Monday - Continuted PowerPoint
Roman Life
- Discipline, strength, and loyalty were stressed in Rome
- People had gravitas that had these characteristics
- 90% of people farmed throughout the empire
- The rich lived by conspicuous consumption-next slide
- Most people lived in poverty
- High unemployment
- Lived in cramped tenements-fires common
- Gov’t provided grain every day
- Struggled for survival
- Teenage Life in Rome Video of Upper Middle Class Boy
- Girls Life in Rome Video
Tuesday - Continued PowerPoint
- Slavery was a significant part of Roman life and economy
- The Romans had more slaves than any previous civilization-1/3 of the population
- Most slaves were conquered peoples and included men, women, and children
- Children born to slaves also became slaves
- Slaves could be bought and sold as they were seen as property
- They could be punished, rewarded, set free, or put to death
- Some strong slaves became gladiators
Gladiator Contests-Long Video
- Gov’t put on to appease the poor
- Provided free of charge during holidays(150/ year by 250 AD)
- Fought in the Colosseum in Rome(pic next slide)
- Animal vs animal, man vs animal, man vs man
Roman Religion
- Government and religion were linked
- Many of the gods came from some aspect of the Greek gods
- Among the most important Roman gods and goddesses were:
- Jupiter, father of the gods(Zeus)
- Juno, Jupiter’s wife, who watched over women(Hera)
- Minerva, goddess of wisdom and arts and crafts(Athena)
- Neptune, god of the sea(Poseidon)
- Venus, goddess of love(Aphrodite)
- Worship of the emperor also became part of the official religion of Rome
Wednesday- DId out Projects
Thursday - Finished Projects and Continued PowerPoint
Ch. 6. 3-The Rise of Christianity
- Roman gods were very impersonal and was practiced with very little emotion
- Rome took over the Jewish land of Israel around 63 BCE which introduced Christianity to the Roman Empire
- Christianity broke off from Judaism and was based on the life and teachings of Jesus as well as his death and resurrection
- As Jesus traveled around preaching, many people starting following him
Why Was Christianity Attractive to People?
- Embraced all people—men and women, enslaved persons, the poor, and nobles
- Gave hope to the powerless
- Appealed to those who were repelled by the extravagances of imperial Rome
- Offered a personal relationship with a loving God
- Promised eternal life after death
Friday - Continued PowerPoint (TEST MONDAY)
- Paul, an apostle, stressed that Jesus was the son of God who died for people’s sins
- An apostle was a Christian teacher or missionary
- He also declared that Christianity should welcome all converts, Jew or Gentile(non-Jew)
Rome’s Reaction
- Rome persecuted Christians as they did not worship the Roman gods
- Many were crucified(see next slide), burned or killed by wild animals in arenas
- Roman Emperor Constantine named Christianity one of the Roman Empires religions in 313 AD after winning a battle where he believed the Christian God intervened
In 380 AD, Roman Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the empire’s official religion
The Early Christian(Catholic) Church
- A priest led each small group of Christians in each church
- A bishop, who was also a priest, supervised several local churches
- Eventually, every major city had its own bishop
- The apostle Peter became the first bishop of Rome
- According to tradition, Jesus referred to Peter as the “rock” on which the Christian Church would be built
- As a result, all priests and bishops traced their authority to him
- These bishops said that Peter was the first pope, the father or head of the Christian Church
- Whoever was bishop of Rome was also the leader of the whole Church
Early Christian Issues
- As time went on, there were growing disagreements between Christians in regards to beliefs
- The New Testament was added to the Hebrew Old Testament to make the Christian bible which helped unify Christians
- Included the four Gospels(Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) as well as the Epistles(letters) of Paul among other documents
The Nicene Creed
- In 325 AD, Constantine further unified the teachings of Christianity
- In Nicaea(in Turkey today), church leaders wrote the Nicene Creed, which defined the basic beliefs of the Church
The Fall of the Roman Empire
Historians generally agree that the end of the reign of the emperor Marcus Aurelius (161–180 AD) marked the end of two centuries of peace and prosperity(Pax Romana) and the Roman Empire
Three Main Causes for the Fall of Rome
- 1. Internal problems and conflicts
- 2. Separation of the Roman Empire into East and West
- 3. Outside invasions
Diocletian Splits the Empire-285 AD
- Diocletian was a strong ruler that brought law and order back to the Empire
- He believed that the empire had grown too large and too complex for one ruler
- He divided the empire into two
- Greek-speaking East (Greece, Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt)-Byzantine Empire
- Latin-speaking West(Italy, Gaul, Britain, and Spain)
- He took the eastern half for himself and appointed a co-ruler for the West
Constantine
- Constantine took control of the western part of the Roman Empire in 312 AD and also took control of the eastern part in 324 AD
- United the empire during his reign and moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium(330 AD), changing the name of the city to Constantinople
- Huge walls were built around Constantinople to protect it from barbarians
- After his death, the empire was split in two again
- Today the city is known as Istanbul
- The Byzantine Empire would last until 1453 when the
Ottoman Turks took the area over
The Huns
- In 370 AD, the Huns moved into Europe from Central Asia and battled the Germanic tribes
- In 444 AD, under Attila, the Huns invaded both parts of the Roman Empire
- The Huns attacked over 70 cities
- Couldn’t get past walls of Constantinople
- Invaded Rome in 452 AD but failed
- Attila the Hun died in 453 AD and so did the Hun’s power
The Last Roman Emperor and the End
- The last Western Roman emperor was Romulus Augustulus, a 14 year old
- He was ousted by German forces in 476 AD and Rome fell
- The Eastern Roman Empire(Byzantine) continued and flourished until the Ottoman Turks took them over in 1453
- After Rome fell, Europe fell into the Dark Ages
from around 500-1500 AD
Ch. 6.5 The Legacy of Rome
- The Latin Language
- The basis of many future languages-French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Romanian
- Many English words have their root in Latin-Examples
- Roads and aqueducts
Important Roman Laws that Impacted US
- All people have the right to equal treatment under the law
- A person is innocent until proven guilty
- The burden of proof rests with the accuser rather than the accused
- A person should be punished only for actions, not thoughts
- Any law that seemed unreasonable or grossly unfair could be set aside
- Roman law served as a basis for the law of many European countries in the future as well as the United States
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