1. ROME &
CHRISTIANITY
600 b.c.e C.E.

2. Setting the Stage:
While the great civilization of Greece was in decline, a new civilization to the west was developing and increasing its power. The city of Rome grew from a small village to a mighty empire. It adopted and preserved much of Greek art, philosophy, religion, and drama. And it created a lasting legacy of its own.
What role did geography play in the prosperity and defensibility of Rome?

3. GEOGRAPHY OF ITALY (has much in common w/Greece)
Peninsula: boot; about 750 miles long north to south
# of islands (largest: Sicily)
Mountainous -- Apennine Mts. (run down the middle; length of the peninsula)
good farmland: 2 important fertile plains ideal for farming are along the Po River; the plain of Latium, where Rome is located, and the plain of Campania, south of Latium; extensive farmland allowed it to support a large population.
ROME became the center of a new civ.

4. ITALY Rome was favorably located 18 miles inland on the Tiber River.
It had easy access to the sea but was safe from pirates.
It was easily defended because it was built on 7 hills.
Rome also was located on a north-south route in Italy.
Because the Italian peninsula juts out into the Mediterranean, it naturally was a stopping point for east-west trade and travel.
This position helped Rome win and maintain its Mediterranean empire.

5. ROMAN BEGINNINGS
city-states
LATINS: first to settle in Italy
Indo-European peoples moved into Italy around 1000 B.C.E.
One group was the Latins in the region of Latium.
Herders and farmers who lived on Rome’s hills, they spoke Latin, an Indo-European language.

6. After 800 B.C.E., Greeks and Etruscans moved into Italy.
THE GREEKS
The Romans adopted alphabet, military systems, styles of literature, art, architecture from GREEKS; taught the Romans how to grow grapes and olives
Military power & ambitious Kings; Good at road building, pottery making, architecture, sanitation
After 800 B.C.E., Greeks and Etruscans moved into Italy.

7. THE ETRUSCANS
To the North & West of Rome:
The Etruscans had more impact on early Rome’s development.
After 650 B.C.E., they controlled most of Rome and Latium.
The ETRUSCANS turned Rome from a village into a city and gave the Romans their mode of dress-toga and short cloak.
The organization of the Roman army was modeled on the Etruscan army.

8. THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
Early Rome was ruled by kings, some o f whom were Etruscan.
In 509 B.C.E., the Romans overthrew the last Etruscan king and established a republic (a gov’t w/out a king; leader is chosen by the people)
In a republic the leader is not a king and certain citizens have the right to vote
In Rome, citizenship with voting rights was granted only to free-born male citizens.

9. THE YOUNG REPUBLIC
Enemies surrounded Rome, and so the young republic began a long a period of continuous warfare.
By 264 B.C.E., Rome had defeated
the other states of Latium,
the people the central Apennines,
the Greeks in the south,
and the last Etruscan settlements in the north.
Rome now controlled almost all of Italy.

10. ROMAN CONFEDERATION
How did the Romans gain support for their empire?
To rule, Romans devised the Roman Confederation.
Some people, especially Latins, had full Roman citizenship.
Other groups were allies who controlled their local affairs but gave soldiers to Rome.
Such people could become Roman citizens.

11. ROMAN VIRTUE
How were the Romans so successful in gaining control of the entire peninsula?
Romans believed that their success was due to three virtues: duty, courage, and discipline.
Were good diplomats
Excelled in military matters
They were practical, in law and politics, as in conquest

12. THE ROMAN STATE
Early Rome was divided into two groups, the patricians and the plebeians.
patricians: (aristocrats) large landowners; ruling class; could be elected to political office..
plebeians: smaller landowning farmers, craftspeople, and merchants.
Members of both groups were citizens.
Slaves: some slaves did very well after they were freed

13. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Consuls were part of the chief executive office, that ran the government.
two consuls
ran the government
led the army
one praetor
directed the civil law, or law applied to citizens; later another praetor was added to handle the law as it applied to non-citizens.

14. 300 patricians (served for life); made up the original Senate.
ROMAN SENATE
The Roman Senate most powerful part in the gov’t (was especially important)
300 patricians (served for life); made up the original Senate.
At first the Senate was only and advisory body, but by the 3rd Century B.C.E., it had the force of law.
In times of crisis, the republic could appoint a dictator (leader w/absolute power); were chosen by the consuls, then elected by the senate

15. THE TWELVE TABLES
Adopted in 450 B.C.E. , one of Rome’s most important contribution was its system of law.
Rome’s first code of law,
Later Romans adopted a more sophisticated system of civil law, which applied to Roman citizens only.
Law of Nations: natural law; universal law based on reason; handled legal questions that evolved between Romans and non-Romans

