The Transformation of the Classical World, 192 - 500

Crises of the Third Century

Christianity

The “Barbarianization” of the West

I. Crises of the Third Century,192 - 305

Why did the Pax Romana deteriorate?

Assassination of Commodus, 192

Between 235-284, 17 “Emperors” assassinated or killed in civil war

A. Economic instability

1. Inequitable taxation

2. Decline in investment capital

3. Environmental factors

B. Return of military “strongmen”

1. Challenges from outsideMarcommani

Sassanids

2. “Enrich the Army and Scorn the Rest”

- Septimus Severus

3. Decline of central Imperial control

4. Urbanization of the Empire

* by 284, Empire was a confederation of military dictatorships

C. The Empire Restored (temporarily)

1. Diocletian (284-305)

“divide the empire to save it”

2. Diocletian’s legacy and the West

a. Byzantine Empire preserves Roman ideals

b. Beginning of serfdom and feudal system

c. Cult of Diocletian (backfired)

II. The Role of Christianity in Reshaping the Classical World

“strana et illicita” - Senatorial Decree, 35 AD

A. Tradition of Roman religion

1. De-centralized

2. Cult of Emperors

B. The Hebrew Resistance

1. Monotheism v. the Cult of the Emperor

2. Hebrew “nationalism” v. the Idea that was Rome

Masada

3. Sadducees

4. Hasidim

Pharisees, Hillel

Zealots

5. Joshua ben Joseph

C. Early, early Christianity

1. Sermon on the Mount - “spirit of the law”

2. Cult kept alive by Peter - took the show to Rome

maintained the Cult of Christ within the Hebrew faith; strictly observed Hebrew Law

3. Paul of Tarsus, 5 - 67 AD

- Roman citizen, Hebrew

- emphasized Greco-Roman concept of jurisprudence “spirit and letter of the law”

- Paul blended Greco-Roman humanism with Hebrew/Christian “covenant”

- creation of “other”: exclusivity of Christianity

- Paul pries Christianity away from Hebrew roots

- organized Christianity on Roman model

patriarchates

**Paul organized early Christianity and made it appealing to a wide array of people...

- but it was Roman oppression that gave Christians an added sense of identity through shared hardship

III. Imperial Christianity, 312 A.D. -

A. Constantine

1. Persecutor of early Christians

2. Saw Christianity as a

unifying political, social

force

3. Christians believed that they

could use Constantine

B. Imperial Patronage

1. Financed churches

2. Growing civil power of Bishops

- Ambrose of Milan, 390 AD

- Pope Leo I and Attila the Hun, 450

C. Roman politics affect Christian Theology

1. Arian Heresy

(neo-platonism)

2. Latin Christianity

(Bishop of Rome)

3. 325, Constantine and the Council of Nicaea

= Chalcedon Formulation -- the Trinity

D. Demise of the (western) Roman Empire and the

Ascendancy of Christianity1. Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

2. Response to Donatists and Pelargins

3. City of God

city of God (Christianity) endures

city of Man (Rome) is falling

* Augustine argues for universal salvation…

BUT, must be a member of the Church

- would give Roman Church unrivaled power and legitimacy for the next 1000 years

* Christianity rejects rationalism, humanism in favor of mysticism and ritual

IV. The Barbarianization of the West

The Germanic Invasions and the Decline of the Roman Empire

A. Traditional equilibriumMarcomanni

Alemanni

Franks

Angles

Saxons

Goths

Visigoths

1. Roman influence

2. West Germanic Revolution, 200s-400s

1. Roman influences

2. 200-400 AD, West Germanic Revolution

B. Barbarians at the Gate

1. Huns moving across Asia

2. 370s, Germanic Visigoths turn to Romans for help

378 - Battle of Adrianople

3. Alaric (Visigoths) sacks Rome 410

“Fall of the Roman Empire?”

4. Attila and the Huns tour Italy

C. Fusion of Germanic-Roman cultures

1. From classical to medieval

From Roman to European

2. Gallo-Roman land system

3. Christianity

*Germanic tribes break down Roman political control

* Maintain some Roman institutions

* With classical humanism in decline, mysticism (Christianity) will hold sway over the West for the next 1000 years