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CHAPTER 5
ANCIENT ROME
&
THE RISE OF
CHRISTIANITY
37
* TWO GEOGRAPHIC FACTORS PLAYED A
MAJOR ROLE IN THE GROWTH OF ROME
1. Central location
2. Lack of geographic barrier
THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
 In 509 B.C. the Romans
drove out their Etruscan king
 *Set up a republic - gov’t by
the people with elected
leader
 Patrician (ruling/wealthy
class) Senate had 300
members
 Senate elected 2 Consuls as
the executive branch.
 In event of war a dictator was
elected and granted power for
six months
THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
 In 450 BC Plebeians
(merchants & farmers)
demanded more power…
 Eventually they could elect their own officials
called Tribunes.
 Also known as the Plebeian tribunate
 *Had the power of veto (Latin for "I forbid") over
elections & laws
THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
*Law of 12 Tables - earliest code of Roman Law.
Examples include:

A dreadfully deformed child shall be quickly killed.

Females should remain in guardianship even when
they have attained their majority.

A man might gather up fruit that was falling down
onto another man's farm.

If one is slain while committing theft by night, he is
rightly slain.
 Marriages should not take place between plebeians
& patricians.
ROME CONQUERS
THE MEDITERRANEAN
 Punic Wars
 Two long & bloody wars fought
between Rome & Carthage over
the years 264 BC - 146 BC
 *General Hannibal led
Carthage
 Over the Swiss Alps w/
elephants
 Fought Rome for 15 years
before being called back to
Carthage
 Took poison before capture
 Carthage destroyed and
survivors sold in slavery
ROME CONQUERS
THE MEDITERRANEAN
 By 133 B.C. Roman territory extended from
Spain to Egypt
 *Called the Mediterranean…
Mare Nostrum – Latin for “Our Sea”
SUMMARY
Summarize your notes using at
least four sentences
FROM REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE
* Growing inequality & unrest:
New class of wealthy Romans
who bought huge estates and
used slaves to work them
This forced small farmers into
bankruptcy
Angry mobs rioted
A Roman could tell how
important or wealthy a
person was from their toga
JULIUS CAESAR
100 - 44 BC
 Forced the Senate to make him
dictator
 *Made many reforms in Rome:
 Public works
 Gave land to the poor
 Gave Roman citizenship
more people
 Introduced the Julian
calendar (this is what we use
today…think July for Julian)
*Ides of March 15th in 44 BC
Caesar was stabbed to death
on the steps of the Senate. After
this, Rome fell into civil war. Again.
THE END OF THE REPUBLIC
Marcus Antonius
83-31 BC
Caesar’s chief
general
Cleopatra
69-30 BC
The Last
Pharaoh
Gaius Octavius
63 BC - 14 CE
Caesar’s
grandnephew
AUGUSTUS CAESAR
“EXALTED ONE”
*Pax Romana = Roman Peace
* Augustus Contributions
• Created a stable gov’t.
• Well trained civil service.
• Gov’t jobs went to those with
talent .
• Allowed cities and provinces
a large measure of autocracyself-government
PAX ROMANA OPENED UP TRADE
*Extended Roman influence and culture
along the growing silk road trade network
SUMMARY
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least four sentences
ART & ARCHITECTURE
*HELLENISTIC CIVILIZATION A BLEND OF GREEK & ROMAN CULTURE
Aqueducts and Roads
Many of them still used after Rome fell and some even today
*THE COLISEUM
Tour
Over 160 feet high with 80 entrances, the Coliseum could hold upwards of 50,000
spectators. Public events such as gladiator fights, mock naval battles and wild animal
hunts were held at the Coliseum. During the staged fights as many as 10,000 people
were killed. Fighters were slaves, prisoners or volunteers. Spectators saw persecuted
Christians killed by lions. After 404 AD gladiatorial battles were no longer held, but
animals such as lions, elephants, snakes and panthers continued to be massacred in
the name of sport until the 6th century.
*CIRCUS MAXIMUS
Racing Chariot
Third of a mile long and 150 yards wide, the
Circus Maximus allegedly held 250,000 people.
Military Chariot
SCIENCE
*Ptolemy proposed
earth was the center
of universe which
lasted for 1400 years
*It was Galen who first introduced
the notion of experimentation to
medicine.
On the Natural Faculties remained
the authority on medicine until the
sixteenth century
ROME’S GREATEST LEGACY…
“THE RULE OF LAW”
An idea that continues to shape western civilization today…
*Common principles
•
Equal before the law
•
Presumed innocent
•
Face accuser and defend
•
Guilt through evidence
•
Fair decisions
SUMMARY
Summarize your notes using at
least four sentences
THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY
 Romans conquered
Palestine in 63 BC
 *Jews were tolerated
and excused from
worshiping Roman gods
 Jews absorbed Greek
influence creating rifts in
the religion
JESUS…THE FOUNDER OF
CHRISTIANITY
 Called himself the Son of God
 Said his mission was to bring
spiritual salvation and eternal
life to anyone who would
believe in him.
 Our history comes from the
Gospels.
 Written by four of his followers
WAS JESUS DANGEROUS?
 *Romans considered Jesus a
revolutionary.
 *Jewish priests considered Jesus
dangerous to their leadership.
 They became jealous of the huge
crowds that followed him &
believed in him.
 So, they decided to get rid of him
and have him killed.
 He was tried and crucified
SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY
 Jesus told his disciples to
spread his word.
 Those who spread his
message are know as
Apostles.
 Greek ideas from
Plato and the Stoics
moderated the
Christian church
 Paul (St. Paul) was from Asia
which many Romans
Minor.
liked
 Yet Christians were
persecuted and became
Martyrs.
CHRISTIANITY
 Christianity becomes the
official religion of the
Roman Empire
 *When the empire falls
(as ALL empires do)…
Theodosius the Great
346-395
 The Church preserved,
adapted and spread
Greco-Roman civilization
REFORMING EMPERORS TRIED TO
REVERSE THE DECLINE
*Diocletian – 284 BC
Divided the empire
into two parts - East
& West
Fixed prices
*Constantine – 312 BC
 Granted toleration to
Christians
 Built a new capital in
Constantinople
*CAUSES FOR ROME’S DOWNFALL
 Military causes
 German invasions
 Lack of discipline
among the empire’s
soldiers
 Political causes
 Authoritarian &corrupt
government
 Division w/in the empire
 Economic causes
 Heavy taxation
 Diminishing wealth
 Reliance on slave labor
 Population decline
 Social causes
 A decline in moral
values
 A devotion to luxury and
self-interest among the
upper classes
 A loss of self-reliance
among the masses
FOREIGN INVASIONS
*Huns
 Came from Asia
 Think of Atila the Hun
 Migrated into Europe
through Germany.
*Germans
 Huns pushed the
Germans ( known as
Visigoths) into Roman
territory
 By 410 the Visigoth
General Alaric plundered
Rome
*Foreign invasions &
internal problems brought
the “fall” of Rome
SUMMARY
Summarize your notes using at
least four sentences
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