16. JUPITER, SUPREME GOD OF ROME, FATHER OF ALL ROMAN LAW
STANDARDS OF JUSTICE
Standards of justice were drawn from the Law of Nations applied to all people equally and used principles recognized today:
A person is innocent until proven otherwise
The accused has the right to a defense before a judge
Judges should decide cases based on evidence.
JUPITER, SUPREME GOD OF ROME, FATHER OF ALL ROMAN LAW

17. ROMAN ARMY
All citizens who owned land were required to serve in the army (10 years)
Roman legions: made up of infantry and cavalry
Fighting force that spread Rome’s power around the Mediterranean
Each Legion had a nickname and a flag (eagle – loosing it in battle considered a disgrace)
Were self-sufficient; could live off the land; did their own construction
Each soldier had its own helmet, shield, sword, dagger; their fighting skill was the key factor in Rome’s rise to greatness

18. ROMAN EXPANSION
Rome was able to expand its territories through conquest and trade.
b.c.e.: Romans conquered all of Italy, Greece, Carthage (Punic Wars), Macedonia, and Asia Minor
built a well-disciplined army
tolerant of the people they conquered

20. COLLAPSE OF THE REPUBLIC
Through the years, expansion creates problems;
gov’t officials became corrupt
gap b/w rich and poor
the very rich lived well, the poor could NOT find jobs
slaves made up 1/3 of the population of Rome
class tensions planted the seeds of the republic’s collapse.
Efforts to reform resulted in civil wars that lasted 100 years.

21. TRIUMVIRATE
From 82 to 31 B.C.E., civil wars plagued Rome; three men, Crassus, Pompey, and Julius Caesar, emerged victorious; Crassus was wealthy and the other 2 were military commanders and heroes; they combined their power to form the First Triumvirate in 60 B.C.E.
triumvirate: a government by 3 people with equal power.

22. JULIUS CAESAR
In 48 b.c.e., he comes to power
45 b.c.e.: was officially made dictator
he increased Roman power, made reforms, launched a program of public works to employ the jobless & gave land to the poor
44b.c.- he’s assassinated by the Senate
31b.c. Octavian Augustus restores the republic

23. AGE OF AUGUSTUS
FROM REPUB LIC TO EMPIRE:
Octavian gave some power to the Senate and became Rome’s first emperor: Augustus
maintained a standing army of 15K men
stabilized the frontiers of Roman Emp
reduced taxes, gave people jobs, more freedom to women
At its height: population 50 mill.

24. THE POWER OF ROME
Augustus stabilized Rome’s frontiers and conquered new areas.
German warriors wiped out 3 Roman legions.
The defeat taught Augustus that Rome’s power was limited, knowledge that devastated him.
For months he beat his head against the door and shouted, “Varus, [the defeated commander] give me back my legions!”

25. “PAX ROMANA”
At the beginning of the 2nd century, a series of 5 so-called good emperors led Rome:
They created a time of peace and prosperity called the Pax Romana (“Roman Peace”).
It lasted for almost 100 years.

26. THE “GOOD EMPERORS”
The good emperors stopped unnecessary and wrongful executions, respected the ruling class, and maintained peace. They took more power from the Senate; officials appointed and directed by the emperor ran the government.
NERVA
TRAJAN
HADRIAN
ANTONINUS PIUS
MARCUS AURELIUS

27. THE EMPERORS
Some emperors adopted capable men into their families as successors.
Some instituted programs to help the people, such as helping the poor educate their children.
They created widespread building projects such as aqueducts, bridges, roads and harbors.

28. LIFE IN ROME POPULATION:
Rome had the largest population of any city in the empire
Rome was overcrowded and noisy.
Wagons and carts were banned during the day, but their noise at night made sleeping difficult.

29. PATERFAMILIAS
The Roman family was headed by the paterfamilias, the dominant male.
The household also included his wife, sons with their wives and children, unmarried daughters and slaves.

30. ROMAN MALES
Roman boys learned reading and writing, moral principles, family values, law, and physical training.
Roman males ended their childhood at 16 with a special ceremony.
They exchanged their purple-edged togas for the white toga of manhood.
The legal minimum age for boys to marry was 14.

31. ROMAN WOMEN
Women increasingly were not required to have a male guardian.
Upper-class women could own, sell, and inherit property.
Unlike Greek wives, Roman wives were not segregated from men in the home.
Outside the home women could attend the races, the theater, and events in the amphitheater, where they had their own seating section.
Women couldn’t participate directly in politics.

32. ROMAN GIRLS:
Some upper-class girls were educated privately or in primary schools.
Like the Greeks, Roman males believed the weakness of women made it necessary for them to have male guardians.
The paterfamilias usually was the guardian.
He also arranged the marriages of his daughters.
The legal minimum age for girls to marry was 12, though most married at 14.

