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Transcript of ROME and the RISE OF CHRISTIANITY. Essential Question: What impact did the rise and spread of...
ROME and the
RISE OF CHRISTIANITY
Essential Question:What impact did the
rise and spread of Christianity have on the Classical World?
What was religion like in Rome?
Religion in the Roman Empire
Religion in Rome was polytheistic and Roman gods were based on the Greek gods
Religion in the Roman Empire
Romans worshipped the gods in daily rituals, but most Roman citizens were not
very emotional about their religion
THE ROMAN EMPIRE AT ITS HEIGHT
The Romans conquered an enormous amount of territory; with that territory came many different
people and their own cultures and religions
How do you think the Romans treated people they conquered who had different religions?
Religion in the Roman Empire
Emperors were mostly tolerant of other religions; but they expected everyone who lived in their empire to
respect Roman gods as a sign of loyalty
In 63 BCE, the Romans conquered the Hebrew kingdom of Judea and allowed “Romanized
Jews” (who showed respect to Roman gods and obeyed Roman laws) to govern Judea
But the Hebrews were monotheistic and many refused
to pay respect to the Roman gods
Many Hebrews began to resist Roman rule; they believed that God would send the Messiah to restore the kingdom to the Jews
What major event
occurred in Judea
during the time of Roman rule?
Some time between 6 BCE
and 4 BCE, a Jew named
Jesus was born in Judea; many
considered Jesus to be the Messiah who would restore
control of Judea to the
Jews
At the age of 30, Jesus began
preaching a unique version
of Judaism throughout
Judea
This version of Judaism would later be known as Christianity
What were the basic
teachings of Jesus?
Jesus did good works, performed
miracles, and delivered his
religious teachings
Jesus preached a religion based on the
Jewish belief in a single God (monotheism)
Jesus taught that he was God’s son and that God would rid the world of evil
He taught about God’s love, mercy,
and forgiveness towards people
Jesus proclaimed there would be eternal
life in Heaven for those who
repent their sins
He based much of his good works and teachings on the Hebrews’ Ten Commandments
What kind of person would
Christianity appeal to?
Jesus and the Disciples Jesus’ message of eternal life in Heaven appealed to many people, especially the poor
Jesus’ followers were known as
disciples
How did Jesus die? For what reasons did he die?
Many Jews in Judea did not
accept the idea that Jesus was the Messiah (the one who would free the Jews from
Rome)Part of Jesus’
message was that of equality, which
threatened the positions of
leading Jews
Some of these leading Jews accused Jesus of the crime of blasphemy (contempt for God)
The Roman rulers of Judea also feared Jesus’ rising
popularity amongst Jews
They were concerned that Jesus might lead a rebellion against the
Romans occupying Judea
In the year 29 CE, Jesus was arrested on charges of blasphemy against the Jewish
religion and defying Roman authority
He was executed by
crucifixion, the Romans’
favored form of capital
punishment
After Jesus’ death, the religion of Christianity was formed and began to spread
The Spread of ChristianityThe Apostles (disciples of
Jesus who became teachers themselves),
especially Paul, molded Jesus’ teachings into a new religion called Christianity
Christianity was based upon the idea that Jesus was God’s son and that he died as way to atone
for humanity’s sins
The Apostles taught that Jews and non-Jews
were welcome as Christians
The Apostle Paul was especially influential in
the development of Jesus’ teachings into a
religion called Christianity
After Jesus’ death, Paul helped spread Jesus’ teachings throughout the Roman Empire
Christianity spread quickly due to roads, numerous trade routes, and common language
throughout the Roman Empire; the peaceful time of Pax Romana made travel safe for those
spreading Jesus’ teachings
Persecution of Jews and Christians
The spread of Judaism and
Christianity was seen as a problem
by the Roman emperors:
Persecution of Jews and Christians
Jews and Christians refused to
worship the Roman gods or recognize
the emperors as more
important than God
Persecution of Jews and ChristiansChristians and Jews were persecuted by the Romans; many were crucified, exiled, or killed during gladiator
events (such as by being fed to lions)
Persecution of Jews and ChristiansChristians who were executed were honored
by other Christians as
martyrs, those who sacrifice their lives for their beliefs
This only helped spread
Christianity
CHRISTIANITY BECOMES RECOGNIZED
Despite Roman efforts to suppress it, Christianity spread throughout the
Roman Empire and gained popularity In the year 312 CE,
Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity after recognizing that the
Christian religion was becoming the dominant
one in his empire
CHRISTIANITY BECOMES RECOGNIZED
Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, a ruling that gave freedoms and
equality to Christians within the Roman Empire
In the year 395 CE, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the
Roman Empire
ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
The early Christians organized a hierarchy
of leadership
Priests were supervised by regional bishops; the
overall head of the Church was the Pope
Popes later operated from the city of Rome
(and still do to this day)
ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Teachings that the Christians believed in (Jesus’ teachings as well as some of Judaism) were
collected into one official text called the Bible
DID CHRISTIANITY LEAD TO THE
FALL OF ROME?Some historians think
that Christianity helped lead to Rome’s fall
Romans spent more time thinking of the afterlife than the here and now
As a result, the Christianized Romans were unprepared for the invaders who eventually
conquered the Roman Empire
Closure Activity
What are the similarities and differences between Christianity and other religions of the Ancient World? –Review your notes from Units 1 and 2–Complete the graphic organizer on the
back of your notes
Comparing Christianity to Other Religions of the Ancient World