1. EARLY CHRISTIANITY Rome conquered Judea in 63BC Roots lie in Judaism, and teachings of Jesus Early converts were Jews who did not think they were breaking away from Hebrew Law Spread easily during the Pax Romana-roads, peaceful Early Christians wished to be considered Jews since Judaism was officially recognized by the Roman government

2. After Jewish revolts of 66-70 AD Christians began to emphasize their separateness 70 AD Romans storm Jerusalem. Destroyed temple complex, millions killed Jews driven from Judea in Diaspora.

3. GROWTH Unapproved religion Attracted many followers The poor found the idea of equality appealing

4. PERSECUTION Great persecutions of Christians began in 3 rd century AD Accused Christians of cannibalism Blamed for all the evils that afflicted Rome

5. REVERSAL OF FORTUNE Persecutions created martyrs who inspired others Constantine I 313 AD ended persecutions with Edict of Milan, 379AD official religion Constantine

6. BECOMES OFFICIAL RELIGION Theodosius- 379 AD Christianity official religion of Rome Christians immediately begin to persecute/convert pagans Destroyed temples or converted them into churches Church firmed up its organization/doctrine POPE Bishops Priests

7. Holy Writings-Beliefs New Testament (27) Jesus son of G-d Heaven or Hell Holy Days- Lent, Easter, Christmas Issue of Saints

8. Diocletian divided the empire in half, each ruled by a co-emperor, with the eastern emperor in Constantinople The two halves would gradually drift apart and become, by 395, basically independent political entities

9. Dividing the Empire into two independent halves left the Western half very weak and vulnerable—just as the Germans were renewing their attacks on the frontier again

11. The Fall of Rome: underlying causes Dividing Rome into 2 Empires Civil War-disrupted trade Fewer professional soldiers, more mercenaries, less loyal to Rome Lousy emperors who did not meet the basic needs of Romans Poor harvests and inflation Tribal invasions from Europe (Huns vs. Germanic groups)

12. Fall of Rome: immediate cause Rhine River freezes and Germanic tribes invade Roman territory Rome gets sacked by Germanic tribes Last Roman emperor was 14 years old In 476 AD Odoacer ze German took over Rome/Italy

14. THE GERMANS Primarily raised sheep and cattle Favorite activity was fighting and raids on neighbors

15. KINSHIP No formal political organization –Tied together by bonds of personal loyalty Kinship –Based on clans (large group who were blood relations) –Group of clans would join together to form a tribe –Major function was mutual protection If a person was killed or injured, his kin were expected to get vengeance from the offender or from the offender’s kin group.

16. THE HUNS Nomadic people from Gobi Desert Expert horsemen Tried to invade China around 370 AD and were defeated Then turned westward and ultimately entered northern Europe Huns forced huge German migration

17. The Western Roman Empire will fall in 476 The Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine!) will survive another 1,000 years…until 1444

18. FEUDALIZATION Cities declined further and power of large rural landowners and church increased In the West, cities declined rapidly and urban dwellers fled into the countryside Gradually fell under the control of large landowners In exchange for oaths of loyalty and annual rents, these immigrants were granted small plots of land and military protection of landlord Aristocrats and peasants were constructing a network of independent cells that would survive the collapse of the Western Empire and serve as foundation for the Middle Ages

19. CHURCH AND STATE In the West, church leaders adopted an independent attitude towards the state –What remained of towns and cities looked to Church, not the corrupt state. for protection and justice Bishop of Rome, Leo I, convinced Attila not to invade Italy –Emperor did nothing but hide Atilla the Hun

20. SHIFT OF LOYALTY Because of the leadership of the Church, German barbarians tended to be generally respectful towards church leaders Many Roman citizens had come to view the state as a parasitical vampire –Robbing and persecuting them and giving absolutely nothing in return –In their eyes, local church leaders and large landowners were the only people they could trust for protection and justice

21. NEW BONDS I Union of Christians into a unified, increasingly centralized church Christians still superstitious and fairly ignorant bunch –But the Church still produced outstanding individuals as Gregory the Great Bishop of Rome Skillful Latin writer and fully capable intellectual who preserved much of Roman culture Gregory the Great

22. NEW BONDS II The organization of the countryside into self-sufficient agricultural units –Controlled and protected by powerful rural aristocrats who remained reasonable well-educated

23. NEW BONDS III Many German leaders created formal kingdoms –Made use of Roman law and administrative structures –With the exception of Swabians and Vandals, most German invaders sought to conserve rather than totally destroy Roman society Especially true in Gaul and Italy –Germans employed Roman aristocrats as administrators in these regions and therefore absorbed and preserved much of the administrative and legal heritage of Rome Clovis, ruler of the Kingdom of the Franks

24. MIDDLE AGES BEGIN in 500s Dark Ages? Let’s watch a documentary…