WHI.06, Part 2: The Rise of Christianity and the Fall of Rome
Objective: The student will demonstrate knowledge of ancient Rome from about 700 B.C. to 500 A.D. in terms of its
impact on Western civilization by –
a) describing the origin, beliefs, traditions, customs, and spread of Christianity;
b) explaining the development and significance of the Church in the late Roman Empire;
c) listing contributions in art and architecture, technology and science, medicine, literature and history,
language, religious institutions, and law;
d) citing the reasons for the decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire.
Notes
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Essential Understandings of The Rise of Christianity and the Fall of Rome
1) The followers of Jesus spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, bringing it into
conflict with
2) Roman polytheism and eventually changing Western civilization.
3) As the Roman Empire declined in the West, the Church in Rome grew in importance,
membership, and influence.
4) Conquests and trade spread Roman cultural and technological achievements throughout
the Empire.
5) Western civilization was influenced by the cultural achievements of Rome Over a 300year period, the western part of the Roman Empire steadily declined because of internal
and external problems.
Essential Questions about The Rise of Christianity and the Fall of Rome
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
How did Christianity become established within the Roman Empire?
What were the essential beliefs of the early Christian faith?
How and why did Christianity spread?
What was the impact of the early Church in the late Roman Empire?
How did Roman achievements influence Western civilization?
Why did the Western Roman Empire decline?
Why do I need to know this?
1) As the world’s most widespread religion, Christianity guides the lives of billions today.
2) The decline and fall of great civilizations is a repeating pattern in world history.
3) Evidence of Roman culture is found throughout Europe, North America, Asia, and
Africa.
Notes
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Jesus
The Jews
Groups
1. zealots – wanted to rid their homeland of the Romans
2. a group who believed in a messiah – deliverer chosen by God
Jesus’ Early
Life
Jewish
1. born in Bethlehem sometime around 6 to 4 B.C.
2. raised in the village of Nazareth as a Jew
3. was baptized by John the Baptist and worked as a carpenter
Jesus’
Message
Teachings
1. began his public ministry when he was about 30
2. his teachings contained many ideas from Jewish tradition
a. monotheism
b. principles of the Ten Commandments
c. importance of love for God, neighbors, friends, enemies, and themselves
d. eternal kingdom after death for people who repented their sins
The Disciples
1. gathered 12 devout pupils – the disciples – they become the apostles
a. they are the main source of Jesus’ life
b. recorded the life and teachings of Jesus in the Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament
Jesus’ Death
Notes
His Death
1. growing popularity concerned Roman and Jewish leaders
2. many proclaimed he was the Messiah
a. Jewish leaders denied he was the messiah
3. the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate thought Jesus challenged the authority of the Romans; conflicted
with the polytheistic beliefs of the Roman Empire
4. sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion in A.D. 33
5. after his death, Jesus was placed in a tomb and according to the Gospels, three days later Jesus’ body
was gone
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From Republic to Empire
Directions: Using the Venn diagram below, compare the Roman Republic with the Roman Empire when both were
at the peak of their power.
Republic Only
Both
Empire Only
Balanced government
Popular representation
powerful emperor
senate
long-distance trade
Strong military
Christianity
Expanding territory
Polytheistic worship of
Pagan Roman gods
Notes
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Jesus
Jesus’ Death
…continued
The Christ
1. began appearing to his followers
2. came to be referred to as Jesus Christ (from the Greek word christos which means messiah)
3. the apostles, led by Peter, began spreading the teachings of Jesus
Christianity
Early
Spreading
1.
2.
first followers were Jewish
Christianity was first seen as a sect of Judaism
Paul’s
Mission
1.
2.
3.
4.
helped spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire
wrote influential letters called the Epistles
stressed the Jesus was the son of God who died for people’s sins
said all who converted would be saved – which enabled Christianity to become more than just a local
religion
roads, Greek and Latin languages helped spread Christianity more quickly
5.
Jewish
Rebellion
The Diaspora
1. A.D. 66, a band of Zealots rebelled against Rome
2. it was squashed by A.D. 73, a half million Jews were killed
3. A.D. 132 the Jews again rebelled against Rome
4. again squashed with another half million Jews killed
5. the Jewish people were kicked out of their homeland for 1,800 years in the Diaspora
Persecution
of the
Christians
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Notes
refused to worship Roman gods
Nero blamed the Christians for a fire that nearly destroyed Rome and began persecuting them
Christians were crucified, burned alive, or killed by wild animals in arenas
martyr – person who is willing to sacrifice their life for the sake of a belief or cause
Christianity spread despite persecutions
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The Spread of Christianity
Directions: Below is a series of phrases that describe the spread of Christianity. Place them in order in the flowchart. Then
draw a picture in the space provided at the bottom of the page that represents one of these events. The first one is done for
you.
