1. The document outlines the history of Rome from 750 BCE to 400 CE, including the establishment of the Roman Republic around 509 BCE and the factors that led to Rome achieving domination over the Mediterranean world by 100 AD. 2. It then discusses the crisis of the third century that nearly caused Rome's collapse, Rome's recovery and conversion to Christianity, and thinkers' ongoing interest in explaining Rome's fall in 476 CE. 3. The rise of Christianity is also summarized, including the life and teachings of Jesus, the role of Paul in establishing Christian theology, and the development of the Christian church as an institution following Paul.

1. The World of Rome
& The Rise of Christianity
750 BCE-400 CE
HI 101

2. Major Themes of Roman History
1. Create a Republic and achieve domination
over Italy south of the Po River by the early
fourth century BC
2. Achieve domination over the Mediterranean
world and Europe to the Rhine and Danube
Rivers by AD 100
3. Created institutions and a legal system (code
of law) that allowed Rome to govern this
empire effectively

3. Major Themes of Roman History
4. Crisis of the Third Century almost brought
about the collapse of Rome
5. Rome recovered and was converted to
Christianity
6. Explaining the fall of Rome in 476 has
interested thinkers every since.

4. The Roman Empire

5. Timeline of Roman History 753-27 BC
(Roman Civilization to end of the Republic)
• Early Italy and the Roman Monarchy, 753-509
BCE.
• The Roman Republic, 509-27 BCE
• The Creation of the Republic and the
Conquest of Italy, 509-264 BCE
• The Punic Wars (with Carthage) and the
Overseas Expansion of Rome, 264-146 BCE
• The Crisis of the Late Republic, 133-27 BCE

6. Timeline of Roman History 27 BCE-476 CE
(Creation of Empire to Fall of Empire)
• The Principate (Early Empire), the Pax
Romana, and the Five Good Emperors, 27
BCE-CE 180.
• The Crisis of the Third Century, 180-284 CE.
• Late Antiquity, 284-610 CE

7. Roman Conquest of Italy & Creation of the
Roman Republic
• People from Rome (Romans) took over the Italian Peninsula
through a series of wars with the Etruscans (1st
settlers to the
Italian Peninsula)
• A Republic and a System of Government was created for the
captured Lands within Italy.
– Based on an unwritten constitution and controlled by the Patrician
elite (the landowning aristocracy)
• Social classes within the Republic:
– Patricians at top—held most of the social and political advantages
– Plebeians (free citizens who could vote)

9. The Roman Republic
• Led by 2 Consuls:
– 2 elected executive officials from Patrician class
– Advised by a senate
• The senate: (300-600 Patricians)
– Advised the Consuls (but over time, the senate became the real force
behind the law)
– Controlled finances & foreign affairs
• The Assembly—Plebeians
– Legislative branch
– All citizens could cast ballots for or against legislation

10. Republican Government
• Flexible
– over time the Plebeian class gained a measure of
political, legal, and social equality, including the:
• creation of the office of Tribune (had a veto to protect
the Plebeians)
• the Law of the 12 Tablets (450 BCE)—achieved by
Plebeians walking out Rome & refusing to serve in Army
• and the opening of the office of consul to the Plebeians.
– Captured lands were allowed independence and
autonomy in exchange for loyalty
• rebels received swift and brutal punishment

11. Ruins of the Roman Curia (place of
Senate meetings)

12. Curia interior (simulated)

13. Overseas Expansion of Rome
• 264-146 BCE
– Rome fought the three Punic Wars with Carthage
• Carthage: a powerful city-state on the northern African
coast, was a Mediterranean trading empire challenged
by Roman power
• the high point for the Carthagians was the campaign of
Hannibal during the second war
• by the end of the Punic Wars, Rome dominated the
Mediterranean world.
– Rome had to develop a system of government for the new
territories
– also Roman civilization transformed by contact with Hellenic
and Hellenistic culture (Greek)

14. Punic Wars Map

15. The Crisis of the Late Republic,
146-27 BCE.
• Republican government proved incapable of
transforming itself into a government for an
empire
– the result was a struggle for power between the
Patrician and Plebeian classes.
• Powerful generals with private armies emerged and
fought openly for power
– one of the most successful was Julius Caesar (49-44 BCE), who
"crossed the Rubicon" and became dictator in 49 BCE.
» Within five years, he was dead. The civil wars went on
until Octavian defeated the last of his rivals, Mark Antony
and Cleopatra (Queen of Egypt) at Actium in 31 BC.

16. Julius Caesar

17. Cleopatra & Marc Antony

18. Creation of the Roman Empire
• Octavian (after 27 BCE: Augustus)
– restored peace, provided fair, orderly, and efficient
government, and peace within Rome and its
territories
– his government was a monarchy with a republican
façade—formed Empire
– the army was professionalized (20 year enlistment;
good pay and pensions).
– Augustus pushed for Roman expansion into Europe
and established a network of roads that linked
Roman settlements together.

19. Emperor Augustus (Octavian)

20. Roman Centurion

21. Roman Legionare

22. Roman Legion in formation

23. Roman Empire, 1st
Century CE (AD)

24. • Four emperors after Augustus were members
of his family (the Julians); none were great,
and some, like Caligula, were so bad that
they were assassinated. Evident was a key
problem: succession.

