The Christianizing Empire
This was the location of the Aksumite Empire, which made Christianity its state religion before the Roman Empire did.
What is Ethiopia (or N. Africa)?
This economic system formed the bedrock of Roman society, producing staple crops like grain, olives, and grapes.
What is Agriculture?
This group of five emperors, ruling from Nerva to Marcus Aurelius, is considered the peak of the Roman Empire due to stability and adoptive succession.
Who are the Five Good Emperors?
This direct disciple of Jesus is traditionally believed to have brought Christianity to India, founding the Thomas Christians.
Who is Saint Thomas (or Mar Thoma)?
The Council of Nicaea was convened by this emperor in 325 AD to resolve theological disputes in the early church.
Who is Constantine?
This 4th-century ruler of Aksum became one of the first in the world to convert to Christianity and make it his state religion.
Who is Emperor Ezana?
The ideal Roman marriage was not typically based on love, but on this practical goal of building alliances and producing heirs.
What are family alliances (or legitimate descendants)?
This emperor, known as the soldier-emperor, expanded the Roman Empire to its greatest territorial extent.
Who is Trajan?
This ancient tradition of Christianity, using the Classical Syriac language for theology and liturgy, emerged from Aramaic-speaking communities of the Near East.
What is Syriac Christianity?
This theological doctrine, declared a heresy at the Council of Nicaea, taught that Jesus Christ was a created being and subordinate to God the Father.
What is Arianism?
This term, meaning "of one substance," was used in the Nicene Creed to affirm Christ's divinity and unity with God the Father.
What is Homoousios?
Though affection existed, Roman law gave this male head of the household absolute authority over his children and dependents.
Who is the paterfamilias?
The emperor who consolidated the empire's borders, building a famous wall in Britain and overseeing the construction of the Pantheon.
Who is Hadrian?
The name of the powerful trading kingdom centered in modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea that adopted Christianity as its state religion in the 4th century.
What is the Aksumite Empire?
The Greek term, meaning "of one substance," that was used in the Nicene Creed to affirm Christ's full divinity.
What is Homoousios?
This Christian presbyter's doctrine taught that Jesus Christ was a created being, subordinate to God, which was declared a heresy at the Council of Nicaea.
Who is Arius (or Arianism)?
Early Roman farming shifted from small farms to large estates worked by slave labor known as these.
What are Latifundia?
This emperor's reign began the Pax Romana, although he preferred to call himself the Princeps, or "First Citizen."
Who is Augustus (or Octavian)?
Christianity spread rapidly in this major southern continent via the Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts, reaching Egypt and Aksum by the 1st and 2nd centuries CE.
What is North Africa?
The official statement of Christian faith formulated at the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople that affirmed the doctrine of the Trinity.
What is the Nicene Creed?
This city, founded by Constantine in 330 AD, served as the "New Rome" and the new capital of the empire.
What is Constantinople?
The Greek word oikonomos, from which we get the word "economy," refers in the New Testament to believers who are expected to be good managers of God's resources.
What is steward (or manager/administrator)?
The Julio-Claudian emperor who was initially underestimated but is known for his effective administration, judicial reforms, and the conquest of Britain.
Who is Claudius?
This emperor was the first to convert to Christianity and make it the official state religion of the Aksumite Empire.
Who is Emperor Ezana?
This historian and bishop was an influential figure at the Council of Nicaea, helping to shape the early relationship between Christianity and the state.
Who is Eusebius of Caesarea?