Paul writes the Epistles
Theodosius makes Christianity the official religion of Rome
Constantine accepts Christianity
Jesus spreads his message
Nero Persecutes the Christians
Rome takes over the
Jewish kingdom
Jesus spreads his
message
Paul writes the Epistles
Nero Persecutes the
Christians
Constantine accepts
Christianity
Theodosius makes
Christianity the official
religion of Rome
Notes
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Christianity
Appeal of
Christianity
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
embraced all people
gave hope to the powerless
appealed to those who were repelled by the extravagances of imperial Rome
offered a personal relationship with a loving God
promised eternal life after death
Early
Christian
Church
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
gained a structure, a hierarchy
a bishop was a priest who supervised several local churches
Peter became the first bishop of Rome
later bishops of Rome will call Peter the first pope – the father or head of the Christian Church
whoever was bishop of Rome was the head of the Christian Church
Constantine
Accepts
Christianity
1.
2.
3.
A.D. 312, the emperor Constantine saw cross of light the night before a battle
ordered his soldiers to paint a cross on their shields
Constantine was victorious and issued the Edict of Milan in 313
a. declared Christianity one of the official religions of the Roman Empire
everyone was allowed to worship as they pleased
the emperor Theodosius made it the only official religion of the Roman Empire
4.
5.
Discord and
Harmony
Notes
1.
2.
3.
disagreements about beliefs developed
heresy – any belief that appeared to contradict the basic teachings of Christianity
official standard of belief became the New Testament
a. contains the four Gospels, the Epistles of Paul and other documents
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Roman Accomplishments
Directions: Copy the chart from the board. Then answer the question below.
Fine Arts
realistic sculpture
murals
mosaics
Literature
histories
Virgil’s Aeneid
Tacitus’s Histories
Engineering
Arch
Dome
Aqueduct
Roads
Law
Equal treatment before
the law
Innocent until proven
guilty
Burden of proof on
accuser
Unfair laws set aside
Which one of the categories mentioned is the most important? Write a four sentence (or more)
paragraph explaining your choice.
Notes
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The Legacy of the Greco-Roman Civilization
Roman Fine
Arts
1.
2.
3.
Greco-Roman culture – blending of Greek, Hellenistic and Roman culture
Roman art was practical, intended for public education
most Roman villas had at least one mosaic – picture made by setting small pieces of stone, glass or tile on
a surface
Learning and
Literature
1.
2.
3.
influenced heavily by the Greek philosophy of Stoicism
encourage virtue, duty, moderation and endurance
Virgil – wrote the Aeneid, the epic of the legendary Aeneas
Roman Achievements
Latin, the
Language of
Rome
1.
2.
3.
official language of the Roman Catholic Church into the 1900s
Latin influenced the development of French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Romanian
more than half the words in English are based in Latin
Architecture,
Engineering,
and
Technology
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
aqueducts – structures that brought water into cities and towns
the U.S. Capitol includes Roman arches and domes
roads that connected the empire are still used today
the Colosseum has influenced many of the larger stadiums of today
the Roman Forums influence town halls today
System of
Law
1.
2.
3.
most lasting and widespread contribution
th
all persons had the right to equal treatment under the law (14 amendment)
a person is innocent until proven guilty (used in the U.S.)
Notes
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Directions: Study the chart below, then answer the following question.
Multiple Causes: Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Contributing Factors
Political
Social
Economic
Military
- political office seen as a
burden, not a reward
- decline interest in public
affairs
- poor harvests
- threat from northern European
tribes
- military interference in
politics
- low confidence in empire
- disruption of trade
- low funds for defense
- civil war and unrest
- disloyalty, lack of patriotism,
corruption
- no more war plunder
- problem recruiting Roman
citizens, recruiting non-Romans
- division of the empire
- contrast between rich and poor - gold and silver drain
- moving the capital to
Byzantium
- decline of patriotism and
loyalty among soldiers
- inflation
Immediate Causes
Pressure from the Huns
Invasion by Germanic Tribes and
by Huns
Sack of Rome
Conquest by Invaders
Fall of the Roman Empire
1.
