Christianity and Fall of the Roman Empire Lecture Notes

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1 Christianity and Fall of the Roman Empire Lecture Notes ** MAKE SURE YOU OR SEE ME DURING AC LAB IF THERE IS SOMETHING ON HERE YOU DON T UNDERSTAND THIS WILL FOLLOW ALONG WITH YOUR TEXTBOOK READING AS WELL AS EXPAND UPON SOME INFORMATION TO HELP CLARIFY THE TEXTBOOK CHAPTER** Christianity Judaism in the Roman World Teachings of Jesus developed into a new religion Christianity Many of the teachings rooted in beliefs, customs of Judaism 63 BCE, Romans conquered Judaea, chose new ruler for region, installed him as king Jews had to pay tribute to Romans but unwilling to abandon religion for polytheistic beliefs of Romans Romans leaders allowed Jew to practice religion as long as they paid tribute, maintained civic order Reactions to Roman Rule Judaism had different branches, varying ideas on cooperation with Romans Zealots called on fellow Jews to drive Romans from Judaea, reestablished Kingdom of Israel Messianic Prophecies After revolt in 130s, all Jews banned from Jerusalem Not all Jews willing to take up arms; others waited for coming of Messiah a spiritual leader prophesied to restore ancient kingdom, bring peace to world Jesus Against this background, a spiritual leader named Jesus of Nazareth emerged Life: Nearly all knowledge of Jesus comes from Gospels first four books of New Testament New Testament and books of Hebrew Bible make up today s Christian Bible Jesus born in Bethlehem, near Jerusalem Learned carpentry, studied writings of Jewish prophets Preaching: Jesus preached message of renewal Gathered groups of disciples Created excitement by performing miracles of healing, defending poor and oppressed Instructed people to repent of sins, seek God s forgiveness

2 Death and Resurrection: Jesus popularity alarmed authorities who feared political uprisings arrested, tried, sentenced to death According to New Testament, after crucifixion o Rose from dead o Spent 40 days teaching disciples o Ascended into Heaven Followers believed these acts revealed him as the Messiah Christianity spread; message of love and eternal life found appealing By 300 CE, 10% of Romans were Christian Results As Christianity spread through Roman world, some local officials feared Christians would conspire against them; arrested, killed many Christians Those Christians killed were seen as martyrs people who die for their faith Threat Christians persecuted at local level but large-scale persecutions rare during first two centuries after Jesus life Large-scale persecutions by Romans grew as rulers saw Christianity as a threat Imperial Approval Spread of Christianity got major push with conversion of Constantine By 313 CE, Constantine made Christianity legal within empire, Edict of Milan (proclaimed religious toleration within the empire) By late 300s, polytheism gradually disappears from empire Decline and Fall of Western Roman Empire Weak leaders after 180s CE, empire deals with challenges from outside and growing issues within when last of the 5 Good Emperors died, Rome had no strong leaders o marked the end of the adoptive period that provided political stability civil wars break out o Commodus assassinated; led to civil war and eventual rise of Septimius Severus (military emperor) Rome under increasing threat of invasions on eastern and western frontiers Military Dictatorships Emperors increased the size of Rome s army o Move from conquest army to border control Less discipline Fewer training standards

3 Recruitment largely from border provinces (some Romans feared a barbarian force or soldiers aka sympathetic to those outside the boundaries of Rome due to their close proximity) Demands on financial resources/military caused economic crisis o No military blunder o Cost of keeping people happy through food and entertainment o Need for luxury items growing; growing bureaucracy Empire under a military dictatorship o Legions deposed emperors and elevated their own leaders to the throne i.e. death of Commodus and rise of Septimius Severus o twenty emperors in 49 years; all but died violently Economic Troubles insecurity of civil wars affected Roman life robbery/piracy increased/travel hazardous o merchants feared to ship goods military needs required more revenue; emperors raised taxes Inflation value of money declined as taxes rose emperors minted new coins with copper, lead, and silver o limited supply of valuable metal made the coins loose value people refused to accept currency at face value result was inflation dramatic rise in prices Attempts at reform all the issues of the 200s basically shattered the stability of the Roman world drastic reforms had to be made if the empire was to survive 2 emperors rose to the challenge 1. Diocletian took power in 284 CE rose to the throne through the army changed empire into absolute monarchy o placed self above subjects; ruled with no accountability to anyone o realized, though, that more than one man needed to rule the empire so introduced the idea of tetrarchy (rule by 4 based on territory) 2 co-emperors (top dogs); 2 Caesars (junior rulers) divided the empire in two to improve efficiency o Diocletian ruled eastern half; appointed Maximian as co-emperor to rule western provinces forced Roman society into following a rigid, orderly system o sons were to follow trades and social positions of father o peasants were tied to land they farmed o increased the army; full attention paid to defense

4 commercial, manufacturing activities geared toward the needs of imperial defense new tax system raised more money for government/army reforms drastic, but successful o saved the empire from immediate economic collapse Diocletian s initiatives worked well while he remained emperor Diocletian, along with co-emperor, retired in 305 CE o Two Caesars rose to become co-emperors new emperors quarreled, plunged empire into civil war in 310 there were 5 competing emperors 312 CE, order restored when Constantine declared emperor by his troops, put end to fighting 2. Constantine continued state control over society o made himself sole emperor in 324 CE made 2 profound decisions that affected the direction of the future of the empire o converted to Christianity o built new capital on the site of the village of Byzantium (named it Constantinople city of Constantine) eastern half of empire was richer, better defended (cross-roads of trade/defensive abilities better) weak economy under his rule o 400,000 man army o huge civilian bureaucracy o imperial taste for luxury Invasion and fall the reforms of Diocletian and Constantine did not solve the overwhelming problems of the empire during the 300s/400s these problems were only worsened by increasing pressure on the empire s frontier The Invaders Germanic tribes lived and raided along Rome s frontiers for centuries New peoples moved west from Asia and pushed these Germanic tribes into the empire 1. the Huns 2. the Visigoths a. captured and sacked Rome in 410 CE 3. the Vandals a. attacked Rome in 450 CE b. term vandal eventually comes to mean one who causes senseless destruction 4. Attila a. Pope Leo I persuaded him to leave Italy and leave Rome alone

5 Fall of the West despite the Huns withdrawal, the western empire in shambles Germanic tribes ruled most of western provinces, including Italy Ostrogoths overthrew the last emperor (Romulus Augustus) o Many historians consider this the end of the western Roman empire Eastern Empire endures for several centuries will talk about Byzantium/Constantinople when we get into the Dark Ages/Middle Ages unit Reasons given for the fall of Rome 1. climate change 2. soil exhaustion 3. lead poisoning 4. racial pollution 5. slavery 6. intellectual stagnation 7. social disorder 8. excessive government 9. Christianity 10. immorality Concrete reasons for the fall of Rome 1. weak leadership 2. social unrest and insecurity civil wars broke out 3. economic issues inflation led to a weak economy 4. invasions invasions of tribes from Central Asia caused Germanic tribes to flee into the Empire, where resistance had been weakened