1. WHI.06, pt. 2: The Rise of Christianity and the Fall of Rome

2. Objectives p. 105 Objective: The student will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Rome from about 700 B.C. to 500 A.D. in terms of its impact on Western civilization by – a)describing the origin, beliefs, traditions, customs, and spread of Christianity; b)explaining the development and significance of the Church in the late Roman Empire; c)listing contributions in art and architecture, technology and science, medicine, literature and history, language, religious institutions, and law; d)citing the reasons for the decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire.

3. Essential Understandings p. 106 1)The followers of Jesus spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, bringing it into conflict with 2)Roman polytheism and eventually changing Western civilization. 3)As the Roman Empire declined in the West, the Church in Rome grew in importance, membership, and influence. 4)Conquests and trade spread Roman cultural and technological achievements throughout the Empire. 5)Western civilization was influenced by the cultural achievements of Rome Over a 300-year period, the western part of the Roman Empire steadily declined because of internal and external problems.

4. Essential Questions p. 106 1)How did Christianity become established within the Roman Empire? 2)What were the essential beliefs of the early Christian faith? 3)How and why did Christianity spread? 4)What was the impact of the early Church in the late Roman Empire? 5)How did Roman achievements influence Western civilization? 6)Why did the Western Roman Empire decline?

5. Why do I need to know this? p. 106 1)As the world ’ s most widespread religion, Christianity guides the lives of billions today. 2)The decline and fall of great civilizations is a repeating pattern in world history. 3)Evidence of Roman culture is found throughout Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa.

6. From Republic to Empire p. 108 Republic Only BothEmpire Only Balanced government powerful emperor Popular representation senate long-distance trade strong military Christianity expanding territory polytheistic Republic Only Both Empire Only

7. Jesus p. 107-109

8. The Jews p. 107 1.zealots – wanted to rid their homeland of the Romans 2.a group who believed in a messiah – deliverer chosen by God

9. Jesus’ Early Life p. 107 Jewish 1.born in Bethlehem sometime around 6 to 4 B.C. 2.raised in the village of Nazareth as a Jew 3.was baptized by John the Baptist and worked as a carpenter

10. Traditional Jesus More Accurate Jesus

11. Jesus’ Message p. 107 Teachings 1.Monotheism 2.principles of the Ten Commandments 3.importance of love for God, neighbors, friends, enemies, and themselves (love for all) 4.eternal kingdom after death for people who repented their sins

12. Jesus’ Message p. 107 The Disciples 1.Disciples – Jesus’ 12 most faithful pupils – they become the apostles a.they are the main source of Jesus’ life 2.Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament, reveal life and teachings of Jesus

13. Jesus’ Death p. 107 His Death 1.growing popularity concerned Roman and Jewish leaders 2.many proclaimed he was the Messiah a.Jewish leaders denied he was the messiah 3.the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate thought Jesus challenged the authority of the Romans; conflicted with the polytheistic beliefs of the Roman Empire 4.sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion in A.D. 33 5.after his death, Jesus was placed in a tomb and according to the Gospels, three days later Jesus’ body was gone

14. Pontius Pilate sentences Jesus

16. Crucifixion

17. Jesus’ Death p. 109 The Christ 1.began appearing to his followers 2.came to be referred to as Jesus Christ (from the Greek word christos which means messiah) 3.the apostles, led by Peter, began spreading the teachings of Jesus

18. Christianity p. 101-103

19. Early Spreading p. 109 1.first followers were Jewish 2.Christianity was first seen as a sect of Judaism

20. Paul’s Mission p. 109 1.helped spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire 2.wrote influential letters called the Epistles 3.Stressed Jesus was the son of God who died for people’s sins 4.said all who converted would be saved – which enabled Christianity to become more than just a local religion 5.roads, Greek and Latin languages helped spread Christianity more quickly

21. Jewish Rebellion p. 109 1.A.D. 66, a band of Zealots rebelled against Rome 2.it was squashed by A.D. 73, a half million Jews were killed 3.A.D. 132 the Jews again rebelled against Rome 4.again squashed with another half million Jews killed 5.the Jewish people were kicked out of their homeland for 1,800 years in the Diaspora

22. The Diaspora

23. Persecution of the Christians p. 109 1.refused to worship Roman gods 2.Nero blamed the Christians for a fire that nearly destroyed Rome and began persecuting them 3.Christians were crucified, burned alive, or killed by wild animals in arenas 4.martyr – person who is willing to sacrifice their life for the sake of a belief or cause 5.Christianity spread despite persecutions

24. Nero

25. Christian Persecution

27. Appeal of Christianity p. 111 1.embraced all people 2.gave hope to the powerless 3.appealed to those who were repelled by the extravagances of imperial Rome 4.offered a personal relationship with a loving God 5.promised eternal life after death

