• Said he was restoring authority of the Senate – in reality he was in complete control – Kept offices of the republic

• Princeps –– “Princeps senatus” – First citizen amongst the senators/citizens – Senator – permeant senate seat– Augustus – honored one – title of religious authority– Provide political stability– The Senate gave him control of the provinces to

bring order to the frontier regions • This gave him command of over 20 legions• Suppose to last only 10 years• Controlled all of Hispania, Gaul, Syria, Cyprus and Egypt

– Imperator – victorious commander of the legions– Imperator Caesar divi filius Augustus– Commander

Caesar son of the deified one• Created a new family line • Caesar – originally a family name, it later became a title to

designate the next in line

– Consul – reelected every year• Later given proconsul over his ‘imperium’

– Tribune for life– Pontifex Maximus – high priest – Ruled for life as Caesar Augustus

The Emperor

The Praetorian Guard

• Elite unit of the army whose members served as personal bodyguards to the Roman emperors

• Did not wear armor in the city – wore a formal toga

– Later took part in murder plots against the emperors

– Crowned their own

The Legion• Reformed the Legions

– Raised in Italy– Served for a period of 20

years – Equipped and paid for by the

state (the emperor) – Every soldier swore allegiance

to him

• Legates – Appointed by Augustus – Commanded the armies on

the ground

• Auxiliary Forces – Cohorts of 500 or 1000 and

commanded by officers drawn from their ethnic groups

– Served 25 years and received Roman citizenship and a pension on discharge

– Raised from inside and outside the empire

• Stationed around the frontiers

The Roman Empire • Augustus’ legions were kept busy

campaigning– The Alps, Spain, the east, northern

Balkins and Germany were all focuses of military activity

– Kept the legions busy and far away from Rome and earned Augustus military victories (that had been won by his legates)

• Wanted boundaries that would be easy to defend

• Expanded to Natural frontiers – The Rhine River and Danube River

in the north – Atlantic Ocean in the west– Sahara desert in the south – Relied on client states in the east

to act as territorial buffers against the Partian Empire

• Judea added to the province of Syria

• Germania

• According to Caesar the Germans were barbarians that represented everything the Romans were not

– no agriculture

– War-like

– Dressed in animal skins

– Small villages

– Spent a lot of time drunk, arguing, and fighting each other

• In reality – Had farms

– Lived in small communities of extended family groups and loose tribal units

– Focused on councils of prominent warriors

– Young men would serve as auxiliaries in the Roman army

• Publius Quinctiulus Varus

• Arminius’

• Varus’s Forces

– Three legions

– Six cohorts of auxiliaries

– Six squadrons of cavalry

– About 20,000 total

• Varus receives word an uprising has occurred on the other side of Cheruscan territory

Clades Variana: The Varian Disaster • The Battle of the

Teutoburg Forest– Ambushed by

thousands of screaming Germans

– Trapped by the confined space

– Cavalry tries to break out and flee

– Romans to create a makeshift camp out of wagons

– Three legions destroyed

– 2 eagles lost

Last stand

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Clades Variana: The Varian Disaster

• The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest Effects

– Roman bases east of the Rhine are abandoned

• One or two attacked

• Archeological evidence show a hasty abandonment

– The Rhine River became the northern border of the Roman empire and stayed that way for 400 years

Augustus’ Rule• Built up his imperial household to take

charge of daily businesses – Gave slaves and freedmen the chance to be

part of government

• Improved Trade – Building harbors, canals, and roads – Established a single system of currency

• Rome – Enforced morals - Wrote laws that governed

the way people behaved in public and punished people for being unfaithful to their husbands or wives

– Protection - Set up fire brigade and police force

– Learning - Built Rome’s first library

• Ruled for 41 years• Stabilized the empire• Expanded citizenship to those living in

the provinces • Created a government that ran well for

about 200 years• Tiberius

– Adopted as full son and heir – received tribune powers and a share of Augustus’ maius imperium

– Ruled until he was 77– Augustus’ bureaucracy ran the empire

Pax Romana

• Period of peace that lasted 200 years

• Rome and its people prospered

• Civilization spread and cultures mixed

Trade Expands

• Same coins used throughout the empire

• No tariffs

• Goods and money moved freely along the trade routes

• Mediterranean cleared of pirates

• Shipping became a big business

– Grain – from North Africa

– Silk – from China

– Amber – from the north

– Marbles, granite, and wood

• Increased trade meant more business for Romans

– Italy became a manufacturing center for pottery, bronze, and woolen cloth

Law

• Twelve Tables were changed

– Laws had to be fair for non-Romans

• A law had to be just because it was reasonable

– Everyone was considered equal before the law

– Innocent until proven guilty

• Law standardized

– 125 A.D.