25. • Reign of the Five Good Emperors (96-180 CE):
– temporarily solved the succession problem
– the Senate became an effective legislative and
administrative body
– an imperial bureaucracy administered the
empire
– Roman culture spread throughout the empire
– the empire ceased expanding and began building
defenses (Hadrian's Wall in Britain).

26. Hadrian’s Wall (boundary of
Roman Empire in Britain)

27. Roman Civilization
(model of imperial Rome)

28. Roman Civilization
• Law:
– an early codification was the Law of the Twelve
Tablets (c. 450 BCE)
• supplemented over the centuries by edicts and judicial
decisions
– also a "law of the peoples" for those conquered;
two systems combined in 212CE
– notable codifications: Theodosian Code (438 CE)
and the Justinian Code (6th century CE).

29. Roman Civilization
• Science and Engineering:
– favored compilations of encyclopedias, like the
Pliny the Elder's Natural Science, over original
research.
– Engineering: roads, bridges, aqueducts like the
Pont du Gard (France), which brought millions of
gallons of fresh water into Roman cities.
– Romans also excelled at urban planning

30. Pont du Gard (France)

31. Planned Roman Military Camp

32. Roman Civilization
• Architecture:
– Much borrowed from the Greeks, i.e. form of the
temple
– excelled in the use of concrete
• the arch, the vault, and the dome
• important buildings: the basilica, the Colosseum (sat
50,000), the Pantheon (a domed temple to all the
gods), public baths and theaters, triumphal arches and
columns, such as Trajan's Column.
– The Roman style emphasized: grandeur,
magnificence, size, and solidity.

33. Colosseum

34. Pantheon

35. Pantheon Interior

36. Trajan’s Column

37. The Crisis of the Third Century, 180-284 CE.
• Characterized by succession crises:
– civil war (between 235-284 CE, there were 22 emperors, and all but
two were murdered)
– economic hardship, including declining production, inflation, and high
taxes
– threats on Rome's frontiers from the Goths and others; and the
growing popularity and spread of Christianity.

38. The World of Late Antiquity, 284-
610 CE
• The slow, almost unnoticeable transition from the classical
civilization of Rome to the emergence of separate barbarian
kingdoms following the collapse of the Roman Empire
• It thus includes the transformation of the Roman Empire by
the emperors Diocletian and Constantine
• the shift in the governing center of the Empire east to cities
like Constantinople, the legalization and triumph of
Christianity (Emperor Constantine and the Edict of Milan, AD
313),

39. • the barbarian invasions by Visigoths, the
Vandals, the Ostrogoths
• the "fall of Rome”
– traditionally assigned the date of 476 CE
– and the replacement of the political unity imposed
by the Roman Empire with separate and often
warring Germanic kingdoms like the Franks.
• From the ambitions of these latter kingdoms emerged
the nations of modern Western Europe
– urban decline, decline of government and culture.
– Meanwhile, Christianity emerged as a unifying and
civilizing force.

40. Barbarian Invasions

41. The Coming of Christianity
Factors Behind the Rise of Christianity
•1. The Jews began to organize opposition to Rome’s authority. A group identified as the
Zealots fought to rid Judaea of Roman control.
•2. The failure of pagan religions (many gods) to satisfy many people’s spiritual needs
helped pave the way for the rise of Christianity.
The Life and Teachings of Jesus:
•1. Born c. 4 BCE, from Nazareth, His message was based on Jewish moral traditions, He
was an apocalyptic Jew
– Meaning that he thought & taught that the world would soon end, and God’s kingdom would appear on
earth
•His teachings aroused the Jewish population, which caused Roman concern.
•Roman authorities were concerned about insurrection throughout the empire.
– Pontius Pilate (local Roman leader) was in charge of maintaining peace in Jerusalem.
– Pilate condemned Jesus to death in an effort to avoid outbreaks of violence.
• According to Jesus’s followers, on the third day after his crucifixion Jesus rose from the
dead. The resurrection became the cornerstone for the newly developing faith
recognized as Christianity.

42. Palestine at Time of Christ
• Ruled by Roman empire
for 64 years

43. Christianity Following the
Crucifixion:
• Followers of Jesus, believing that he was the
Son of God and had risen from the dead, set
out to convert the Roman Empire
– they created a theology (=systematic body of
religious belief)
– and broadened the appeal of Christianity by
proclaiming it a universal religion, not just a
Jewish religion

44. – key role played by the convert Paul
• who-as author of the epistles [letters] -may be called
the founder of Christian theology
• many converts, especially among the urban population
of the eastern Empire
• Paul beheaded in Rome during one of Nero's (Roman
Emperor) persecutions of Christians

45. Christianity after Paul
• Church develops as an institution
– the sacraments (baptism and the Eucharist)
– a separate priesthood to administer the
sacraments
– the organization of a church hierarchy modeled
on the government of the Roman Empire
• office of bishop; over time, the Bishop of Rome
recognized as head of the church, or Pope.
• This organization allowed the Church to survive the
collapse of Rome and helped it to convert the
barbarian Germans.