View the Roman Empire PowerPoint to gain an overview of the politics and daily life in Rome.

1. ROMAN EMPIREROMAN EMPIRE
The New Testament YearsThe New Testament Years

2. Famous EmperorsFamous Emperors
• 1. Caesar Augustus / Octavian. Caesar Augustus / Octavian
– Began the empire years
– Adopted son of Julius
– Only 18
– Ruled empire from Northern Europe to Spain to
Euphrates
– Greatest contribution was Pax RomanaPax Romana
* 200 yrs of peace
* Entire New Testament during this time
beginning with the birth of Christ

3. – He was fair and wise
– Wanted representatives with abilities not just
money or a name
– Made many changes:
• Restored some power back to the Senate but made
himself the First Tribune with veto power
• Reorganized the military and made himself the chief
commander
• Encouraged trade and industry throughout the
empire

4. • 2. TiberiusTiberius
– Reigning at time of the crucifixion
– Cruel- tossed enemies over the cliffs
– Pronounced dead, revived and then smothered
by his mother
• 3. CaligulaCaligula “little boots” real name Gaius
– Reigned only 4 yrs
– Assassinated at age 29
– Lived lavishly

5. • 4. ClaudiusClaudius
- Good emperor
- Acts 18:2
- Murdered for choice of successor

6. • 5. NeroNero “the monster”
– Started out well but got sick and went crazy
– Killed his mother, two wives and a step brother
– Was a pyromaniac
– Blamed for the fire that destroyed Rome
– Began the persecution of Christians
– Peter and Paul killed

7. • 6. VespasianVespasian
– First emperor w/o family connection to Julius
– Built the Coliseum
– Destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD
– Well loved and died of old age
• 7. HadrianHadrian
– Built a wall to mark farthest extent of the
Roman Empire

8. 8. DiocletianDiocletian
– Divided the empire in an attempt to salvage it
– Persecution was considered the worst under
him
• 9. ConstantineConstantine
– Built a new capital city in the eastern half
– Exactly like Rome
– Name Constantinople
– 313AD313AD decreed the Christianity was legal which
ended the persecution of Christians – Edict of
Milan

9. The
Coliseum

11. PersecutionPersecution
• 1. What is it?
• 2. Why does it happen?
• 3. What forms can it take?
• 4. As believers, should we expect it?
• 5. If so, how should we respond?
Mt 5:10-12, Mt 5:44, Jn 15:20, Rom 12:14,
II Tim 3:11-12, II Thes 1:4

12. Travel, industry and TradeTravel, industry and Trade
• Rome was known for its system of roads
– Connected all parts of the empire
– Designed to allow her military to move quickly
from one end of the empire to the other

13. • Beginning with the reign of Augustus,
Rome expanded her industry to
include
– Glass making
– Pottery
– Wine production
– Metal working

14. • Rome’s trade was improved because of
1. system of roads
2. great harbors and shipping
3. unified system of money
– All the money was in the form of coins
– The emperor’s image was on the coin
– To finance such a large empire, Rome
collected taxes or tributetribute

15. • Because of her vast empire and great
transportation systems, it was
possible to buy almost anything in the
markets
• Romans modeled their marketplaces
after the Greek Agora
• Romans called it the forumforum
• Every major city in the empire had at
least one

16. Roman HomesRoman Homes
• The population of Rome was estimated
at 60 million people. One million actually
lived in the city of Rome
• The plebeians and patricians lived very
differently.
• Plebeians
– Lived in apartment buildings/ insulaeinsulae
– 4-5 stories high
– 1st
level was made of stone and was usually a
shop or restaurant
– owner and family lived above the shop

17. • Upper floors were poorly constructed of
wood and either collapsed or burned
• They had no plumbing so the garbage
would be thrown into the streets and
washed into the Tiber
• Residents could not cook inside their home
– Cooked in the street below
– Ate at nearby “fast food” restaurants

19. • Patricians
– Lived in single homes called a domusdomus
– Mutiple rooms around a central courtyard
called an atriumatrium
• Atriums had a fountain and gardens
– These homes were surrounded by a wall to
provide privacy and protection
– Also had a home in the country called a villavilla
• Villas were located in the provinces to avoid
the noise and smell of the city
• A popular province was Britain
• Villa was not only a nice place to live it was
also a farm that turned a profit

21. • a• a

22. • Both the domus and villa were lavishly
decorated with
• MosaicsMosaics
– Thousands of colored tiles carefully arranged
to form a picture
– Usually found on the floors
• FrescoesFrescoes
– Wall painting where the colored paint is applied
while the base is still wet
• Statue busts
• Topic of this art was either landscapes,
geometric designs or portraits

24. PopularPopular
EntertainmentsEntertainments• Government provided:
• Theater
– Similar to Greek style
– Male actors
– Masks differentiated the characters
– Romans enjoyed comedy better than tragedy
– Romans invented pantomimepantomime