– Legal procedures were the same in all parts of the empire

– Formed the basis of laws of most western countries and the Catholic church

Boudicca’s Uprising– 59 AD

– King of the Iceni tribe died left control of the Iceni to his wife, Boudicca

– When the Procurator of Roman Britain scourged her the Iceni revolted

– Burned Roman towns including Londinium and attacked the legions

– Romans thought of abandoning Britain

– Regained the province

First Jewish-Roman War• 66 - 73 AD• Anti-taxation protests and attacks

on Roman citizens• Roman governor plundered the

Jewish temple then arrested senior Jewish figures

• Legion XII Fulminata was ambushed and destroyed and the Aquila lost

• Siege of Jerusalem– Second temple and Jerusalem was

destroyed• 1 million dead, 97,000 enslaved• Major impact on Judaism – no longer

needed a temple to perform a sacrifice

• Siege of Masada– Romans scaled the walls after a long

siege – Roman troops entered the fortress

and found everyone dead- mass suicide

• Begins Jewish exile – Jews were taken from Judea and sold into slavery

Bar Kokhba Revolt• 132 - 136 AD• Romans attempted to build a new

city over the ruins of Jerusalem and build a temple to Jupiter on the Temple Mount

• Bar Kokhba led the revolt of remaining Jews– Declared the Messiah who would

restore their independence

• Defeated three Roman legions • Established an independent Judea for

almost two years before the Romans came in force

• Judean forces were defeated • Exiled all Jews from Judea and

banned them from entering Jerusalem

• Ruled from 37-41

• Severely mentally unstable

• Appeared in public dressed as various gods

• Killed his own sister after he had an affair with her

• Attempted to make his horse consul

• Assassinated by a member of his Praetorian Guard

• Ruled from 54-68

• Obsessed with his own popularity

• Supposedly played his fiddle as Rome burned in a great fire

• Blamed the fire on the Christians and had many persecuted and killed

• He committed suicide knowing he was to be assassinated

• Ruled from 96-98

• Elected emperor by the Senate at the age of 64

• Considered a wise and moderate emperor

• Began the practice of the emperor finding the best possible successor during his reign

• Ruled from 98-117

• Military conquest brought wealth and expanded the Empire

• Worked with the Senate on military campaigns and treaties

• Had aqueducts, temples, and public baths built across the empire

• Held massive gladiatorial festivals in the Colosseum which attracted 5 million spectators

• Respected as a wise, moral, and just ruler

• Ruled from 117-138• Traveled across the Empire,

especially to Greece• Consolidated the Empire and

withdrew form far-off conquests

• Built his famous wall across Roman Britain to defend against Barbarians

• Cancelled many Romans’ unpaid taxes

• Had the Pantheon built in Rome as a temple to all the gods

• Ruled from 138-161

• Promoted the arts and sciences

• Allowed governors to make more decisions in the provinces

• Led the most peaceful period of Roman history

• Ruled from 161-180

• Defended the empire against many barbarian invasions

• Great military leader

• Known as one of the wisest and purest men of his time

• Brilliant Stoic philosopher whose Meditations are still studied

• Son of Marcus Aurelius –ruled from 180-192

• Had senators and his chief minister killed

• Nearly bankrupted the treasury with his spending

• Planned to rename Rome Colonia Commodiana (City of Commodus)

• Fought in gladiatorial contests

• Assassinated by his wrestling partner

• Most later emperors serve very short reigns often suffering violent deaths

• The year 193 saw 5 different emperors

• Many assassinations, wars, and rebellions

• The Empire declines over the next 300 years

On the Right

What personal qualities distinguished the “good” emperors from the “bad” empeors?

Do you feel the same qualities apply to today’s leader? Explain.

Issues faced by Roman Citizens

• Not enough housing

• Cost of living was high

• Not enough jobs

• Had to pay taxes on everything

• High crime in the streets

Roman housing

• The Rich – lived in a Domus

– Marble walls

– Colored stone floors

– Windows made of small panes of glass

– Pipes brought water to upper floors

– Furnace heated the rooms

Roman housing

• Insula

– Crowded wooden apartment buildings

– More than six stories high

– Terrible conditions

– Dirty, damp, disease-ridden, DANGEROUS

– No sewer connection, no clean aqueduct water

The Family

• Father

– Head of the household

– Arranged marriages of the children to improve social position or increase wealth