What were the four immediate causes of the fall of Rome? Pressure from the Huns, Invasions by Germanic Tribes and
Huns, Sack of Rome, Conquest by Invaders
2.
Which contributing factors – political, social, economic, or military – were the most significant in the fall
of the Western Roman Empire? Explain.
Notes
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The Decline of the Roman Empire
Political
1.
2.
3.
the decline of Rome began at the end of the reign of Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-180), the last of the five
good emperors
there were 79 emperors from 180-280, most killed off by their own army
political office was no longer prestigious, it was a burden
Economic
Decline
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
hostile tribes outside the boundaries of the empire disrupted trade
wars were frequent and costly
the wealthy spent the Roman treasury on luxury goods from east Asia
inflation – drop in the value of money when prices keep rising
farmland had been destroyed by warfare
a. less food to feed everyone
Military
Upheaval
1.
2.
3.
4.
Germanic tribes kept attacking from the north
Persia threatened Roman territory in Syria and Anatolia
soldiers gave their loyalty to their commanders who competed for the throne
the roman government hired mercenaries, paid soldiers, to defend it
Moral
1.
the people lost faith in their leaders and in the family
Attempted Reforms to Save the Empire
Emperor
Diocletian
Notes
1.
2.
3.
4.
governed as an absolute ruler and severely limited personal freedoms
attempted to control inflation by setting fixed prices for goods
required farmers to never leave their land and for people to stay in their jobs forever
most important reform – believed the empire was too large for one person to rule, so he split the empire
in two and made General Maximian emperor of the West and he remained emperor of the East
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Invasions into the Roman Empire A.D.350-500
Western Roman Empire
Notes
Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire)
Burgundians
Franks
Huns
Saxons, Angles Jutes
Vandals
Visigoths
Ostrogoths
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Attempted Reforms to Save the Empire
Emperor
Constantine
Emperor
Theodosius I
1.
2.
3.
took control of the western part in A.D.312 and the eastern part in 324 – uniting the empire as one again
moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople
a. strategically located for trade and defense purposes on a crossroads between
the West and East
1.
2.
3.
declared that when he died, the empire should be divided into two separate empires again
eastern empire will become known as the Byzantine Empire
western part will remain known as the Roman Empire
Barbarian Invasions
The Huns
1.
2.
3.
4.
The Germanic
Tribes
Notes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
fierce nomad warrior group from Mongolia
forced all other people to flee – usually into the Roman Empire
Attila
a. united all the Hun tribes
b. directly attacked the Byzantine and Roman Empires
c. Visigoths and Romans joined forces to fight them
after Attila’s death in 453, the Huns were no longer a threat
Franks, Burgundians, and Vandals first invaded Rome to avoid the Huns
the Franks and Goths divided Gaul between them
the Visigoths, led by their king Alaric, sacked Rome
the Vandals sacked and burned Rome in 455
in the year 476, the German soldier Odoacer invaded Rome and declared himself king
a. accepted as the year the Roman Empire fell
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Summary
DIRECTIONS: Choose one of the following:
a) write a summary (25-75 words) of what you believe was the most important aspect of the notes/lecture
b) write what you believe to be the most interesting or memorable part of the notes/lecture (25-75 words)
c) draw something that symbolizes the notes/lecture to you (has to be different than your title page)
Notes
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118
Name:
WHI.06 (pt.2): The Rise of Christianity and the Fall of Rome
DIRECTIONS: Check the agenda slide for the bellringer at the beginning of class and the closer at the end of class. You do
not have to copy down the question, but you do have to write in complete sentences. If you are absent on a day we do a
bellringer and closer, please write in the word ABSENT for that day.
Bellringers
Closing Activity
Date:
Date:
Date:
Notes
WHI.6, Part 2: The Rise of Christianity and the Fall of Rome
119
Name:
WHI.06 (pt.2): The Rise of Christianity and the Fall of Rome
DIRECTIONS: Check the agenda slide for the bellringer at the beginning of class and the closer at the end of class. You do
not have to copy down the question, but you do have to write in complete sentences. If you are absent on a day we do a
bellringer and closer, please write in the word ABSENT for that day.
Bellringers
Closing Activity
Date:
Date:
Date:
Notes
WHI.6, Part 2: The Rise of Christianity and the Fall of Rome
120