English: Magazine 19 Roman Empire and Magazines 20 Christianity and Roman Legacies Espanol: Revista 50 El Imperio Romano Y Revista 51 El Cristianismo y El Legado Romano
Study Guide: Roman Empire - The assassination of Roman ruler Julius Caesar in 44 BCE led to civil war. - In 31 BCE, Octavian’s forces defeated Antony and Cleopatra’s fleet in a sea battle at Actium, in Greece. - Octavian became the sole ruler of Rome. He took the name Augustus Caesar and the title princeps (“first one”). The Roman Republic was over. - Augustus reigned until his death in 14 CE. The empire he established would last for hundreds of years. - The Forum was Rome’s main political, religious, and business center. The Roman senate met there, in a building called the Curia. - Under Augustus’s leadership, the empire grew and prospered. By the end of his reign, Rome controlled lands in Africa, Asia, and Europe. - He also made taxation fairer and tried to improve the lives of the poor. - Pax Romana (Roman Peace). For about 200 years, the entire Mediterranean world remained remarkably calm under Rome’s protection. - The Pax Romana ended during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161–180 CE). Marcus (left) faced revolts and invasions at the empire’s borders in Syria, Germany, Britain, and elsewhere. - The End of the Roman Empire - In 27 BCE, the Roman Empire was the most powerful state in the ancient world. But beginning in the 3rd century CE, fierce tribes of people the Romans called barbarians invaded the empire. - To the Romans, anyone who was not Roman and did not speak Latin was a barbarian. - Finally, in 410 CE, barbarians called Goths stormed Rome, destroyed its buildings, and carried away its valuables. - The final blow came in 476 CE, when a barbarian named Odoacer declared himself king of Italy. The Western Roman Empire ended. - The Eastern Empire lasted another 1,000 years. - The fall of Rome changed the map. Barbarian tribes like the Franks turned Gaul into France, and the Angles and Saxons turned Roman Britain into Saxon England. - Around 370 CE, the Huns began invading the Roman Empire, helping cause its final collapse. - Diocletian divided the empire into two parts, East and West. Each had its own emperor. - Constantine the Great managed to reunite the empire in 324 CE. But it officially split for good in 395. Cities and trade grew in the Eastern Roman Empire, as the Western Roman Empire declined. - Instead of uniting against the barbarian threat, the Roman emperors and politicians plotted against each other. - Roman armies grew more powerful. Groups of soldiers fought one another to make their own favorite leader emperor. - Wealthy Romans moved to their country villas and stopped participating in or caring about the Roman government. - When Odoacer, a German tribal army commander, declared himself king of Italy, the Western Roman Empire officially was no more. - Emperor Constantine founded Constantinople, which became the capital of the Eastern Empire. The Eastern Empire survived until 1453, when it fell to the Turks. Constantinople is now known as Istanbul. - Religions In Rome - The Romans borrowed the Etruscan goddess of crafts, Minerva (right), gave her the traits of the Greek goddess Athena, and made her the goddess of wisdom and war. - The Romans honored their gods by building temples. Inside each temple was a statue of a god or goddess.People did not go to a temple to worship the god. Rather, a temple was where priests made offerings. - The Romans honored their gods with more than 100 festivals every year.Quinquatria was a five-day festival honoring Minerva, the goddess of wisdom. - On a festival day, priests performed rituals and sacrifices outside the temple of the god being honored. - People did not have to work, and in particular, no legal work was allowed. Celebrations included feasting, music, rest, and reflection. - Rome was a large empire with people of many different cultures and religions. - Some Romans participated in mystery religions. - Mithraism was a mystery religion that began in Persia and spread to Rome. In Rome, the god Mithras was associated with loyalty to the emperor. - The Romans were a very practical people. They believed that religious observances were a way of keeping on the good side of the gods, who had the power to help or destroy them. - The Jewish People Under Roman Rule - Jews living all over the Roman Empire. Thousands lived in the city of Rome. Syria and Egypt also had large Jewish populations. - They, the Jews, were allowed to practice Judaism in peace for many years. Over time, however, conflicts about religion grew between the Jews and the Roman government. - From 37 to 4 BCE, King Herod the Great was the local ruler of Judaea under the Romans. - Rome let the Jews practice their religion in peace. With the tax money that was left over, Herod rebuilt the Temple at Jerusalem, which had originally been destroyed by the Babylonians in about 586 BCE. - The Jews rebelled against Rome in 66 CE. Four years later, Titus – who later became the emperor of Rome – crushed the revolt and destroyed the temple. - After the destruction of the temple in 70 CE, Jewish troops at the mountaintop fortress of Masada made a last stand. It took 15,000 Roman soldiers almost two years to defeat 1,000 Jewish fighters. - Jews revolted again in 115 CE because of their treatment by the Romans. This time the revolt was not limited to Judaea. Jews living in Egypt, Cyprus, and other parts of the empire attacked Roman soldiers and towns. It took the Romans two years to put down this rebellion. - In 132 CE, the Jews in Judaea revolted against the Romans for the third time. The Roman response was more brutal than ever. - After the revolt was put down, the Emperor Hadrian forced the Jews to leave Jerusalem. - The Romans changed the name of Judaea to Syria-Palaestina. - After the end of the third Jewish revolt, missionaries from a new religion called Christianity began to carry their message outside of Judaea. Christianity had begun as a sect, or division, of Judaism. By 135 CE, when the third Jewish revolt was put down, it had become a separate religion.
"I have experienced this in others and in myself, for I walked not in the way of righteousness. … But the Almighty God, who sits in the court of heaven, granted what I did not deserve." Constantine
WEDNESDAY 5/17
OBJECTIVE FOR WEDNESDAY 5/17: Finish Roman Empire
THURSDAY 5/18 & FRIDAY 5/19
THURSDAY and Friday Objectives: Thursday and Friday: Finish Christianity and Roman Legacies Friday: Finish Christianity and Roman Legacies
Objetivo de Jueves y Viernes Jueves: El Imperio Romano y El Cristianismo y El Legado Romano Viernes: El Imperio Romano y El Cristianismo y El Legado Romano