Western Civ. IF ROMAN RELIGION. Christianity Takes Form. Unit 3 Review. The Byzantine Empire. From Classical to Medieval. Page 9. Page 5.

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1 Western Civ. IF Christianity Takes Form Unit 3 Review From Classical to Medieval The Byzantine Empire Page 5 Page 9 Page 9 Page 13 ROMAN RELIGION In an earlier lecture I talked about the Roman Empire as it existed under the organization established by the first emperor, Augustus Caesar. As a political system it was very successful. It assimilated many peoples with diverse government and diverse cultures into a single world empire. But it also created a kind of spiritual void in the life of its subjects. And that is what I would like to look at today. The Roman Empire was a period in which all traditional religions of the earlier ancient world went into decline and were replaced by new religious systems. We must begin today by considering the causes of this decline. Traditional religion declined because it no longer served the purposes for which it had originally been developed. The main purpose of ancient religions was to serve as a focus for political and social loyalties. Each national group, each city, and sometimes even each family had its own religion. You could tell what a person's background was by observing which gods he worshipped. Greeks worshipped Greek gods, Romans worshipped Roman gods, and others worshipped the gods of their own nationality. Religion was in fact a sign of belonging. An individual accepted their gods because all of his fellow countrymen, friends and relatives also believed in them. This was true, for example, of Judaism, the Hebrew religion, which was a national religion intended only for Hebrews. With the coming of the Roman Empire, older nationalities and social groupings became less important. National gods were less important because the older political groupings were absorbed into the Roman Imperial state. The establishment of a worldwide peace made it possible for persons to move freely from one place to another, and many people did move to improve their economic condition. An Athenian might end up in Gaul, A Spaniard in the Egypt. When this happened, the individual was separated from his old friends and relatives and from his traditional religion. One consequence of the up rooting of people was that they no longer had clear-cut rules to live by, no guide for proper behavior. This was not because of the decline of religion. Except for Judaism, no ancient religion provided rules to follow in life. In ancient societies, behavior was controlled by social pressure. You acted a certain way because your friends, relatives, and fellow citizens would reject you if you did not. People who were up-rooted no longer knew how to behave. At the same time there was a growing feeling that leading an ethical life, behaving in a proper manner, was important. The Greek philosophers argued that a man should be good, and they succeeded in convincing everybody that this was true. But the rules of the philosophers were for well-educated people with logical minds. They did not appeal to the masses. Page 1 of 26

2 The Imperial Cult When the old national religions declined, the Romans tried to create new religion to replace it. This was an imperial religion that would do for the Empire and Rome with the older religions have done for cities and nations. This imperial religion had two parts. The first part of the religion was the worship of the goddess Roma. Roma was a deity who had been made up to represent the Roman state. The second part of the religion was the worship of the cult of the Emperor himself. It varied in different parts of the Empire. In lands like Egypt, where the rulers had always been considered gods, the Emperor was worshipped as a god. Since the Romans did not believe that men could be gods, people in the Roman areas worshipped the genius of the Emperor instead. The Romans believed that every man had a genius, the spirit that watched over him and kept him from harm. Since everyone wanted the Emperor to be safe, everyone worshipped his genius. This imperial religion was not really a successful replacement for older religions for several reasons. First, it was purely political. You followed it only to show that you were loyal to the state. It was not a proper religion at all. It did not set forth any ethical rules to live by. Since everybody followed it, it did not give you the feeling of belonging to group. Frieze above from the Alter of Peace, a Roman Imperial Cult alter, shows the goddess Roma (center) suckling the young twins, Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome. Mystery Religions Thus, the traditional ancient religions declined, and the new imperial religion did not provide an adequate substitute for them. As a result the Roman Empire saw the appearance of many new religions. Each different in many ways from those that had preceded them. The most popular of the new religions are called mystery religions. They were not all exactly alike, but they do tend have some things in common. They contrast sharply with older patterns. First of all, the mysteries were universal religions. They were intended for everyone who wanted to join, not just members of a particular national group. Often the religion might be dedicated to an old national deity, particularly one from the Near East. One popular mystery religion featured Isis, a traditional Egyptian goddess. But the mysteries also included rites, ideas and myths from many other religions. For instance, Isis was equated with many goddess is for many cultures. Secondly, the mystery religions were personal religions. You joined one as an individual, not as a citizen or as the member for particular family. Finally, the mystery religions had one other thing; they had mysteries. To ensure that one worshiped as an individual, the worshiper had to go through an initiation ceremony. By performing these ceremonies, you became a member of the religion. These were secret. Only persons who were initiated knew what they were. They were like fraternity initiations. Since they were secret, they were called mysteries. The mystery religions were popular because they help to fill the void in men's lives that the conditions of the Empire created. Accepting a mystery religion made you a member of a new group, not a national but a religious group, the congregation. Mystery religions also gave believers rules to live by. Worshippers of Isis sometimes had to shave their heads; and they were supposed to be good people, although this was not worked out in detail. At any rate worshippers in mystery religions gained new customs to follow, and this gave them a sense of belonging. Membership made you feel important. By going through the mysteries, you became associated with the god of the religion. Greeks and Romans needed this feeling of importance because they could no longer be important by involving themselves in politics. Page 2 of 26

