ROME

and the

RISE
OF
CHRISTIAN

Essential Question:
What impact did the rise
and spread of
Christianity have on the
Classical World?

What was religion like in

Rome?

Religion in the Roman

Empire

Religion in Rome was polytheistic and

Roman gods were based on the Greek gods

Religion in the Roman

Empire

Romans worshipped the gods in daily

rituals, but most Roman citizens were
not very emotional about their religion

THE ROMAN EMPIRE AT ITS

HEIGHT

The Romans conquered an enormous amount of

territory; with that territory came many different
people and their own cultures and religions

How do you think the Romans

treated people they conquered who
had different religions?

Religion in the Roman

Empire

Emperors were mostly tolerant of other religions;

but they expected everyone who lived in their
empire to respect Roman gods as a sign of loyalty

In 63 BCE, the Romans conquered the Hebrew

kingdom of Judea and allowed Romanized
Jews (who showed respect to Roman gods
and obeyed Roman laws) to govern Judea

But, the Jews were monotheistic

and many refused to pay respect
to the Roman gods

Many Hebrews began to resist

Roman rule; they believed that
God would send the Messiah
to restore the kingdom to the
Jews

What
major
event
occurre
d in
Judea
during
the
time of
Roman
rule?

Some time
between 6
BCE and 4
BCE, a Jew
named Jesus
was born in
Judea; many
considered
Jesus to be
the Messiah
who would
restore
control of
Judea to the
Jews

At the age of
30, Jesus
began
preaching a
unique version
of Judaism
throughout
Judea
This version of
Judaism would
later be known
as
Christianity

What were
the basic
teachings
of Jesus?

Jesus did good

works, performed
miracles, and
delivered his
religious teachings

Jesus preached a
religion based on the
Jewish belief in a
single God
(monotheism)

Jesus taught that he was Gods son and

that God would rid the world of evil

He taught about
Gods love,
mercy, and
forgiveness
towards people

Jesus
proclaimed
there
would be
eternal
life in
Heaven for
those who
repent
their sins
He based much of his good works and teachings
on the Hebrews Ten Commandments

What kind of
person would
Christianity
appeal to?

Jesus and the Disciples

Jesus message of eternal life Jesus followers
in Heaven appealed to many were known as
people, especially the poor
disciples

How did Jesus die?

For what
reasons did he die?

Many Jews in
Judea did not
accept the idea
that Jesus was
the Messiah
(the one who
would free the
Jews from Rome)
Part of Jesus
message was that
of equality,
which
threatened the
positions of
leading Jews

Some of these leading Jews accused Jesus of

the crime of blasphemy (contempt for God)

The Roman rulers of Judea

also feared Jesus rising
popularity amongst Jews

They were concerned that Jesus

might lead a rebellion against
the Romans occupying Judea

In the year 29 CE, Jesus was arrested on

charges of blasphemy against the Jewish
religion and defying Roman authority

He was
executed by
crucifixion,
the Romans
favored form
of capital
punishment

After Jesus death, the religion of Christianity

was formed and began to spread

The Spread of Christianity

The Apostles
(disciples of Jesus
who become
teachers
themselves),
molded Jesus
teachings
into
Christianity
wasa
newupon
religion
based
the idea
that Jesus
was Gods
called
Christianity
son and that he died
as way to atone for
humanitys sins

The Apostles
taught that Jews
and non-Jews
were welcome as
Christians
The Apostle Paul
was especially
influential in the
development of
Jesus teachings
into a religion
called Christianity

After Jesus death, Paul helped spread Jesus

teachings throughout the Roman Empire

Christianity spread quickly due to roads,

numerous trade routes, and common
language throughout the Roman Empire; the
peaceful time of Pax Romana made travel
safe for those spreading Jesus teachings

Persecution of Jews and

Christians
The spread of
Judaism and
Christianity was
seen as a
problem by the
Roman
emperors:

Persecution of Jews and

Christians
Jews and
Christians
refused to
worship the
Roman gods
or recognize
the emperors
as more
important
than God

Persecution of Jews and

Christians
Christians and Jews were persecuted by the Romans;

many were crucified, exiled, or killed during gladiator

events (such as by being fed to lions)

Persecution of Jews and

Christians
Christians who

were executed
were honored
by other
Christians as
martyrs,
those who
sacrifice their
lives for their
beliefs

This only
helped spread
Christianity

ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN

CHURCH

ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN

CHURCH
The early Christians
organized a hierarchy
of leadership

Priests were supervised

by regional bishops;
the overall head of the
Church was the Pope
Popes later operated
from the city of Rome
(and still do to this day)

ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN

CHURCH

Teachings that the Christians believed in (Jesus

teachings as well as some of Judaism) were
collected into one official text called the Bible

CHRISTIANITY BECOMES
RECOGNIZED

Despite Roman efforts to

suppress it, Christianity
spread throughout the
Roman Empire and
gained popularity
In the year 312 CE,
Emperor Constantine
converted to Christianity
after recognizing that
the Christian religion
was becoming the
dominant one in his
empire

CHRISTIANITY BECOMES
RECOGNIZED
Constantine issued the
Edict of Milan, a ruling
that gave freedoms and
equality to Christians
within the Roman Empire

In the year 395 CE,

Emperor Theodosius
made Christianity
the official religion
of the Roman Empire

DID CHRISTIANITY LEAD TO

THE

FALL OF ROME?

Some historians think

that Christianity helped
lead to Romes fall

Romans spent more time

thinking of the afterlife
than the here and now

As a result, the Christianized

Romans were unprepared for
the invaders who eventually
conquered the Roman Empire

Closure Activity
What are the similarities and
differences between Christianity and
other religions of the Ancient World?
Review your notes from Units 1
and 2
Complete the graphic organizer
on the back of your notes