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THE ROMAN EMPIRE
URBAN PLANNING
Rome is an urban
based empire:
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Organized around large
cities
Upper classes lived in
elegant town homes and
country villas
Poor lived in slums the
low-lying parts of the city
Provincial towns imitated
Roman model
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
• Cities are developed to
serve interests of elite:
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Aristocracy dominated town and
city meetings
Wealthy helped build amenities
• Baths
• Theaters
• Gardens
• Temples
• Public Works
• Entertainment venues
Controlled rural areas as absentee
landlords (hired foremen)
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
COMMERICIAL and CULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT
• Romanization of the
Mediterranean occurs via
trade networks:
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Latin language, Roman clothing,
and the Roman lifestyle were
adopted by local people
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Roman emperors gradually
extended Roman citizenship to all
free, male, adult inhabitants of the
empire
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY
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Jesus lived in a society marked by
resentment against Roman rule
and inspired in the belief that a
Messiah would arise to liberate
the Jews and drive the Romans
out.
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When Jesus sought to reform
Jewish religious practices, the
Jewish authorities in Jerusalem
turned him over to the Roman
governor who then had him
executed by crucifixion.
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY
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After the execution, Jesus’
followers, the Apostles,
continued to spread his
teachings; they also spread
their belief that Jesus had
been resurrected. At this
point, the target of their
conversion efforts was their
fellow Jews.
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY
Conversion efforts changed
from Jews to non-Jews in the
40s–70s C.E.:
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First, Paul of Tarsus, an Anatolian Jew,
discovered that non-Jews (gentiles)
were much more receptive to the
teachings of Jesus than Jews were.
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Second, a Jewish revolt in Judaea (66
C.E.) and the subsequent Roman
reconquest destroyed much of the
original Jewish Christian community in
Jerusalem
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY
Christianity grew
slowly but steadily,
developing a hierarchy
of priests and bishops
and resisting the
persecution of Roman
officials. By the late
third century,
Christians were a
sizeable minority in
the Roman Empire.
SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY
• Reasons for fast spread of Christianity
• 1) Offers salvation to the poor, and eternal life. Suffer in this life,
but live according to the golden rule and be rewarded. It gives a
purpose and meaning to life.
• 2) It seems familiar, similar to other religions, monotheistic, offers
immortality as the result of savior’s sacrifice.
• 3) Fills a need to belong, Christians form communities where they
can express love by helping one another. The huge empire could
never make them feel as if they belonged to a community.
• 4) Appeals to everyone, eternal life is promised regardless of class,
(rich, poor) gender (men & women) slaves , race. The idea that
everyone is created equal and in God’s image scares the Romans to
further persecute, especially Diocletian in the third century.
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
TECHNOLOGY AND TRANSFORMATIONS
The Romans were
expert military and
civil engineers.
Among their
accomplishments
were:
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Bridge-building
Siege weapons
Elevated and underground
aqueducts
The use of arches and domes
The invention of concrete
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
TECHNOLOGY AND TRANSFORMATIONS
Following Augustus’ death:
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The army was organized primarily
for defense – forts along The
Rhine/Danube frontier, long walls
on the frontiers of North Africa
and Britain.
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The state system works well until
third-century crisis:
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Frequent change of rulers
Raids by German tribesmen
Rise of regional power when Rome
seemed unable to guarantee security.
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
TECHNOLOGY AND TRANSFORMATIONS
ECONOMY WAS
UNDERMINED BY:
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The high cost of defense
Debasement of the currency
and consequent inflation
A disruption of trade
Reversion to a barter economy
Disappearance of the municipal
aristocracy of the provincial
cities
Movement of population out of
the cities and back into the
rural areas.
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
TECHNOLOGY AND TRANSFORMATIONS
Diocletian (r.
284–305
C.E.) Saved the
Roman state by
instituting a series
of reforms that
included:
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Price controls
Regulations that required certain
people to stay in their professions; to
train a son to succeed them.
Side effects:
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Flourishing black market
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Growing feeling of resentment against
the government
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
TECHNOLOGY AND TRANSFORMATIONS
Constantine (r. 306–337
C.E.)
> Patronized the Christian
church and converted to
Christianity, contributing to
the rise of Christianity in the
empire.
> Transferred the capital of the
empire from Rome to the
eastern city of Byzantium,
which he renamed
Constantinople.
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Issues the Edict of Milan which
officially tolerates Christians in the
Empire.
FALL OF ROME
• After Constantine's move the Western Roman
Empire starts to fall apart The Huns( from Asia)
move east from Asia and force the Visigoths
(Germanic) south and they SACK the city of
Rome in 410 C.E.
• Then in 455 the Vandals SACK the city again,
Vandals are ruthless and feared , hence the
modern word.
• In 476 the Germanic head of the army
overthrows Romulus Augustulus and the Roman
empire falls, but East, Byzantine Empire lives on.
POSSIBLE REASONS FOR THE
FALL OF ROME
• 1) Christianity weakened Rome’s military –
killing is Bad!
• 2) Rome’s values declined as empire spread and
non-Romans started taking positions of power.
• 3) Lead poisoning starts making people cuckoo,
leading to poor decision making.
• 4) Slavery held the Romans back from
advancing their technologies
• 5) Rome’s politics didn’t work, Republic,
Empire, and Dictatorship.