3 Christianity Of all the new religions that began during the Roman Empire, one is by far the most important. That religion is Christianity, which gradually spread and became established through the Roman world. Now we should consider quite grew as much as it is why it became so popular. Christianity benefited from some of the same factors that helped the other mystery religions; and in fact, Christianity is a mystery religion. It is a universal religion intended for everybody. It is intended for the individual; it stresses a personal relationship between worshipers and God. In has ceremonies for the worshipers alone-sacraments such as baptism and communion. Christianity also had some characteristics that made it different from the other mystery religions. These characteristics also made it far more popular. We must therefore consider them. The central figure of Christianity was Jesus Christ. He was not the traditional god or mythical figure. He was a real person. He was much easier to identify with, particularly for members of the lower classes. He gave the religions historical basis. Christianity was a monotheistic, exclusive religion. If you became a Christian, you abandoned all other religions. This was not true of other mysteries. You could worship Isis, the Emperor, Rome, and even traditional gods at the same time. This gave Christians a stronger sense of belonging to a definite group or congregation. Also, because Christianity developed out of Judaism, it had many more ethical rules to follow. Some mysteries, like the religion of Isis, said you should be a good person; but they did not say how you were supposed to do that. Christianity provided a better guide to conduct, one that was as well developed as those of the Greek philosophers. But you did not have to be a philosopher to understand and follow the rules. Christianity had an appeal for both educated and uneducated people alike. Finally Christianity had extensive scriptures, religious writings that Christians could turn to that would explain their religion and clarify the rules of belief and behavior. It had the Jesus as the Good shepherd, Rome, 3 rd century A.D. Old Testament taken from Judaism. It soon also came to have many Christian writings as well. Roman Religious Tolerance Contrary to popular belief, the Romans were very tolerant in their actions toward religions other than their own. They recognized all the old traditional national religions, just as they tolerated the traditional laws of their subjects. They did not object to the mystery religions either, as long as they did not interfere with older religions too much. The only requirement that the government set down was that everyone should accept the Imperial religion, the cult of Roma and Emperor, along with other traditional religious observances. They even made an exception to that rule in the case of the Jews. The Romans realized that the Hebrews could not accept the Imperial religion because their traditional religion was monotheistic. Long before Roman times, the worship of all other religions had been forbidden among Jews. The Hebrews were exempted, therefore, from the Imperial religion as long as they did not seek to convert other people, which they didn't do. Christianity was a special case, however, and we must look at the Roman policy toward Christianity more closely. Eventually, it became the illegal to be a Christian. A law was passed against it under Nero (possibly around 75 A.D). The reasons were political. The emperors thought that the Christians were subversive and opposed to the state. Like Judaism Christianity was monotheistic, and Christians did not accept the Imperial religion. Unlike Judaism, however, Christianity was new and evangelical; Christians wanted everybody to become a Christian and to renounce the Imperial religion. The laws against Christianity did not mean that there was widespread arrest and execution of Christians, at least not immediately. In 112 A.D., the second of the Good Emperors - Trajan (98-117), wrote a letter to one of the governors in the provinces outlining procedures to be followed in dealing with Christians. He said that anyone accused of being a Christian must worship in the Imperial cult or suffer the penalty of death. But he instructed the governor to ignore the Christians unless some private citizen brought charges. This was the standard procedure. Because of this policy, action was taken against the Christians only on rare occasions. Page 3 of 26