• Children

– Went to school until 12

– Sons of the poor went to work

– Sons of the rich began formal studies

• Reading, grammar, writing, music, geometry, arithmetic

• At 15 entered a school of rhetoric – speech and writing

• Alexandra and Athens – philosophy and medicine

Roman Women

• Girls

– Formal education stopped at 12

– Daughters of the rich received private lessons at home

• Better educated than men in many cases

• Worked or owned small shops

• Wealthy women had slaves to do their housework

– Could study the arts, literature, and fashions

Leisure Time

• At home – gambling or dice

• Bath houses

– Could socialize

– Take warm, cold, or steam baths

– Gymnasiums, sports stadiums, and libraries

Gladiator Games• “bread and circuses”

– Keep the population fed, happy and distracted – Win people’s votes

• Gladiators– Slaves, prisoners of war, criminals, poor people – Trained by managers who hired them out – Night before a fight – appear at a feast

• Fans and gamblers could look them over and bet on the outcome

– “Hail Caesar – those who are about to die salute you” – Please the crowd – become idols of the people – could win or buy

their freedom – Give a poor performance?

• You die even if you win

• Animals – Fought one another or gladiators – 5000 killed in a single day – Mesopotamian lion, North African Elephant – wiped out

The Crisis of the Third Century• 235- 284• Rome nearly collapsed due to:

– Invasion– Civil war– Plague – Plague of Cyprian– Economic depression

• 26 different claimants to the title of emperor – Most army generals who assumed power over all or part of the Empire– Roman Senate also accepted different claimants

• Armies fought each other rather than defended the frontier from invasion– Frequent raids took place along the Rhine and Danube rivers

• Valerian – Taken captive after Battle of Edessa, by Sassanian Persian king Shapur I – Caused shock and instability

• Gallic Empire– Germania, Gaul and Britannia Broke away from Rome due to barbarian invasions and instability in

Rome – Retaken by Aurelian in 274

• Battle of Naissus– 268 – Defeat of Gothic coalition by Emperor Gallienus– Showed stronger emperors were taken power again– Germanic tribes no longer a threat in the Balkans

• Aurelian – 270 – 275 – Defeated Vandals, Visigoths, Palmyrenes and Gallic Empire– Reunited the Empire – Frontier troops back in place

Diocletian • 284 – 305 • Born to a family of low status

– Rose through the ranks of the military to become a cavalry commander

– Proclaimed emperor – defeated the surviving son of the emperor at the Battle of the Margus

• The Dominate – Emperor referred as Dominus – lord – No longer the first citizen/senator – but the lord – Authoritarian

• Saw his work as a restorer• Stabilized the Empire

– Fortified the frontiers – Reorganized the state and provincial

governments – Established new administrative centers closer to

the empire’s frontiers

• Edict on Maximum Prices– 301– Set maximum prices for wages and goods to

eliminate inflation

• Made city officials responsible for the taxes their cities had to pay

Tetrarchy • Rule of Four • Divided the empire

into two halves – Each ruled by an

Augustus – Had a Caesar as a

co-emperor who would follow

– Eastern – Ruled by Diocletian (rules as Augustus)• Galerius (Caesar)

– Western –Maximian (rules as Augustus)• Constantius

(Caesar)

• Established capitals near the frontier– Acted as

headquarters to defend the empire

Persecution of Christians

• 303 – 305

• Edicts took away Christian’s legal rights

• Faced imprisonment and execution if they didn’t worship the Roman gods

• Most avoided punishment

Constantine the Great• 312 – 337

• Son of Constantius– Sent east and rose through

the ranks to become military tribune

• 305 – his father was raised to Augustus in the west – He was proclaimed emperor

306 by his army in Britannia

• Battle of Milvian Bridge– 310

– Gave Constantine control of the western half of the Empire

Constantine the Great

• Combat inflation

– Introduced Solidus – new gold coin that would become the standard currency for a thousand years

• Restructured the government

• Founded Constantinople

– Called it the New Rome

• Left the empire to his sons

Constantine and Christianity • First Roman emperor to convert to

Christianity – (on his deathbed)

• Adopted Christianity as the official state religion

• Edict of Milan– 313 – Declared religious tolerance for Christianity

• Council of Nicaea– 325 – Nicene Creed– Statement of Christian belief

• Church of the Holy Sepulchre– Built on the site of Jesus’ tomb in

Jerusalem

• Chi Rho iota – First three letters of Christ’s name in Greek – Symbol of God’s army

• Began construction on Old St. Peter’s church – Took the form of a Roman law court

