Rome’s Decline & Legacy

Did Rome allow its conquered people religious freedom?

70 AD: Jewish revolt in Jerusalem crushed. Why was Rome worried about Christianity?

Rome & Christianity

Blamed Christians for political troubles Emperor Nero blamed Christians for a fire Many Christians imprisoned or killed Who were the martyrs?

Roman Persecutions

200s: Millions of Christians in Roman Empire Why was Christianity popular?

A World Religion

Military leader 306: Became Emperor Persecuted Christians

Constantine

During battle, saw a Cross in the sky with the words “In this sign you will conquer.”

Had troops paint the symbol on helmets & shields

Edict of Milan: Decreed Christianity one of the empire’s legal religions

Built churches and made Sunday a holy day of rest

By 380, Christianity is made the official religion of Rome

Conversion of Constantine

Catholic means “universal” First Bishop of Rome (Pope): apostle Peter Christianity changed from a small sect into

a powerful and wealthy religion

Roman Catholic Church

100s AD: Empire stops expanding How did this hurt the economy?

Overuse of land led to a decline in agriculture Reliance on slaves prevented new techniques

from being developed Food shortages caused unrest

Weaknesses in the Empire

Due to constant fighting with nomadic peoples, Rome needed larger armies

Hired mercenaries with no loyalty to Rome

Soldiers became loyal to their commanders and to gold.

Problems in the Military

Size of the empire made it difficult to govern. Government officials corrupt Less Romans educated A loss of the sense of civic duty

Political & Social Problems

Rome Divides into East & West

284: comes to power Restored order Placed troops at empire’s

border Kept bread prices low Divided empire in half,

keeping eastern half for himself. Why?

Emperor Diocletian

330: Constantine moves capital from Rome to Byzantium

The New Capital

Late 300s: Nomadic Germanic tribes begin pushing into Rome

Were these groups “Barbarians”?

Why did these groups make this move?

476: City of Rome conquered by Germanic tribes

Western Empire Falls

Gaul conquered by Clovis and a Frankish kingdom established

What happened after the Western Empire collapsed?

After the Fall

The Byzantine Empire

Eastern Empire Lasts 1,000 years longer than the Western

Empire. Named after the city of Byzantium (later renamed

Constantinople) Those who lived here spoke Greek, but

considered themselves Romans Byzantine students studied Latin, Greek, and

Roman literature and history.

The Byzantine Empire

Ruled 527-564 Armies reconquered Italy,

northern Africa & southern coast of Spain

Rebuilt Constantinople Built schools, hospitals,

law courts Built Hagia Sophia, a

church that is today a Mosque.

Justinian Code: legal code based on Roman Law

Justinian

Who was in charge of the Church?

East & West clashed over who was the final authority on religious matters

1054: The Great Schism West: Roman Catholic Church East: Easter Orthodox Church

Christianity Divided

Pope has great influence over western kings and emperors

Byzantine Emperor controlled the Patriarch (leader of the Eastern Church) and the Church

Religion & Government

Unrest after Justinian’s death Which groups attacked the Byzantine Empire?

1350: Empire severely shrunk 1453: Turks conquered Constantinople http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/videos#the-fall-of-rome

Byzantine Empire Collapses

Lasting Legacy of Rome

Mosaic: picture made by up by small pieces of glass, stone, or tile

Art

Romans adopted the epic poem from Greece

Virgil’s Aeneid about hero of the Trojan War Aeneas.

Emperor Marcus Aurelius explained the philosophy of Stoicism in Meditations

Literature

Latin evolved into the Romance Languages Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian

Language

Arches, vaults, domes

Roman developments made it possible to build larger, taller buildings

Developed concrete

Architecture

Roman law is at the heart of many European countries & the US

Equal treatment under the law Innocent until proven guilty

Legislative assemblies modeled on the Senate

Roman Law