4 Persecution of Christians was usually sporadic and geographically spotty. Christians might be persecuted in one city, say, in Gaul, for a year or so; and 50 years later they might be persecuted in a city in Asia Minor. By 250 A.D., Christians had become more numerous; after that date, persecution was more common. One emperor, Decius ( ), tried to wipe Christians out everywhere, but his rule was very short and he was not successful. In general the persecution of Christians was carried out only at remote intervals. But it was still not easy to be a Christian because many in the general population did not like. They were very different, and people shunned them socially. In general, what we can say, then, about the new religions that cropped up in the Roman Empire, is that they came into existence to provide Romans citizens with a feeling of belonging, to provide them with rules of conduct to guide and judge their lives by, and to fill the void left by the loss of other social and national groupings and religions under the larger context of the Roman Empire. Page 4 of 26

5 Christianity Takes Form In an earlier lecture I mentioned that one of the mystery religions that grew up in the first century of the Roman Empire was Christianity. I probably don t need to say here that it became the most important of the mystery religions. Few of you are members of the Mithra cult or the cult of Isis, but a lots of you are, at least nominally Christians. So, I d like to spend this lecture talking about the formation and early development of Christianity. The founder of Christianity was a Jew named Jesus of Nazareth who lived in the first half of the first century A.D. Most of his life is obscure. Jesus, himself, never wrote anything down, so what we know of his life comes from the writings called the Synoptic Gospels the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark and Luke. All of them give accounts of some part of the life and teachings of Jesus. All of them were written after his death, in order to preserve his teachings as the first generation of Christians were dying out. Modern scholars disagree to some extent as to the main teachings of Jesus, but a few of them are clear. The most clear part of his teaching is a moral message. Jesus taught that God required a new moral awareness among his followers. He insisted that how people treated each other was more important than simply following the rites and customs of worship he told people to work and play well with others. He elevated good human relations over strict compliance with the religious rules and rites of the Jewish religion and the law. He hinted that people who accepted his teaching and behaved accordingly would be rewarded in the next life. He may also have preached that he either represented the fulfillment of prophesy the Messiah of Jewish tradition or that he was the herald of God s intervention into human affairs. As a result of his teachings, especially his de-emphasis on Jewish law, Jesus was arrested, tried and executed. We know all of this because of the writings of three individuals who compiled what we call the Synoptic Gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke. The very earliest accounts of the life of Jesus are lost to us. Biblical scholars, studying the books of the New Testament that we have believe that there were works on the life of Jesus that were written before the Synoptic Gospels that Mark, Matthew and Luke used as a source for their works. These writings are called the Q Gospels. [Quelle = source in German] Each of the authors of the Synoptic Gospels have a slightly different story, or perhaps I should say, lay somewhat different stresses on their story of Jesus and his message. So, let s look at each of them. Page 5 of 26