Reasons for Decline• Inheritance

– No written rule about who would inherit after the emperor’s death

– Sometimes the son – sometimes the adopted son– 96 – 180 A.D. all emperors were adopted – 180 – 276 legion fought legion to put its emperor on the

throne – 35 emperors

• Economic – Higher taxes - More money needed for the army

• Had to keep the soldiers happy – pay them more

– Inflation – prices rise, money loses its value

• Foreign enemies – Frontiers open to attack – Germanic hunters and herders raid Greece and Gaul – Trade decline– Cities begin to build walls

The Goths

• gh

Catastrophe at Adrianople• Germans

crossed the Danube to escape the Huns

• defeated legions with cavalry

• Iron stirrup made cavalry stronger than infantry

End of the (Western) Empire• Germanic attacks

– Germans crossed the Danube to escape the Huns – Battle of Adrianople - defeated legions with cavalry

• iron stirrup made cavalry stronger than infantry

• 406 – Rhine River froze – Germans crossed into Gaul– Roman legions begin to withdraw– Rome can’t raise an army – relies on subject peoples– Loss of Britannia, Gaul and Hispania

• Sack of Rome – 410 – Visigoths– Alaric invaded Rome and burned the city – First time in 800 years that Rome fell to a foreign army

• Huns – 445 – 455– Attila the Hun– Stretched across central Europe– Defeated in Gaul – but crippled the Roman military – Sacked northern Italian cities

• 476 Odoacer deposed the last western emperor, Romulus Augustulus

On the Right

Aesop’s Fables is a collection of brief stories said to have been written by a Greek slave named Aesop, who may have lived from 620 to 560 B.C.E.. A fable is a short story that teaches a moral lesson. Read the fable to the right. Then respond to the following questions:

1. List the characters of the fable

2. Summarize the plot3. What moral lesson do

you think the fable is trying to teach?

4. Do you think this kind of storytelling is effective? Why or why not?

The Lion and the Mouse

Once when a Lion was asleep, a Mouse began running up and down upon him. This soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon the Mouse, and open his big jaws to swallow the little creature. “Pardon, O Great Lion,” cried the little Mouse, “Forgive me this time, and I shall never forget it. Who knows? I may be able to do you a good turn one day.” The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him that he lifted his paw and let him go.

Sometime later, the Lion was caught in a hunters’ trap. The hunters, who wanted to bring the Lion alive to the king, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him. Just then, the Mouse happened to pass by. Seeing the sad plight of the Lion, the Mouse went up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the mighty animal. “Was I not right?” asked the little Mouse.

Judea: The Birthplace of Christianity

• Once part of the ancient kingdom of Israel ruled by kings David and Solomon

• Jews of the region were devoted to their homeland and to their belief in a single God– Along with Religious

customs, this set them apart from their neighbors in the ancient world

• Came under Roman rule in 63 B.C.E. – Tried to govern by putting

in charge Jewish rulers who agreed with Roman rule

– Groups of Jews rebelled against Roman control

Judea: The Birthplace of Christianity• Herod

– 37 B.C.E.– Appointed by Rome to be king of Judea – Practiced the Jewish religion and rebuilt the Temple of Jerusalem – Distrusted by Jews: seen as a puppet of Rome

• Herod died in 4 B.C.E. – Kingdom divided among his three sons – Unrest broke out– Rome sent soldiers to take control

Judea: The Birthplace of Christianity• Herod died in 4 B.C.E.

– Kingdom divided among his three sons

– Unrest broke out

– Rome sent soldiers to take control

– Replaced Herod’s sons with a military governor

• Military rule– Made sure they paid their taxes to Rome

– Left local affairs to the Jews themselves

• Council of Jewish leaders ruled the holy city of Jerusalem– Council headed by a high priest

• Hated Roman rule

• Saw prophecies in their sacred writings – God would one day send a savior to restore the kingdom of David

– Messiah – anointed (blessed with oil) one (Specially chosen by God)

On the Right

1. Where was Judea and why was it important to the Jews?

2. For each date on the timeline below, describe how the Romans ruled Judea and how the Jews reacted to Roman rule.

60 B.C.E. 37 B.C.E. 4 B.C.E.

The Birth of Jesus• Probably born in 6 B.C.E.

