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The Roman Empire

The Roman Empire. The Roman Empire. Begins in 27 BC, when Octavian takes the name Augustus Caesar and becomes the first emperor Lasts until 480 AD in the West, 1453 AD in the East. Augustus Caesar. The first Roman emperor

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The Roman Empire

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  1. The Roman Empire

  2. The Roman Empire • Begins in 27 BC, when Octavian takes the name Augustus Caesar and becomes the first emperor • Lasts until 480 AD in the West, 1453 AD in the East

  3. Augustus Caesar • The first Roman emperor • Encouraged trade, and eliminated taxes on goods traded within the empire • Began using a common currency • Constructed highways connecting the provinces to Rome and each other • Began a public building program • Most of these programs would be continued by other emperors.

  4. Other Important Emperors: • Julian Emperors: Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero

  5. Other Important Emperors: • The Five Good Emperors: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius

  6. Conquest of Britannia • Gradual process from 43-84 AD • Romans established a capital at Londinium (modern London). • Many campaigns fought between Roman army and Celtic Britons • In 60 AD Celtic queen Boudicea started a major uprising against the Romans that was defeated. • In 122 AD Emperor Hadrian ordered construction of a wall to keep out the barbarian Scots & Picts • Most of Scotland and all of Ireland were never conquered

  7. How to Keep the People Happy: Bread and Circus • Life could be miserable for average Romans, and the government was usually corrupt • The people could be kept happy with cheap food (Bread) and entertainment (Circus) • Wheat was therefore cheaply imported and flour often free. • Entertainment was provided at theaters, amphitheaters, circuses, racetracks, etc on religious holidays (up to 135 per year) when no work was allowed.

  8. Gladiators and the Amphitheater • Amphitheaters: By putting two theaters together, Romans created an arena for gladiatorial combat, animal slaying, and public executions. • The largest and most famous is the Flavian Amphitheater, or Coliseum, in Rome. • Gladiators trained at schools and fought each other for entertainment. Sometimes, combat was to the death. • Gladiators occasionally revolted, such as Spartacus’ slave rebellion in 73 BC

  9. Circuses • The Roman circus was a long oval arena, used primarily for chariot and horse races. • The most famous was the Roman Circus Maximus.

  10. Roman Baths • Large bathing complexes for health and relaxation • Often enclosed, with clay pipes and furnaces to provide lukewarm (tepidarium), hot (caldarium), and cold (frigidarium) baths, massages, body hair removal, and steam baths.

  11. Forum • Large public plaza surrounded by government buildings, temples, and triumphant arches • Public elections, triumphs (heroic parades) and even occasional executions and gladiatorial combat were held in forums

  12. Battle of Teutoburg Forest Disaster! • Battle between an alliance of German tribes against the Romans in 9 AD. • Romans are defeated and lose 16,000 of 25,000 men. • Established the Rhine River as Rome’s northern boundary

  13. Great Fire of Rome Disaster! • Fire that lasted six days in 64 AD, destroying a large part of Rome • Some blamed Emperor Nero (“fiddling while Rome burns”), who wanted more land for his palace expansion. • Nero blamed the Christians, and massacred thousands of them.

  14. First Jewish Revolt Disaster! • Jews in Roman province of Judea from 66-73 AD • Caused by religious ideology and taxation disputes • Romans recaptured Jerusalem in 70 AD, destroying the Temple and slaughtering the citizens. • Culminated in the Siege of Masada and the suicide of 950+ Jewish Zealots

  15. Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius Disaster! • Volcano in southern Italy that violently erupted in 79 AD • Eruption destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, killing thousands. • The first archeological discoveries were in the 1700s, and the digs continue to this day.

  16. Birth and Rise of Christianity • Jesus, born in Bethlehem, Judea in approximately 4 BC and raised in Nazareth • Crucified in Jerusalem in 33 AD by the Romans for a multitude of “crimes” • Believers (including his disciples, or followers) believed he rose from the dead 3 days later, fulfilling the prophecy of a Jewish Messiah (savior)

  17. Early Christianity • After Jesus’ death, his disciples and followers spread out across the Roman Empire, spreading Jesus’ teachings. • They added a “new testament” to the Jewish holy book (torah), known as the Gospels, or stories of Jesus and his teachings • Romans views the Christians as a threat, as they would not worship Roman gods and emperors. • Christians were routinely killed (martyred), through crucifixion, burned, fed to animals, etc.

  18. ΙΧΘΥΣ – the Greek word for fish • I – Iota or Iesous - Greek for Jesus • X – Chi or Christos - Greek for Christ • И – Theta or Theou - Greek for God • Y – Upsilon or Yios/Huios - Greek for Son • У – Sigma or Soter - Greek for Savior

  19. Important Early Christian Leaders • Peter: One of the 12 disciples, Jesus’ chosen successor, executed in Rome. Seen by Catholics as the first pope (Petrine Doctrine). • Paul: A non-Jewish convert to Christianity, spread Christianity throughout Greece, Turkey, and Syria. Declared Christianity was open to everyone, not just Jews.

  20. Roman Adoption of Christianity • Battle of Milvian Bridge: between rival Roman Emperors in 312 AD • Emperor Constantine had a vision before the battle that the Christian God would protect him. • Upon winning the battle, he converted to Christianity and made it the official religion of the Roman Empire.

  21. The Fall Of Rome • Rome began to decline by 192 AD, but the process took 300 years. • There were political, social, economic, and military reasons

  22. Constantinople • In 330, Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium (now Istanbul), in Turkey, and named the city Constantinople. • There had been 2 emperors (East and West) since 284 AD, but the new capital moved political power to the East.

  23. The Germans are CoMing! Disaster! • From 376 to 476 AD, the Western Roman Empire was invaded multiple times by Garmanic tribes from the north and East, including the Goths, Franks, Lombards, Vandals, and Huns. • Rome itself was sacked in 410 and 455 AD • In 476 AD German leader Odoacer defeated the last Roman Emperor, and the Western Empire was destroyed. • The Eastern Roman empire would last another 1,0000 years as the Byzantine Empire.

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