Ancient Rome The Rise of Christianity World History

Ancient Rome: The Rise of Christianity World History

Entering a Time of Peace Under Julius Caesar, Rome became an empire. n Octavian Augustus was the first emperor of Rome. n Rome became too powerful to be challenged and entered a time of peace in the empire, known as the Pax Romana or “Roman Peace. ” n n Allowed ideas to spread across the world.

How Powerful Was Rome? n 3 million square miles n 80 million people n 1 million residents in city of Rome.

The Rise of a New Religion In 63 BC, Rome took over Judea, the home of the Jewish religion. n Judea was controlled by King Herod, a Jewish governor for Rome. n After Herod’s death, fighting broke out among his three sons. n Rome sent troops to create peace in Judea. n

The Birth of Christianity n Judaism was tolerated by the Romans at first. n n Jesus of Nazareth was born under the rule of Octavian (Caesar Augustus) Grew up preaching the idea of one true god n n First Monotheistic Religion: Only one supreme god. Spread a message of peace, love, forgiveness. Many Jews believed that Jesus was the Messiah or Savior, from the Romans.

How do We Know About Jesus? Followers of Jesus wrote about the teachings and experiences that occurred during his life. n These writings were called Gospels, meaning “good news” n n Can be found in the New Testament of the Christian Bible—written 30 -70 years after Jesus lived

Events of Jesus’s Life From Nazareth, born in Bethlehem “The City of David” n Grew up in Nazareth, raised Jewish n At 30, was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River; John the Baptists identified Jesus as the Messiah n After 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus returned to Galilee and began to preach, heal, and perform miracles n Had followers called disciples n

Key Teachings of Jesus Love God with all your heart n Love your neighbor as yourself n Taught Peace and Love as key virtues n Jesus spoke n

The Teachings of Christianity n Why did Christianity appeal to people? Embraced All people n Promised life after death for ALL people. n Appealed to poorer people who were not wealthy like Romans. n Because of the Pax Romana, these ideas of Christianity were able to spread quickly through the empire.

The Crucifixion of Jesus n The popularity of Jesus with the poor angered the Romans and the Jews. Jesus was called the “Son of God” and a “King” n Jews feared Jesus’s preaching would anger the Romans (Pages 354 – 355) n n Jewish leaders turned Jesus over to the Roman governor of Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate, to be Crucified. n “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God. ”

Golgotha - “Place of the Skull” Calvary – Latin Word

After the Apostles *Followers of Jesus became known as Christians. Much of what is known about Jesus comes from the writings of his Apostles. *Apostle means “One who travels. ” Apostles traveled, spread Christian teachings, and wrote the Gospels of the Bible. Peter and Paul were two very influential

The 12 Apostles

Roman Persecution of Jews and Christians n Why did the Romans hate Christianity/Judaism? Monotheism vs. Polytheism n Christians/Jews didn’t recognize the emperors as Gods. n Blamed for any problems in Roman society. n Emperors such as Nero crucified and tortured Christians and Jews as traitors. n Many Jews fled their homeland to escape. Known as the Jewish Diaspora- or “spreading out” n

The Jews Strike Back 66 AD- Jews rebel against the Romans. n 70 AD- Romans stormed Jerusalem and destroy their temple, leaving only the Western Wall n 73 AD- Jews and Romans fight at the Battle of Masada. Many Jews died in this battle, most of suicide. n n Today- The Western Wall is Jerusalem’s holiest shrine.

The Victory Arch of Emperor Titus over the Jews in Jerusalem

Jerusalem’s Western Wall

The Martyrdom of Peter n Peter the Apostle traveled to Rome and was crucified upside down by Nero. Believed to be the first “Bishop” or Pope of the Christian Church. n Today, all Popes are believed to be descendants of St. Peter. n We now call this the “Catholic” church which means “Universal”. n

St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City

The Vatican

The Tomb of Saint Peter

n Christianity Under Constantine In 312 AD, Constantine became Emperor of Rome. n During Battle, he saw an image of a cross and won. 313 AD- Constantine issues the Edict of Milan making Christianity a legal religion in Rome. n To strengthen the religion he called the Council of Nicaea to establish the core beliefs of Christianity, leading to the Nicene Creed. n

Finally Official n In 380 AD, Emperor Theodosius declared Christianity the Offical Religion of the Roman Empire.