Rise of Christianity
Compare and Contrast Polytheism and Monotheism
Polytheism: The worship of multiple gods or entities, sacrifices required (extreme sacrifices), relationship is transactional, afterlife is good for the rich and successful, failure to honor = punishment, other religions accepted, festivals
Monotheism: The worship of one God or entity, sacrifices sometimes required, afterlife is earned through deeds or in some cases acceptance and asking for forgiveness, other religions not accepted, feasts
Explain Constantine's road to power
After accepting Christianity, Constantine uses his soldiers faith to get them to fight harder. He then uses his popularity after his victory to become emperor.
List and describe the key terms associated with the Rise of Christianity
- Province of Judea (an area established by the Romans in 6 AD, originally inhabited by the Jews)
- King Herod: elected King of Judea, controlled by Rome
- Jesus of Nazareth: a figure that emerged from Judea and spread new ideas (including ideas about him being the Son of God) which earned him a following
- Gospels: first four books of the Bible's new testament that recount the life and deeds of Jesus of Nazareth and his disciples
- Monotheism: one God, relationship built on love, tolerance, and peace, followers go to Heaven, anyone can join, popular message
- Apostles = followers or students of Jesus of Nazareth that assisted him in spreading his message
- Messiah: Jesus was considered the "King of the Jews"
How did military expansion positively and negatively impact Rome?
Why were taxes continually increased?
While the empire was gaining land, they had to channel soldiers and money into defending their land. This eventually contributed to inflation in the Western empire
In an attempt to keep up with the funds required to defend Rome, emperors raised taxes. This led to higher prices, lower spending, and eventually inflation.
Describe what led to Western and Eastern Rome's cultural separation
As each culture developed in their respective areas, communication became harder to maintain, each half of the empire was using different languages (Latin and Greek), it became to difficult to continue trade between the two areas, and emperors began focusing on internal issues as opposed to worrying about the other empire.
Explain what happened to the Jews following the Jewish-Roman War
-After their loss, the Jews continued to rebel until the Romans decided to get rid of them. The Jews were forced to flee or create a diaspora and scatter among other areas.
Explain the rule of emperor Justinian
- Advised by Empress Theodora, he hoped to reunite the two halves of the Roman empire
- Sent General Belisarius to take the West from the Ostrogoths (initially successful but long term fails)
- Handles the Nika Rebellion with the encouragement of Theodora
- Established the Justinian Code which preserves Western and Eastern cultures for years to come
Rise of Christianity Key terms pt. 3
Scapegoat: someone or something that is easy to blame (an example is when a Roman Emperor blamed the Christians for any problems Rome faced)
Martyrs: Sacrificing oneself for one's beliefs
Constantine: a Roman emperor, the first to accept Christianity
Edict of Milan: Outlaws the killing and persecution of Christianity
Emperor Theodosius: makes Christianity Rome's official religion
Pope: an elected leader of the church
Bishop:
Priest:
Apostle Paul = first church leader
Heresy: false or blasphemous teachings
Nicene Creed: brought clarity to Christianity (created a unified version of the religion)
Augustine = bishop of Hippo (North Africa)
What factors caused the downfall of the Western Roman Empire
-Bad/Weak leaders: emperors began selecting their own children as succeeding emperors (spoiled, incompetent people come to power)
-Decline of the Economy: prices went up, money was funneled into defending the Empire, more money being spent than being made, and the value of money went down
-Citizen/Soldier quality goes down: more concerned about their own preservation than the good of Rome
Explain the effect of martyrs on the Roman people/military success
Christians gained sympathy from Romans who felt bad after they continually sacrificed themselves/respect for their devotion. When the religion was later accepted by the Romans, Christians willingness to fight to the death led them to be incredibly successful.
The Fall of the Roman Empire Key terms
Marcus Aurelius: last good emperor (end of the Pax Romana)
Commodus: son of Marcus Aurelius (begins a string of bad/weak leaders)
Inflation: money value goes down, prices goes up, an unbalanced economy is formed
Mercenaries: foreign soldiers paid to fight in an army
Diocletian: anti-Christian emperor that brought about multiple reforms in hopes of controlling Rome's inflation
Constantinople: Re-named capitol of Rome, named after Constantine
Germanic: tribes known for their invasions throughout history, more notably of the Western Roman Empire
Barbarian: generally primitive tribes that also invaded the Western Empire
The Huns: Nomadic horse archers from central Asian steppes
Tetrarchy: the splitting of power between two sections of Rome (East and West) with an Augustus (main leader) and Caesar (co-emperor) for each side
Eastern Empire: Prosperous, Greek speaking, large defensible trade cities, wealthy
Western Empire: poor, hard to defend, crumbling cities, Latin speaking
Attila the Hun: Unified the Huns under one leader, repeatedly attacked Western Rome
Romulus Augustulus: The last Roman Emperor
Byzantine Emperor: formed from the remaining Eastern Roman Empire
Epics: stories about heroes or heroic individuals
Latin languages: formed from Eastern Roman culture
Roman law = right of citizens
What did St.Augustine change about Christianity?
How did religion merge with government in Rome?
Augustine introduced the idea of spreading Christianity through force as opposed to peaceful conversion. Got to crack a few eggs to make an omelette.
People elected emperors partially through their beliefs.
Byzantine Empire Key terms
Justinian: emperor that attempted to reunify the East and West
Theodora: empress that advised Justinian during his rule
Belisarius: general that was delegated with military responsibilities concerning reunifying the empire
Theocracy: Government controls church and country
Patriarch: leader of the Eastern Orthodox church
Pope: leader of Western Christianity
Justinian Code: legal code created by emperor Justinian that preserved Western and Eastern culture
Hagia Sophia: Western Roman church
Hippodrome: a large stadium used for chariot races
Nika Rebellion: occurred in the Hippodrome, disagreement over chariot race led to 30,000 citizens being killed
Plague of Justinian: bubonic plague, killed many Eastern Romans
Icons: religious figures/images
Excommunication: removal from the church (the essential banishment of your soul from Heaven)
The Great Schism: Splitting of Catholicism from Eastern Orthodox
Missionaries: people sent to convert others to their religion
Cyrillic Alphabet: created by the Eastern Orthodox church to convert/promote literacy and education