33. ROMAN CHILDREN
Unlike the Greeks, the Romans raised their children at home.
All upper-class Roman children learned to read.
Teachers often were Greek slaves because prospering in the empire required knowing both Greek and Latin.

34. SLAVES:
No people relied on slavery as much as the Romans.
Before the 3rd century B.C.E., even a small Roman farmer would have 1 or 2 slaves.
The wealthy had many more.
The most famous slave revolt in Italy was led by the gladiator Spartacus in 73 B.C.E.
70,000 slaves joined up with Spartacus, and they defeated several Roman armies before being defeated in 71 B.C.E.
Spartacus was killed and thousands of his followers were crucified.

35. A DANGEROUS PLACE TO LIVE:
Even though Augustus organized a police force, Rome could be dangerous.
One might be soaked by filth thrown from the windows of one of Rome’s huge apartment buildings.
The poor lived in apartment blocks called insulae.
As tall as 6 stories, these badly constructed buildings often collapsed.
Fires were a constant threat and hard to put out.

36. TENEMENTS
High rents forced entire families to live in one room.
Apartments didn’t have plumbing or central heating.
Uncomfortable conditions made many Romans spend most of their time in the streets.

37. ROMAN ACHIEVEMENT
** ideas & culture absorbed from Greece ** Roman art* & literature Epic – Aeneid by Virgil Latin Language principles of law & justice days/months of the calendar Architecture:

38. Concrete The Romans created the 1st true concrete:
limestone, gravel, and water
Builders built structures not only for sport or symbolic gesture, but they built them to meet the needs of the Roman citizens
Humans have 4 basic needs:
food
shelter
clothing
water

39. aqueducts (and the use of concrete)

43. Greatest achievements in Architecture
Roman Roads

44. The Colosseum (Gladiatorial Games)

46. Circus Maximus

47. Hadrian’s Wall

48. Pantheon

49. PUBLIC BUILDINGS
Cleanliness is next to So the Romans created bath houses and public restrooms with toilets ... Rome was adorned with unequaled public buildings, such as baths, temples, theaters and markets.

51. RISE OF CHRISTIANITY
What attitude did Rome take toward the different religions in its empire?
Rome’s attitude toward different religions in the empire:
Tolerant of religious ideas
Drove out the Jews; revolt of Jewish reformers
New religion emerges: Christianity

52. What was the basic message of Jesus?
Born in 3 b.c.e.; called himself the son of God, or messiah
Belief in ONE God: ten Commandments
He claimed he would save human kind from sin
He was arrested, tried, and executed Roman-style
After his death, followers spread his teachings
Romans began persecution of Christians

53. Why did Christianity spread despite persecution
Why did Christianity spread despite persecution? Rome’s tolerant attitude did NOT extend to Christians WHY? * Christians refused to make sacrifices to the emperor or honor the Roman Gods * some suspected them of evil practices * Christians were blamed for econ. troubles

54. CHRISTIANIY SPREADS: TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY
Edict of Milan: proclaimed official tolerance of Christianity
80 yrs later, Christianity became the official religion of Rome under Theodosius the Great
313 ad - Constantine ends the persecution (he becomes 1st Christian emperor)

55. DECLINE OF ROME
Why did the Pax Romana end?
Pax Romana Ends – 180 a.d.
next 100 yrs: wars, weak leaders, econ prob
Diocletian: a.d.: divided the empire into four units, each w/its own ruler (his political/military reforms strengthened the military & civil service but drained public funds)
New Capital: Constantinople
476 a.d. – official yr of the fall of ROME

57. Invasions of other Germanic people lack of training/discipline
THE FALL OF ROME
What led to the fall of the Roman empire?
Military Causes
Visigoths invade Rome
Invasions of other Germanic people
lack of training/discipline
Economic Causes
Heavy taxes, farmers leave land, too much slave labor, middle class disappears

58. 3. Political Causes
Gov’t too strict; people stop supporting the gov’t; many corrupt officials; divided empire becomes weak
4. Social Issues
population declines; disease, war, selfishness, laziness

59. *** Romans borrowed and adapted cultural elements freely, especially from the Greek and Hellenistic cultures. Rome created a great civilization whose art and architecture, language and literature, engineering, and law became its legacy to the world.

60. Roman Quiz #2 – Use complete sentences, your grade will be better if you consider what the question is asking.
What was the basic message of Jesus?
Why did the Roman authorities fear Jesus?
Give the 3 reasons why Christianity was able to attract so many followers.
What was the Edict of Milan?
Compare and Contrast the historical origins, central ideas, and the spread of Buddhism and Christianity.