Download Chapter 5, Section 4 The Development of Christianity

Chapter 5, Section 4
The Development of Christianity
How did Christianity change the Roman Empire?
• Rome had been a polytheistic society with a variety of gods. As
they conquered new peoples they sometimes added those gods to
the ones they worshipped.
• Beginning with Augustus, emperors were often officially made gods
by the Senate.
• Romans believed their success and their empire were due to favor
from the gods
• In 313 Constantine issued the Edict of Milan which proclaimed
official tolerance of Christianity. Constantine was baptized at the
end of his life becoming the first Christian emperor.
• During the reign of Theodosius the Great the Romans adopted
Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire.
Belief System - Judaism
•Geographic Origin – Israel
•Founder – Abraham (Moses)
•Texts – Torah, Talmud
•Place of Worship – Synagogue
•Major Beliefs:
•Monotheistic – God
•10 Commandments
Most Jews opposed Roman rule, but they were not
united which made victory difficult when the Jewish
revolt began.
• Priestly Sadducees favored cooperation with Rome.
• Scholarly Pharisees believed that close observance of religious law
would protect them from Roman influence.
• The Essenes lived apart from society, they shared goods in
common and waited for God to save Israel from oppression.
• The Zealots called for the violent overthrow of Roman rule
• In AD 66 a Jewish revolt was begun, but it was crushed by the
Romans four years later and the Jewish temple in Jerusalem was
destroyed.
Why was Christianity able to attract and maintain so
many followers?
• The Roman state religion was impersonal and existed for the good of
Rome while Christianity was personal, offered salvation and eternal life.
• Christianity offered salvation without a painful or expensive initiation like
some other religions of the time.
• Jesus had been a human figure who was easy to relate to.
• Christianity offered communities of people who expressed love by
helping one another and, offering assistance to the poor and the sick.
• Christianity did not call for revolution, but stressed a sense of spiritual
equality for all people which was a revolutionary idea at that time.
Belief System - Christianity
• Geographic Origin – Israel
• Founder – Jesus Christ
• Texts – The Bible: Old and New Testament
• Place of Worship – Church
• Major Beliefs:
• Monotheistic – God (Holy Trinity)
• Jesus – the Messiah
• 10 Commandments
• 7 Sacraments including: Baptism, Confirmation,
Matrimony
Chapter 5, Section 5 - Decline and Fall
Events that led to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire
Decline
Marcus Aurelius the last of the five good
emperors dies
Fall
Germanic groups move in
Military rule: from 235 – 284 there were 22 Visigoths defeat Rome in 378 AD, sack Rome
emperors – most died violently
in 410
Invasions: In the East, Sassanid Persians
invaded - In the West, Germanic tribes
invaded the Balkans, Gaul & Spain
Vandals from southern Spain and Africa
poured into Italy and sacked Rome in 455 AD
Near economic collapse: plague – created
a labor shortage, decline in trade and small
industry, crops destroyed by invaders or
defending Roman armies
In 476, the western emperor, Romulus
Augustulus was deposed by the Germanic
head of the army. The western empire fell,
but the eastern empire continued as the
Byzantine Empire
Diocletian
284 – 305 AD
Constantine
306 – 337 AD
Divided the empire into four
parts
Expanded policies of
Diocletian
Strengthened bureaucracies
Became sole ruler
New economic and social
policies
Built new capital at
Byzantium Later named
Constantinople
Today known as Istanbul,
Turkey
Enlarged army