6 Synoptic Gospel Writers The Gospel of Mark is probably the earliest written Gospel. It was written around 63 A,D., probably in Rome. Mark is thought to have been a follower of the Apostle Peter. Mark was apparently writing primarily for a Greek-speaking audience; he makes no reference to Jewish law or practice. Mark s story is less a narrative than a series of anecdotes in which he describes Jesus, his words, person, and even gestures in great detail. His gospel lacks elements that are standard in the other gospels. He makes no mention of the virgin birth, and many scholars believe that the verses in Mark that describe the resurrection were added at a later date. The author of the Gospel of Matthew is traditionally ascribed to the Apostle Matthew the Tax Collector, but most modern scholars are unconvinced that this is the case. The Gospel was most likely written between sometime between 65 and 75 A.D. Matthew s gospel is largely synthetic, that is he seems to have borrowed heavily from the Q Gospel, from Mark, and from other works on Jesus. He was probably writing for Jewish Christians in Palestine. His work is full of illusions to the Old Testament, and Jesus as the fulfillment of prophesy. Matthew argues that Jesus is the Messiah of Jewish prophesy. The Gospel of St. Luke was written just before 70 A.D., quite probably under the influence of St. Paul. Luke acknowledged that he was not an Apostle and was not an eyewitness to the life of Christ. He claimed to have investigated everything carefully and to have written an orderly account from the sources. In other words, Luke was an historian. Luke wrote his account for gentiles, that is for non-jewish readers, especially Greeks. His Gospel stresses Jesus as a healer, a helper of the oppressed, a sufferer for others. One scholar wrote that the Gospel of St. Luke is the Gospel of the outcast, the Samaritan, the publican, the harlot, and the prodigal. St. Paul But, even with the written words of the Gospel writers, its possible that Christianity would never have been much more than a splinter cult of Judaism without the intervention of Hellenized Jewish administrator named Saul. He was born in Tarsus around 5 a.d. He was an administrator in Jerusalem, and after about 30 a.d. he worked tirelessly to persecute Christians. Around 35 a.d. he was on his way to Damascus to arrest some Christians when he had a profound conversion experience. He was baptized, changed his name to Paul, and became a Christian missionary, first in Asia Minor, then Greece, and finally Rome. In 50 a.d. Paul attended the first church council, and there he argued that the message of Christianity was not just for Jews, but for everyone. He also convinced Jewish Christians that the Jewish laws need not apply to non-jewish Christians. Paul s letters to the various churches were actually the first published works of Christianity. They set many of the doctrines of the early Church outside of Jerusalem. His works also summarize Christian beliefs. He made Christ s death and resurrection the central event of the religion. He downplayed the notion of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, and focused on Jesus s promise to reward Christian belief and faith with salvation and eternal life. He portrayed Christ as an intermediate between humans and God. Importantly, Paul stressed that Christianity was not an extension of Judaism. A number of the leaders of the Church at Jerusalem believed that before one could be a Christian one had to be a Jew. Paul argued that Christianity was a completely new religion and anyone could be one. Paul was a Roman citizen, and when arrested for his faith, he demanded to be tried as a Roman. He was taken to Rome and treated well for about two years, but finally executed during Nero s persecutions in about 64 a.d. Early Difficulties During the next 2 centuries Christianity expanded in spite of, perhaps even because of, occasional persecution by Roman authorities. [explain about process of persecution] As its membership grew, a number of problems began to surface. One was theological. The many writings of the early Christians were unclear as to the nature of Christ and his relationship to God. One group of early Christians the Gnostics believed that no perfect being could inhabit a physical (imperfect and mortal) body. So, they denied the possibility of the Trinity, and argued that Jesus had never really been a human being. Other Gnostics argued that the mortal imperfect Jesus was not divine, had only been touched by God at some point before he began his ministry. I should point out that the Gnostics generated a large body of scriptural texts (nearly 20) that were not accepted by mainstream Christians. Then in the mid-200s, a church leader named Cyprian created a new idea of church leadership. He argued that Jesus had given the Apostles authority over the church, and the apostles had passed their authority on to the chief elders of each church. So, each church had one chief elder who had authority over that church. This idea is called the apostolic succession. These chief elders, bishops, had authority over the doctrines of their own church, and in the early 300s they began to meet in councils and make policies for all the churches. Page 6 of 26

7 Over time, the bishops of the churches in the largest cities like Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, and, of course Rome, became more important, and in the Western Empire, the Bishop of Rome became the most important of all. These bishops began to dominate councils of churches and influence important decisions. So, over time the Christians became more organized and more hierarchical in terms of church authority. Now, this didn t stop heresy, but it did give Christian worship more organization, and it went a lot further to define what was and was not orthodox Christian doctrine. This was good because the Church had other heretical movements that it had to deal with in the 4th century. I d like to look briefly at two. Donatism The first is called Donatism. During the persecution of Christians by the emperor Diocletian ( ), the Bishop of Carthage found himself in a dilemma. If members of his flock were arrested under suspicion of being Christians, they were required to make an offering to the emperor s statue. If they refused they were executed for their faith. If they made the offering, they were released. The Bishop reasoned that, if Christians were killed because they refused to make a gesture, their refusal was essentially suicide, which is a sin. They were not required to deny their faith, only to make an offering for the welfare of the emperor. The Bishop ordered his congregation and priests to make the offering and avoid death. But some of the Christians believed that he Bishop s order was wrong, and that priests who conformed to it and escaped martyrdom were traitors to the church and sinners. In 311, just at the end of the persecutions, the Bishop died. There was an election for a new bishop, the conservatives the ones who disagreed with the order lost. They decided to protest the election and chose as their leader a priest named Donatus. Donatus argued that any priest who had escaped death by making an offering to the emperor was sinful and tainted. He argued that the holy sacraments were invalidated if performed by any priest who was tainted by sin, any sin. A bad man can t be a good priest! Now this opened up a real can of worms! How can anyone know if a priest has committed a sin? This Donatist heresy was so destructive that it was referred to the Emperor Constantine in 313. Constantine was not a Christian, but he agreed to hear the dispute and render a verdict. His verdict was that Donatism should be rejected. But the contention quietly brewed in the Church for the next century or so. Finally, it became moot when the church accepted the notion of original sin as doctrine. Under this doctrine all men share the sin of Adam, and are thus born sinful. Since everyone was tainted by original sin, sin must not invalidate the sacraments as all priests are sinners. Arrianism The second is an Eastern heresy called Arianism. It is named after its founder Arrius. The Arians believed that God, and God only, was a perfect unity eternal, omniscient, unchanging the One. Jesus had none of these traits; as a mortal he could not be the Father & the Son at the same time. So, Jesus, according to the Arian argument could not have divinity. He could only be a sort of prophet, a mediator between God and man. As you can imagine, this caused a serious rift in the Eastern Church. Mainstream Church leaders argued that Christ, the Son, had always existed with God, and his translation to earth through the virgin birth had been a miracle, and the fulfilment of prophesy. But many Eastern Christians preferred Arianism, and some missionaries who went to work among non- Christian Eastern German and Slavic tribes were Arian, and converted these groups to Arian Christianity. As we will see, this will be important later on. Creating a Definitive Body of Scripture One last important factor that helped to create a unified Christian Church that took place in the 4 th century was the creation of the New Testament. Now, up until the middle of the 300s, there were lots of Christian writings in circulation. The Synoptic Gospels, remember Matthew, Luke, Mark, were widely accepted. The letters of Paul and some of the other Apostles were around and widely accepted. But other works that held more heretical beliefs were also in circulation. There were Gnostic Gospels and Epistles, there were some fairly questionable collections of the "sayings" of Jesus, there were other controversial works as well, all claiming the authority of scripture. In 382, the pope commissioned a noted Christian scholar named Jerome to produce a Latin translation of the Old and New Testaments to be the standard version for Christians everywhere. He revised the Gospels of the New Testament, and delivered them to the Bishop of Rome in 384. Next, he began to translate the Old Testament from Greek into Latin. It was a painstaking and difficult task, which Jerome completed in 405. He then translated the various other books of the New Testament. By his death in 420, Jerome had created the Vulgate Bible, which is still the standard Bible in use by Roman Catholics. Jerome was very careful when he chose the writings that would go into the Bible. He excluded works that had any hint of Gnosticism or any other heresy, and with very few exceptions, he rooted out verses of the Page 7 of 26

