The Roman Empire: From Augustus to Christianity

1. The Roman Empire The Roman Empire

2. The Roman Empire • Begins in 27 BC, when Octavian takes the name Augustus Caesar and becomes the first emperor • Lasts until 480 AD in the West, 1453 AD in the East

4. Augustus Caesar • The first Roman emperor • Encouraged trade, and eliminated taxes on goods traded within the empire • Began using a common currency • Constructed highways connecting the provinces to Rome and each other • Began a public building program • Most of these programs would be continued by other emperors.

5. Other Important Emperors: • “Julian Emperors”: Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero

6. Other Important Emperors: • “The Five Good Emperors”: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius

7. Conquest of Britannia • Gradual process from 43-84 AD • Many campaigns fought between Roman army and Celtic Britons • In 60 AD Celtic queen Boudicea started a major uprising against the Romans that was defeated. • In 122 AD Emperor Hadrian ordered construction of a wall to keep out the barbarian Scots & Picts • Most of Scotland and all of Ireland were never conquered

10. How to Keep the People Happy: Bread and Circus • Life could be miserable for average Romans, and the government was usually corrupt • The people could be kept happy with cheap food (Bread) and entertainment (Circus) • Wheat was therefore cheaply imported and flour often free. • Entertainment was provided at theaters, amphitheaters, circuses, racetracks, etc on religious holidays (up to 135 per year) when no work was allowed.

11. Gladiators and the Amphitheater • Amphitheaters: By putting two theaters together, Romans created an arena for gladiatorial combat, animal slaying, and public executions. • The largest and most famous is the Flavian Amphitheater, or Colosseum, in Rome. • Gladiators trained at schools and fought each other for entertainment. Sometimes, combat was to the death. • Gladiators occasionally revolted, such as Spartacus’ slave rebellion in 73 BC

19. Circuses • The Roman circus was a long oval arena, used primarily for chariot and horse races. • The most famous was the Roman Circus Maximus.

20. Roman Baths • Large bathing complexes for health and relaxation • Often enclosed, with clay pipes and furnaces to provide lukewarm (tepidarium), hot (caldarium), and cold (frigidarium) baths, massages, body hair removal, and steam baths.

21. Forum • Large public plaza surrounded by government buildings, temples, and triumphant arches • Public elections, triumphs (heroic parades) and even occasional executions and gladiatorial combat were held in forums

25. Battle of Teutoburg Forest • Battle between an alliance of German tribes against the Romans in 9 AD. • Romans are defeated and lose 16,000 of 25,000 men. • Established the Rhine River as Rome’s northern boundary

26. Great Fire of Rome • Fire that lasted six days in 64 AD, destroying a large part of Rome • Some blamed Emperor Nero (“fiddling while Rome burns”), who wanted more land for his palace expansion. • Emperor Nero blamed the Christians, and massacred thousands of them.

27. First Jewish Revolt • Jews in Roman province of Judea from 66-73 AD • Caused by religious ideology and taxation disputes • Romans recaptured Jerusalem in 70 AD, destroying the Temple and slaughtering the citizens. • Culminated in the Siege of Masada and the suicide of 950+ Jewish Zealots

28. Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius • Volcano in southern Italy that violently erupted in 79 AD • Eruption destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, killing thousands. • The first archeological discoveries were in the 1700s, and the digs continue to this day.

29. Birth and Rise of Christianity • Jesus, born in Bethlehem, Judea in approximately 4 BC and raised in Nazareth • Crucified in Jerusalem in 33 AD by the Romans for a multitude of “crimes” • Believers (including his disciples, or followers) believed he rose from the dead 3 days later, fulfilling the prophecy of a Jewish Messiah (savior)

30. Early Christianity • After Jesus’ death, his disciples and spread Jesus’ teachings across the Empire. • They added a “new testament” to the Jewish holy book (torah), known as the Gospels, or stories of Jesus and his teachings • Romans views the Christians as a threat, as they would not worship Roman gods and emperors. • Christians were routinely killed (martyred), through crucifixion, burned, fed to animals, etc.

31. • ΙΧΘΥΣ – the Greek word for fish • I – Iota or Iesous - Greek for Jesus • X – Chi or Christos - Greek for Christ • И – Theta or Theou - Greek for God • Y – Upsilon or Yios/Huios - Greek for Son • У – Sigma or Soter - Greek for Savior

32. Important Early Christian Leaders • Peter: One of the 12 disciples, Jesus’ chosen successor, executed in Rome. Seen by Catholics as the first pope (Petrine Doctrine). • Paul: A non-Jewish convert to Christianity, spread Christianity throughout Greece, Turkey, and Syria. Declared Christianity was open to everyone, not just Jews.

33. Roman Adoption of Christianity • Battle of Milvian Bridge: between rival Roman Emperors in 312 AD • Emperor Constantine had a vision before the battle that the Christian God would protect him. • Upon winning the battle, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made it the official religion of the Roman Empire.

34. The Fall Of Rome • Rome began to decline by 192 AD, but the process took 300 years. • There were political, social, economic, and military reasons

35. Constantinople • In 330, Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium (now Istanbul), in Turkey, and named the city Constantinople. • There had been 2 emperors (East and West) since 284 AD, but the new capital moved political power to the East.

36. The Germans are CoMing! • From 376 to 476 AD, the Western Roman Empire was invaded multiple times by Germanic tribes from the north and East, including the Goths, Franks, Lombards, Vandals, and Huns. • Rome itself was sacked in 410 and 455 AD • In 476 AD German leader Odoacer defeated the last Roman Emperor, and the Western Empire was destroyed. • The Eastern Roman empire would last another 1,000 years as the Byzantine Empire.