The Empire Strikes Out: The Decline of the Roman Empire

The Empire Strikes Out: The Decline of the Roman Empire

RISE OF CHRISTIANITY:

·        Jesus spends three years preaching, is killed by Roman leaders

·        Jesus’ followers believe he is the Messiah and Savior who has risen from the dead

·        Saul (the persecutor) becomes Paul (the evangelist), spreading Jesus’ message (one true God, not Roman gods)

·        Christianity evolves from cult status to established, official structure

·        Priest, bishops, pope (Bishop of Rome)

·        Christians and Jews were monotheistic (believing in one God)

·        This conflicted with Roman beliefs

·        Persecution against both was common

·        Christianity appealed to the poor, and since there were many poor, their numbers grew

·        As it grew, even some Roman leaders embraced Christianity (a lot of their followers were becoming Christians, they came around.)

·        AD 313: Constantine has a battlefield conversion (He has a vision of a cross, and hears “In his name.” So the night before the fight he tells his soldiers to put a cross on their shields and they pray before the battle and win.)

·        He issues the Edict of Milan

-         A law that was passed that you could not persecute Christians.

·        Not only no persecution, but actual approval of Christianity, eventually making it the official religion of Rome

·        The roman empire and Christianity are now linked in power and influence

DECLINE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE:

·        AD 180: Rome has problems

-         Economic (trade became risky; taxes were too high; food supply was dropping)

-         Military (frontiers were hard to patrol; Roman generals fought for control; soldiers’ loyalty declined and mercenaries appeared)

-         Diocletian divided the empire into two:

-         Greek-speaking East (had more resources)

-         Latin-speaking West (Rome, tradition)

·        AD 324- Constantine becomes emperor over both halves of the empire

-         Moves the capital from Rome to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople), where Asia met Europe (now Turkey)

-         After his death, empire is divided again

-         This time, “barbarian invaders” (Huns, Vandals, Visigoths, Angles, Saxons, Franks) overrun the empire’s frontiers

-         That’s it for the Roman Empire (AD 476) 

Test Day

Today in west civ class we took our test on Rome. It was pretty easy and I think I did really well. I didn’t know if I was going to do well, but I think I pulled it off. Reviewing yesterday really helped and I’m glad we did review. Also, Maddie quizzed me before the test and that helped tremendously. The test was short and sweet. Nothing too confusing. I’m kind of wondering what we will be learning next. I always enjoy this class because I like the way Mr. Schick teaches. It’s easy to learn when you have a powerpoint and a teach who knows a lot about the subject. I actually found it helpful how we went over new notes yesterday because I retained more knowledge then learning stuff from a few weeks ago. Overall, I think I did good on the test and hope that what we will be learning next class is fun. 

Notes for Test

Augustus- first emperor

·         Begins the Pax Romana- a period of peace and prosperity

·         Built roads, aqueducts

·         Set up civil service to take care of roads, the grains supply

·         Dies at age 76, started at 18

Caligula:

·         In addition to being Germanicus’ son, he was Tiberius’ adopted grandson and great- nephew-putting him next in line for emperor

·         He started off well: granting bonuses to those in the military, declaring treason trails a thing of the past

·         He began to fight with the senate

·         He claimed to be a god, and had statues displayed in many places- including the Jewish temple in Jerusalem (sacrilege)

·         Other examples of cruelty and insanity: he slept with other men’s wives and bragged about it, indulged in too much spending and sex, and even tried to make his horse a consul and a priest (at least that’s what his critics said)

·         Assassinated by his own aides, AD 41 (aged 28)

Next in line: Claudius

·         Ostracized by his family because of his disabilities (limp, slight deafness, possible speech impediment- thought to be cerebral palsy or polio), he was the last adult male in his family when Caligula was killed

·         he rose to the occasion: he conquered Britain; he built roads, canals, and aqueducts; he renovated the Circus Maximus

·         Had an awful marriage to Messalina, who was quite often unfaithful to him, even plotting to seize her power for her lover Silius through a coup- so Claudius had them killed.