28. Early Christian Church p. 111 1.gained a structure, a hierarchy 2.A bishop (p. 156) was a priest who supervised several local churches 3.Peter ( became the first bishop of Rome 4.later bishops of Rome will call Peter the first pope – the father or head of the Christian Church 5.whoever was bishop of Rome was the head of the Christian Church

29. Constantine Accepts Christianity p. 111 1.A.D. 312, the emperor Constantine saw cross of light the night before a battle 2.ordered his soldiers to paint a cross on their shields 3.Constantine was victorious and issued the Edict of Milan in 313 a.declared Christianity one of the official religions of the Roman Empire 4.everyone was allowed to worship as they pleased 5.the emperor Theodosius made it the only official religion of the Roman Empire

30. Discord and Harmony p. 111 1.disagreements about beliefs developed 2.heresy – any belief that appeared to contradict the basic teachings of Christianity 3.official standard of belief became the New Testament a.contains the four Gospels, the Epistles of Paul and other documents

31. Heresy

32. The Legacy of the Greco- Roman Civilization p. 113

33. Roman Fine Arts p. 113 1.Greco-Roman culture – blending of Greek, Hellenistic and Roman culture 2.Roman art was practical, intended for public education 3.most Roman villas had at least one mosaic – picture made by setting small pieces of stone, glass or tile on a surface

34. Mosaic

35. Learning and Literature p. 113 1.influenced heavily by the Greek philosophy of Stoicism 2.encourage virtue, duty, moderation and endurance 3.Virgil – wrote the Aeneid, the epic of the legendary Aeneas

36. Roman Achievements p. 113

37. Latin, the Language of Rome p. 105 1.official language of the Roman Catholic Church into the 1900s 2.Latin influenced the development of French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Romanian 3.more than half the words in English are based in Latin

38. Romance Languages

39. Languages in Europe

40. Architecture, Engineering, and Technology p. 113 1.aqueducts – structures that brought water into cities and towns 2.the U.S. Capitol includes Roman arches and domes 3.roads that connected the empire are still used today 4.the Colosseum has influenced many of the larger stadiums of today 5.the Roman Forums influence town halls today

41. Aqueduct

42. U.S. Capitol

43. System of Law p. 113 1.most lasting and widespread contribution 2.all persons had the right to equal treatment under the law (14 th amendment) 3.a person is innocent until proven guilty (used in the U.S.)

44. The Decline of the Roman Empire p. 113

45. Political p. 115 Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus 1.the decline of Rome began at the end of the reign of Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161- 180), the last of the five good emperors 2.there were 79 emperors from 180-280, most killed off by their own army 3.political office was no longer prestigious, it was a burden

46. Economic Decline p. 115 1.hostile tribes outside the boundaries of the empire disrupted trade 2.wars were frequent and costly 3.the wealthy spent the Roman treasury on luxury goods from east Asia 4.inflation – drop in the value of money when prices keep rising 5.farmland had been destroyed by warfare a.less food to feed everyone

47. Military Upheaval p. 115 1.Germanic tribes kept attacking from the north 2.Persia threatened Roman territory in Syria and Anatolia 3.soldiers gave their loyalty to their commanders who competed for the throne 4.the Roman government hired mercenaries, paid soldiers, to defend it

48. Moral p. 115 1.the people lost faith in their leaders and in the family

49. Attempted Reforms to Save the Empire p. 115-117

50. Emperor Diocletian p. 115 1.governed as an absolute ruler and severely limited personal freedoms 2.attempted to control inflation by setting fixed prices for goods 3.required farmers to never leave their land and for people to stay in their jobs forever 4.most important reform – believed the empire was too large for one person to rule, so hesplit the empire in two and made General Maximian emperor of the West and he remained emperor of the East

51. Diocletian’s Rome

52. Emperor Constantine p. 109 1.took control of the western part in A.D.312 and the eastern part in 324 – uniting the empire as one again 2.moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople a.strategically located for trade and defense purposes on a crossroads between the West and East

53. Emperor Theodosius I p. 117 1.declared that when he died, the empire should be divided into two separate empires again 2.eastern empire will become known as the Byzantine Empire 3.western part will remain known as the Roman Empire

54. Barbarian Invasions p.117

55. The Huns p. 117 1.fierce nomad warrior group from Mongolia 2.People fled before them – usually into the Roman Empire 3.Led by Attila a.united all the Hun tribes b.directly attacked the Byzantine and Roman Empires c.Visigoths and Romans joined forces to fight them 4.after Attila’s death in 453, the Huns were no longer a threat

56. Attila’s Empire

57. The Germanic Tribes p. 117 1.Franks, Burgundians, and Vandals first invaded Rome to avoid the Huns 2.the Franks and Goths divided Gaul between them 3.The Visigoths, led by their king Alaric, sacked Rome 4.the Vandals sacked and burned Rome in 455 5.in the year 476, the German soldier Odoacer invaded Rome and declared himself king a.accepted as the year the Roman Empire fell

58. Alaric

59. Military Invasions of Roman Empire