• Most information comes from the writings of his followers

• Gospels

– Four

– Accounts of Jesus’ life that were written in Greek by four of his followers after his death

– Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

The Birth of Jesus• Gospel of Luke

– Tells the story of Jesus’ birth

– Mary lived in a town called Nazareth in the Roman territory of Galilee

– An angel appeared to her and told her she would have a child and that he should be named Jesus

– Roman emperor Augustus ordered a census – head count – of all the people in the Empire

– Joseph, a carpenter, returned to his hometown of Bethlehem in Judea• Mary gave birth to Jesus

The Birth of Jesus• Little is said of his

childhood – At age 12, Jesus

astonished the rabbis with his wisdom and knowledge of Jewish law

• John the Baptist – Preacher

– Identified Jesus as the Messiah

– After 40 days of prayer, Jesus began to preach in Galilee

On the Right

1. What were the Gospels and who wrote them?

2. Describe Jesus’s birth according to the Gospels

The Life and Death of Jesus

• Preached in open areas

• Disciples

– Small number of followers

– Simple people –laborers and fishermen

• Spent time with ordinary people

– Poor and the sick rather than the wealthy and important

The Teachings of Jesus

• Based on traditional Jewish beliefs

• Put special emphasis on love and mercy

• Two most important of the Jewish laws

– Love your God with all your heart and soul

– Love your neighbor as yourself

• Kingdom of God was coming soon

– Not an earthly kingdom

– A time when people would live according to God’s will

The Teachings of Jesus • Taught through parables

– Simple stories with moral or religious messages

• Parable of the Good Samaritan – Traveler was beaten and robbed on the road– Two people passed by and ignored him – A Samaritan stopped and helped the injured traveler

• Judeans and Samaritans did not get along • Because of the Samaritan’s good deed, Jesus

considered him a neighbor, worthy of love • Teachings shocked and angered some of Jesus’s

listeners• This way of thinking was wrong and dangerous• Worried his growing following was going to cause

trouble with the Romans

On the Right

1. According to the Gospels, what did Jesus say were the two most important of all Jewish laws?

2. Summarize the Parable of the Good Samaritan and explain its moral lesson.

Summary of the Parable of the Good Samaritan Moral Lesson of the Parable of the Good Samaritan

Crucifixion and Resurrection

• Jesus went to Jerusalem for Passover

– Celebrated God’s rescue of the Jews from Egypt

– Thousands came to celebrate

– Roman soldiers watched for anyone who might start a demonstration against Rome

• Said his enemies would come together to destroy him and that he would be killed

– Betrayed by Judas

• Romans saw him as a political agitator

• Pontius Pilate

– Roman governor

– Ordered Jesus to be executed

Crucifixion and Resurrection

• Resurrection

– Jesus rose from the dead after three days

– Convinced the disciples that he was the Son of God

– Left them to join his Father, God, in heaven

• His disciples began to spread the news of his life and teachings

On the Right

1. According to the Gospels, why was Jesus condemned to die on a cross?

2. Why was the belief in the Resurrection important to Jesus’s disciples and other Christians?

Paul• Early converts were Jews

• Came from Tarsus – In present day Turkey

• Opposed Christianity

• Travelling from Damascus saw a blinding light and heard the voice of Jesus – Adopted the Christian

faith and became a missionary

• Educated with Roman citizenship

• Spoke Greek

Paul• Spoke Greek • Made it his mission to convert non-Jews

(Gentiles)• Spent 17 years starting new churches and

converting people• Teachings

– Stressed the need to belief in Jesus as the Son of God

– All people were God’s children – Jesus was the Christ – God’s chosen one – The Messiah for everyone – not just Jews

• Visits caused riots• Called Blasphemous –unholy • Jailed in Rome

– Beheaded by the Romans in about 65 C.E.

On the Right

1. What caused Paul to stop persecuting the Christians and become a missionary?

2. How did Paul’s work help to spread Christianity?

The Spread of Christianity

• Christians refused to worship the other Roman gods

• Would not accept that the emperor was a god

• Preferred simplicity to wealth and luxury

• Many refused to serve in the army

• Persecutions

– Christianity Declared illegal

– Sentenced to die

• Crucified

• Burned to death

• Devoured by wild animals in front of cheering crowds

– Won admirers by facing death bravely

The Spread of Christianity • Gave people a sense of

purpose and hope • Taught that the poor and

slaves could look forward to a better life after death if they followed Jesus’s teachings

• BY 300 C.E. – People of all classes began to

adopt the faith – 30 million lived in the Empire

• Edict of Milan – Constantine I – Freedom to practice their

religion openly

• 380 Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire

On the Right

1. Why were Christians considered a threat to Rome?

2. Complete the following flowchart about the Roman persecution of the Christians

3. Describe the role of Constantine, and Roman emperors who followed him, in spreading Christianity.

Methods of Persecution Results of Persecution

On the Right

A parable is a brief story that teaches a moral lesson. Write your own parable that teaches a lesson about some aspect of good citizenship. For example, it might be about the importance of voting or of volunteering in your community. Include a symbol or a small illustration that shows the main idea of the moral lesson you want to teach.