RELIGIOUS TROUBLES:

·         Christianity and Judaism: monotheistic

·         Romans had many gods, plus at times the emperor was viewed as a god

·         AD 66: a group of Jews called the Zealots tried to rebel, but Roman troops put them down and burned their temple (except for one wall)

·         The Western Wall today is the holiest of all Jewish shrines

·         Half a million Jews died in the rebellion

Persecution of Christians:

·         Romans were harsh toward those who would not worship the emperor

·         Especially Christians, who were viewed as followers of a new, upstart religion (cult)

·         Often used for “entertainment” purposes in the colosseum (thrown to the lions, etc.)

·         Despite the oppression, Christianity grew quickly- by AD 200, around 10 percent of the people in the Roman Empire were Christians 

Video on Nero

Today in West Civ we were told that today would be a relax class. Basically, we just sat back and watched an episode from this Rome series that used to be aired on TV. So we did exactly that. Sat back and did nothing except watch the video. It was quite interesting, too. The people who act and made the show really give you the feeling it is happening in Rome. It is so realistic. I found it really interesting and was kind of upset that class ended. The episode we watched was based on the emperor of Rome at the time, named Nero. Apparently, he was crazy and we saw glimpses of that in that nine minute video. But, the video ended with some gruesome stuff, like someone almost getting their eyeball taken out because of a plan to kill the emperor because he was making huge mistakes. Along with a man getting stabbed in the throat. That’s the only thing that bothered me when we were watching it. 

THE ROMAN EMPIRE

Octavian- Caesar’s grand nephew

Mark Antony- involved in the army

Some people in senate wanted to kill Caesar and some didn’t

Just because he had a lot of power doesn't necessarily mean he was ruining Rome.

THE ROMAN EMPIRE: after Julius Caesar dies

Octavian- AKA Caesar Augustus

Augustus- meaning honorific

·         He was nearly a god

·         He took over at 18 years old

·         Basically known as the first emperor

·         Begins the PAX ROMANA- a period of peace and prosperity

·         Built roads, aqueducts , which brought water into the cities

·         Set up civil service to take care of roads, the grain supply, even a postal service

·         Augustus dies at age 76 in A.D. 14, and passes power to… TIBERIUS

This was around the time of Jesus:

·         Jesus was a roman citizen and a practicing Jew

·         At 30, he began his ministry (A.D. 31-33), preaching to the poor (and there were lots of them) in the empire, and reaching out to outsiders

·         Statements like “My Kingdom is not of this world” made the Romans and the Jews nervous, and they began to plan his execution

·         The governor of the Roman province of Judaea, Pontius Pilate (prompted by Jewish high priests), sentences Jesus to death by crucifixion

·         Paul is instrumental in telling the world about Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and message

·         He travels far and wide: Cyprus, Anatolia, Athens, Corinth, Macedonia, Rome, Jerusalem, and maybe even Spain and Britain

·         He writes letters to many of those he spoke to- these epistles are a part of the New Testament

·         If not for the efforts of Paul, it is likely that Jesus remains an obscure preacher, instead of the central figure of the world’s largest religion 

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BBC Rome Julius Caesar

BBC Rome Julius Caesar- YouTube:

Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire

Alesia, Gaul- 52 BC

Titus Labienus: General, Caesar’s Army

Gaius Crastinus: Veteran Centurion

Mark Antony: General, Caesar’s Army

Caesar’s army defeated the opponent and was victorious in their mission.

Everyone admired Caesar for leading them into victory and doing it correctly. They stated that this was a great win for Rome, while Caesar stated that “It is just beginning.”

In this short nine minute and seven second video they show how Caesar’s army stood up for him and fought in his honor, and how he came out and fought as well. Caesar was a well-respected man due to his consideration for the people and not just himself. This is the reason why his army chants his name and praises him. He leads them to a victory and leads Rome to a victory. This film was actually cool to watch because they act it out so it looks like the real thing as in dialogue and such.  

Julius Caesar

Today in west civ we took notes and highlighted in our text book. We basically talked about ancient Rome and how people who we thought never would lead Rome into victories did. We talked about how these people dominated and made Rome stronger than before. We also discussed some definitions in the book and highlighted more important key facts that will probably be on the test when we have it. We also discussed the rest of the class time on Julius Caesar. We were talking about what a great person and leader he eventually became. We talked about how he was a great leader of his army and loyal to them. We discussed his kindness to the poor. He soon replaced the leader of Rome and did a much better job than the previous guy. He was basically adored by the citizens because of the type of person he was and how he acted and cared for others.