8 acceptable books that might give heretical impressions. The important thing is that Jerome produced a standard, acceptable orthodox Bible which further helped to define Christianity as a universal religion. So, what's it all mean? Well, we can say that during the 3'd and 4th centuries, Christianity became more universal, better defined as a faith, and far better organized as an international universal religion. This was to be very important in the next centuries, as the Church would be one of the most stable, powerful and important institutions in the West. Page 8 of 26

9 Unit 3 Study Guide The Romans Scope of Unit 3 Unit 3 will cover Lectures 21 to 28. This unit is primarily focused on the history of the ancient Romans, although it takes a few detours to cover the Etruscans, the rise and formation of Christianity and the Germans. I hope that this study guide helps you prepare what is a fairly generous quantity of material. Etruscans A really good study resource for the Etruscans may be found at: The Early Romans Monarchy, Revolution and Republic Unlike Greece, Italy has few good natural harbors, so that the inhabitants were never sailors in ancient times. They were farmers. On the western side of the mountains, several small rivers created a series of relatively open plains with rich soil where farming could be carried out. Most Italians lived there. Almost in the middle of the plains is the Tiber River. Rome was located on several small hills overlooking it on the south side. The Latin-speaking tribes settled into the middle of this open land west of the mountains. The region they occupied was named for them. It was called Latium. Although they had the same language and customs, the Latins were not politically united. They founded dozens of independent villages scattered throughout Latium. Later, when they became more civilized, villages located close to each other combined to form 30 small city-states. One group of villages that combined was located on the hills south of the Tiber River. Rome was one of these city-states. But neither the Latins or the other barbarians created civilization for themselves. They learned about it from other peoples. In South Italy, civilization was introduced by the Greeks. After 750 B.C., they began to settle and to set up city-states along the southern coast of Italy. But in Latium and Central Italy, civilization was introduced by another people called the Etruscans. The Etruscans are very mysterious. We cannot read their language. Recent Archaeology suggests from DNA evidence ties them to a people of Anatolia called the Lydians. We do know that by 800, they had begun to found city-states and to create an advanced civilization in the northwestern part of Italy (Etruria), on the other side of the Tiber River from the Latins. Because they were civilized and the Latins were not, they were able to conquer and to rule some of the Latins for a brief time. Around 753 B.C (according to tradition)., one band of Etruscans crossed the Tiber and took over the Latin village overlooking the river. They organized the villages into a city-state and introduced elements of civilization. They built temples and fortifications They introduced the Etruscan alphabet, which was modeled on the Greek alphabet. They may also have given the villages a common name for the first time. Some scholars think that the name Roma is an Etruscan word, but this is not certain. Although the Etruscans had given them civilization, the Latins at Rome still resented being ruled by foreigners. In 509 B.C., they revolted and drove the Etruscans out. Page 9 of 26

