Download Rome and the Rise of Christianity

Rome and the Rise of
Christianity
From Republic to Empire
Growing Inequality and Unrest
2nd Century B.C.
Senate governed Rome
Mostly landed aristocracy
Controlled by a small group of wealth, powerful
families
Growing Inequality and Unrest
2nd Century B.C.
Small farmers
Traditionally backbone of army – their loyalty was
to the state
Now lost land to large, wealthy landowners
Formed a new urban class of landless poor
Rome suffered growing economic & social unrest
Growing Inequality and Unrest
Tiberius & Gaius Gracchus
Reform minded aristocrats
Believed the fall of the small farmer was the
problem
Called for laws giving land back to the
landless poor
133 B.C. a group of senators killed Tiberius
Gaius killed later
Unrest continued
Growing Inequality and Unrest
Tiberius & Gaius Gracchus
Growing Inequality and Unrest
General Sulla
Next general to wield great political power
Commander of Asia Minor
The Council for the Plebs had tried to give
Marius the command
Growing Inequality and Unrest
General Sulla
Civil War broke out
Sulla won by seizing Rome in 82 B.C.
Tried to restore a traditional Roman Republic
Restored power to the Senate
Took away power from the popular assemblies
Sulla’s example of seizing power would be
repeated
Discussion Question
History often shows a conflict between rural and
urban parts of a society. Many people have
argued that society is better or worse as rural or
urban. In early American history, for example, and
in line with the Gracchus bros., Thomas Jefferson
argued that society and the economy of the U.S.
should be based on small farming. He believed
that farming led to certain healthy character traits
and that urban life led to vice. Are there virtues
and vices that tend to apply to rural life and others
to urban life? What are they?
Collapse of the Republic
Civil Wars raged from 82 – 31 B.C.
First Triumvirate – 60 B.C.
Crassus wealthy
Julius Caesar & Pompey military commanders
& heroes
Each had a military command
Collapse of the Republic
First Triumvirate – 60 B.C.
Collapse of the Republic
Crassus killed
Senate decided rule by Pompey would be best
Senate ordered Julius Caesar to give up his
command
He refused
Crossed the Rubicon River and entered Italy
illegally
Collapse of the Republic
Crossed the Rubicon River and entered Italy
illegally
Collapse of the Republic
Caesar defeated Pompey & became dictator
in 45 B.C.
Gave land to the poor
Expanded the Senate to 900 members
Filled the Senate with his supporters
Assassinated by a group of leading senators
in 44 B.C.
Collapse of the Republic
2nd Triumvirate
Collapse of the Republic
2nd Triumvirate
Octavian & Antony divided the Roman world
between them
Octavian took the west
Antony took the east
Came into conflict
Collapse of the Republic
2nd Triumvirate
Collapse of the Republic
Antony & Cleopatra
Antony allied with Egypt
Fell in love with Cleopatra VII
Octavian defeated them at the Battle of Actium
in 31 B.C.
Antony & Cleopatra fled to Egypt and
committed suicide one year later
End of Roman Republic and the civil wars
Discussion Question
Commenting of Rome’s civil strive, the 1st
century B.C. Roman historian Sallust states
the lust for money (greed) and the lust for
power (extreme ambition) were the roots of
all evils. Is Sallust correct about the effects of
greed and extreme ambition?
The Age of Augustus
Octavian proclaimed “the restoration of the
Republic” in 27 B.C.
Gave only some power to the Senate
Became Rome’s 1st emperor
Awarded title of Augustus – “the revered one”
The Age of Augustus
Augustus
Popular
Army was his chief source of power
Senate gave him title of Imperator –
commander in chief
The Age of Augustus
Augustus’ army
28 legions of 5,000 troops each
Only citizens could be in the legions
Non-citizens could serve in auxiliary forces –
130,000
Established praetorian guard
9,000 men
Protect the emperor
The Age of Augustus
Stabilized Rome’s frontier & conquered new
areas
German warriors wiped out 3 Roman legions
Defeat taught Augustus that Rome’s power
was limited
Discussion Question
Why did Augustus feel the need to establish a
special, very large guard to protect the
emperor?
The Early Empire
A.D. 14 to 180
After Augustus, the emperor was allowed to
pick his successor from his family – adopted
or natural
1st four emperors after Augustus were from
his family: Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and
Nero
The emperor became more powerful & more
corrupt
The Early Empire
Good Emperors 2nd Century A.D.
Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, &
Marcus Aurelius
Created a time of peace & posterity known as
Pax Romana
Stopped arbitrary executions, respected the
ruling class, & maintained peace
The Early Empire
Took more power from the Senate
Appointed & directed officials to run the
government
Adopted capable men into their families as
their successors
Instituted programs to educate the poor
Oversaw wide-spread building projects –
aqueducts, bridges, roads, & harbors
The Early Empire
Expansion of empire
Under Trajan expanded to Dacia (Romania),
Mesopotamia, and the Sinai Peninsula
Hadrian realized the empire was getting too
large to rule
Withdrew from Mesopotamia
Strengthen fortification between the Rhine &
Danube Rivers
Built Hadrian’s Wall in northern Britain to keep out
the Picts and the Scots
The Early Empire
Expansion of empire
Hadrian’s Wall in northern Britain built to keep out
the Picts and the Scots
The Early Empire
2nd Century Empire
3.5 million square miles
50 million people
Imperial government helped unify by
acknowledging local customs & granting
Roman citizenship
In A.D. 212 the emperor Caracalla gave
Roman citizenship to all free people in the
empire
The Early Empire
The Early Empire
Greco-Roman civilization
Cities important to spread of Roman culture,
Roman law, & the Latin language in the
western part of the empire
Greek was used in the east
Mixture resulted in the Greco-Roman
The Early Empire
Early Empire prosperous
Internal peace helped trade grow
Trade went beyond frontiers – including silk
from China
Grain imported to feed the poor
Luxury items for the wealthy
The Early Empire
Farming remained basis of Rome’s prosperity
& work of most of the people
Latifundia – landed estates – dominated
farming
Slave labor raised cattle & sheep on estates
Many small peasant farms
Small farmers depended on huge estates
The Early Empire
Farming remained basis of Rome’s prosperity
& work of most of the people
Huge gap between rich & poor
Wealthy lived extravagant lives
1000s of unemployed depended on the
emperor’s handouts of grain to survive
Discussion Question
Lord Acton of Britain (1834-1902) wrote,
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power
corrupts absolutely.” The first emperors of
the Early Empire confirm this view of absolute
power. Is the view true? If so, why? If not,
why not/