• Finally, there was a civil war in which Lucius Sulla became dictator. This set a precedent for ambitious men to come to power. After Sulla, the Republic was practically gone.

Who comprised the First Triumvirate? What happened to it?

• Julius Caesar, Gnaenus Pompey, and Licinius Crassus took over the Republic in 60BC.

• When Crassus died, Caesar and Pompey vied for power in a civil war.

• Caesar won and was named dictator for life in 44BC. However, the Senate began to fear his popularity and power, and they assassinated him.

• He played a crucial role in the demise of the Republic and the growth of the Empire to include Gaul.

Who was in the Second Triumvirate? What happened to it?

• Caesar’s heir and adopted son, Octavian, Marc Antony, and high priest Lepidus.

• Octavian ruled the western part of the Empire, while Antony ruled the east.

• Octavian and Antony fought for dominance in a civil war.

• Octavian won at the Battle of Actium in 31BC. As a result, Antony and partner Cleopatra committed suicide.

• Octavian then ruled Rome alone, thus ending the Roman Republic.

Describe Octavian’s rule.

• He called himself ‘princeps,’ or ‘first citizen,’ and his government was called the Principate.

• The Senate conferred on him the title of ‘Augustus,’ or ‘revered one,’ in 27BC, with a crown of laurel and oak leaves.

• He ruled for 40 years, expanded the empire to the Danube, divided power between himself and the Senate, created police and fire forces, built bridges and temples, and stockpiled food in case of emergencies.

• Art and literature flourished under the support of Augustus, with writers such as Ovid, Horace, and Virgil, who wrote the Aeneid.

What were some of the main accomplishments of the Good Emperors?

• Five emperors ruled for almost a century and admitted more members from the provinces into the Senate and administration.

• Trajan expanded the Empire’s boundaries to include present-day Romania, Armenia, Mesopotamia, and the Sinai Peninsula. This represented the greatest extent of the Empire in 117AD.

What were some of the key developments during the Pax Romana?

• The Pax Romana was about 200 years of peace and prosperity for the Roman Empire.

• The government was stable and brought uniformity to the provinces, which were ruled by governors, from Britain to Asia Minor.

• Laws were passed by the assemblies, Senate, and/or the emperor. This also brought uniformity because they applied to all citizens equally.

• In terms of trade and transportation, 50,000 miles of roads were constructed to transport goods and to support military campaigns. Agriculture was the basis of the economy; however, manufacturing of pottery, textiles, and jewelry also began to thrive.

What were some forms of entertainment in ancient Rome?

• Public entertainment, such as circuses, jugglers, acrobats, mimes, dancers, and clowns, would be provided for the masses.

• Chariot races would be held in the Circus Maximus.• Gladiators fights would be held in amphitheaters, such as the

Colosseum.• Public baths were also places where people would gather.

What were families like in ancient Rome?

• Romans were patriarchal.• The head of the family was called the paterfamilias, or family

father. He was the oldest living male and had power over his wife, children, and slaves.

• Women had very little freedom or rights.• Mostly boys went to schools, where they learned law, Latin,

Greek, math, and public speaking.

What was religion like in ancient Rome?

• Greek gods were adopted and renamed, such as Zeus/Jupiter.• Other gods from Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Persia, such as

Horus, were also adopted.• Roman families also worshipped house gods called penates,

for things such as protection or prosperity.• Priests who were called augurs practiced interpreting signs in

nature as messages from the gods.

Describe some of Rome’s cultural legacies after its fall in 476AD.

• Galen organized medical knowledge, while Ptolmey developed a theory that the earth was the center of the universe.

• Romans also developed sewer systems, the Julian calendar, concrete, aqueducts, and a grid layout for cities complete with a central forum.

• Architectural advances include the rounded arch and vaults.

• Romance languages developed from Latin, and literary techniques, such as satire, was developed in ancient Rome.

• Finally, Romans emphasis on order translated into a written code of laws called civil law, which forms the basis of legal proceedings around the world today.

Parthenon was a temple dedicated to Athena.

What happened in Judea in 63BC?

• Roman forces under Pompey invaded Judea, installed a king, and forced the Jews to pay taxes.

• However, they also wanted the Jews to worship the Roman gods. The Jews resisted because they were monotheistic, while the Romans were polytheistic.

• After several revolts, the Romans sacked Jerusalem, killed and/or enslaved most Jews and destroyed the Second Temple in 70AD.

The Arch of Titus

In this time of crisis, who had messages of redemption?

• Jesus began to preach messages of redemption and perform miracles of healing.

• His disciples began to spread his message, and because the Roman authorities were threatened by his popularity, he was arrested, tried, and crucified.

• Due to the Resurrection and Ascension, people began to believe he was the Messiah and call him Christos as a result.

• Most of Jesus’s life was recorded in the Gospels, or the first four books of the New Testament.

How did Jesus’s message spread?

• The 12 Apostles were the earliest Christian missionaries.• Paul of Tarsus began to convert non-Jews, thus attracting many

new followers throughout the eastern Mediterranean.• His Epistles, or Letters, later became part of the New Testament.• Although persecuted, Christians made up 10% of the Roman

population by 300AD.

Which two emperors played an important role in the establishment of Christianity?

• After seeing a cross of light in the sky and emerging victorious in battle Constantine converted to Christianity. He issued the Edict of Milan in 313AD, which permitted Christianity in the Empire.

• Theodosius outlawed non-Christian practices, which effectively made Christianity the dominant religion in the Roman Empire in the late 300sAD.

How was the early Church organized?

• Early rituals, such as the Eucharist and baptism were formalized.

• Priests performed these rituals. They derived their authority from the Apostles.

• Bishops emerged to oversee church affairs in cities. Patriarchs claimed authority over bishops because the administered in the largest cities of Rome, Jerusalem, and Constantinople.

• Peter founded the Roman Church and acted as its first bishop. Later bishops of Rome were called popes. They argued that the pope in Rome should be the head of the entire Christian Church because Jesus had given Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, according to the Gospel of Matthew.

Pope Francis 2013

Pope Peter

What were some economic troubles that helped lead to Rome’s collapse?

• To support the army, taxes were raised, which put a strain on people’s finances.

• To ease this strain, emperors minted new coins with copper and lead instead of silver.

• When people realized the coins were worth less, prices rose dramatically. This is known as inflation.

What were some threats of invasion that helped bring down the Empire?

• As the Roman Empire expanded, it pushed the Germanic tribes further into Asia.

• These Germanic tribes, such as the Ostrogoths, Visigoths, and the Vandals, fled into the Roman Empire from Central Asian groups, such as the Huns, trying to reclaim their land.

• Visigoth leader Alaric sacked Rome in 410AD, while Hun leader Attila attacked Gaul in 451AD.

What were some of Diocletian’s & Constantine’s reforms?

• After the Good Emperor’s there was increasing instability as legions violently deposed 20 emperors in about 50 years.

• Diocletian took power in 284 and made the empire into an absolute monarchy. He divided the empire into an eastern and western half, made sons follow the trades of their fathers, tied peasants to the land, and placed the economy under state control. These efforts saved the empire from immediate collapse.

• Constantine made Christianity legal within the empire, thereby reducing conflict. And, he built a new capital – Constantinople – along the Bosporus River, which separates Europe and Asia. He did this because the eastern part of the empire was richer.

What happened in 476AD?

• All of the invasions had left Rome in chaos.• Hun leader Odoacer overthrew the last Roman emperor, Romulus

Augustulus, in 476AD and was crowned the first king of Italy. This is considered to be the end of the western Roman empire.

• However, the eastern Roman empire lasted for several more centuries as the Byzantine Empire.