25. • CircusCircus / Chariot Race
– Held in the Circus Maximus
• oval-shaped stadium
• Hold 250,000
• Teams consisted of a driver, a chariot and
2-4 horses
• Teams raced around a center island
• No rules- could be very dangerous

26. • Gladiator fightsGladiator fights
– Most popular
– Held in the Colosseum
– Three different types of fight
• Animal vs animal
• Animal vs man
• Man vs man
– Gladiators were prisoners (Christians), slaves
or paid volunteers
– Fought to the death
– Before the kill, the gladiator looked to the
crowd for their opinion- emperor w/ final decis
• Thumbs down-victum dies
• Thumbs ups-victum lives

27. – A gladiator could earn his freedom if he fought
successfully and pleased the crowd

28. • Bath HouseBath House
– Available to everyone, just not to same degree
– Poor, simply a place to bathe
– Rich the bath house was more like a fitness
club
• Swim Gym
• Massage Barber/beautician
• Steam room Library
• Snack bar
– Men and women used the same facility, but at
different times of the day

30. • There were dozens of bath houses in the
cities. Therefore, the demand for fresh
water was high
• To supply this need, the Romans built the
aqueducts.
– Engineering feat that allowed for water to freely
flow from many miles away
– Designed with a gradual downward slope

31. • This final form of entertainment was limited
to the wealthy
• Dinner partiesDinner parties
– Attended or hosted a party several days a week
– Goal was to impress your guests
• Food and wine that was served
• Entertainment between courses – muscians,
magicians, dancers, jugglers
– Reclined on couches when they ate
• Slaves actually removed the tables and replaced
with the next course

32. Families & Daily LifeFamilies & Daily Life
• Children
– Even legitamate children needed to be
adopted in order to become an heir
– Boys were most desirable
– Boys and girls of wealthy families were
educated
– Boys and girls were taught the basics of
reading or writing
– School began at age 6 and lasted till 12-13
– Girls were finished but boys could cont.

33. – Boys continued their education in subjects like
philosophy, geography, geometry and music
– The teachers were always Greeks because the
Romans respected and admired the knowledge
of the Greeks
– School was taught in Latin not Greek

34. • Clothing
– Men wore a belted tunic for everyday
– On special occasions they also wore a togatoga
• It was a huge semi-circular piece of cloth that was
wrapped and draped
• They didn’t like it because it was heavy and made
moving difficult
• A Senator had a purple strip
added to his toga
• Only the emperor could wear
a purple toga

35. • Women
– Marriage was between 12-14
– Marriages were arranged by the parents
– On the night before her marriage a girl offered
her childhood toys to the family god. This was
her symbolic passage into womenhood
– Two current wedding traditions come from the
Romans
• Ring on the third finger of the left hand
• Carrying the bride over the threshold
– Roman women had much more freedom than
the Greek women

36. • Women wore a tunic, floor length robe
and a stolastola, large piece of cloth draped
over her shoulders. The stola could be
worn many different ways

37. – Women received an education and could
have a job if she chose
– Wealthy women stayed at home but she had
two homes to run
– Roman women were not as concerned about
their physical appearance as Greek women
were.
– They wore make-up, jewelry and very
complicated hairstyles

38. • Slaves
– Often kidnapped from the conquered provinces
– Had no rights or privileges
– Bought and sold like property
– Slaves could be purchased by individuals or by
the government to construct buildings and
maintain the roads
– There were no laws concerning the treatment
of slaves
– Greek slaves were the most expensive

39. ReligionReligion
• At first they adopted the gods of the
Greeks but changed the name
– Zeus Jupiter
– Ares Mars
– Posiedon Neptune
– Hermes Mercury

40. • During the empire years emperors were
worshipped. The Christians refused
• They also had family gods like the
Sumerians
• They built the PantheonPantheon as a temple to all
their gods- example of classic Roman
architecture

41. • Eventually the Romans realized that the
state gods were useless and therefore
began practicing cults from the various
provinces.
• They also practiced two Greek
philosophies:
Epicureanism
Stoicism

42. Contributions of RomeContributions of Rome
1. New system of government- republic
2. Architectural style – dome, arches
3. Engineering skill
4. Calendar
5. Roman numerals
6. Language

43. Fall of RomeFall of Rome
• Causes:
1. People didn’t really care about their govern.
2. People spent their time and money on being
entertained
3. People expected the government to take care
of them instead of working hard
4. Morality of people deteriorated
5. Taxes were raised

44. 6. Needed such a large army that Rome hired
mercenariesmercenaries
- Hired soldiers from the tribes living just outside
the border
- Mercenaries remained loyal as long as they got
paid
- When Rome could no longer pay, they left their
fellow tribal members to invade.
-- There were many tribes which invaded the
western portion
- The western half finally collapsed in 476 AD476 AD
7. For the next 1000 yrs. the western half was in the
Middle AgesMiddle Ages or MedievalMedieval
..