10 Using your text and the on line and in class lectures, you should be able to identify and explain the following: gravitas imperium pietas dictator virtus consuls auctoritas praetors Tarquin the Proud censors Lucretia Senate Latium centuriate assembly Latin paterfamilias res publica patron/client relationship In its early days, Rome was an aristocratic state, with two hereditary classes. Early Rome was very much like an early Greek polis. The hereditary aristocracy, the patricians, dominated a hereditary underclass called the plebeians. In the 470s B.C. a political process took place among the Romans called the Struggle of the Orders. Identify and explain the following terms associated with the Struggle of the Orders. patricians Tribunes of the Plebs plebeians sacrosanct Plebeian Council veto plebiscites Hortensian Law XII Tables Canuleian Law The principal reason why the patricians gave way to the demands of the plebeians was that the patricians needed more and plebeians to serve in the army. Rome required ever-increasing numbers of men as its power became greater and greater. Patricians realized that the way to get men men willing to fight for the city was to give them rights. This was a win-win for everyone. The patricians got more men in the army, the plebeians won rights, and Rome itself had a population that was loyal. That will translate into a tremendous amount of power. The Romans also had two very important social institutions that we need to understand in order to really understand how Rome functioned as a society and state. The first is the institution of the Roman family (familia), and the second is the patron/client relationship that the Romans called patrocenium. Please study these two conventions in your text ( ) and in the on-line lecture notes. Roman Expansion In their early history, the Romans were almost continually at war with the other states around them. Conditions in Italy in the Early Republic made it almost impossible for Rome or any other state to avoid war. There were literally hundreds of small, independent states in Italy, all competing with one another for power and resources. Most of these states needed land, and they could only get it by taking it from their neighbors. Because war was so common, the Romans came to admire and to reward men who were good soldiers and good generals. If a consul won a great battle, he and his relatives would find it easier to win election to other offices in the future. Even common soldiers earned great prestige when they had fought in an important Roman victory. They were also given land and a share in the spoils of war on occasions. The Romans were always ready and even eager to fight, if they were given any reason to do so by some other state. Page 10 of 26

11 Study the following terms from your various sources (text, lectures): Livy Magna Graeca phalanx Pyrrhic Victory Samnites Roman Confederation (Latin League) Gauls fetiales King Pyrrhus Fetial Law Epirus Rome s earliest conquests can be neatly divided into three parts: the conquest of central Italy ( B.C.), the conquest of northern Italy (c B.C.) and the conquest of southern Italy ( B.C.). At first, Rome was merely an equal partner with the other Latin cities. But gradually the size, skill and the toughness of her armies allowed her to become the leader of the alliance. As warfare continued, the Romans conquered the various hill tribes and city states that were in competition with them. To make sure that they would not be threatened again, Rome settled some of her own citizens among these people. Roman citizens would receive land, settle down, and form communities of their own and often intermarry with the locals. What this means is that Roman settlements are now farther away from Rome proper, and they have to be protected as well which means more expansion. Now, the Romans also did something for their conquered enemies that would never have occurred to the Greeks. They extended citizenship to those Latin peoples and conquered neighbors who could benefit from it. Not all of the conquered peoples could benefit from full Roman citizenship. After all, Rome was a republic like Greek states, and only people who lived within a fairly short distance say a day s travel from the city could take part in the political life of the city. Those who lived close to Rome became Roman citizens and those who lived too far from the city were extended Roman rights that they could use, for instance the right to do business in Rome, but were allowed their own local government. As a result of the extension of Roman citizenship and Roman rights, Rome grew very quickly, gaining a population and an army that was much greater than any Greek polis could ever even hope to acquire. A brief comparison between Roman and Greek alliances and expansion: Unlike Athens and other Greek cities, the Romans treated their allies well. The Romans sometimes needed the help of her allies, especially in her early history. She was careful not to offend them. Romans were afraid the gods would disapprove if she did not keep treaty obligations. Rome also gave the peoples of many allied states Roman citizenship, something that Athens and other Greek cities never did, wouldn t even contemplate! In Athens all citizens were supposed to have an equal chance to hold office, but this was only possible if the number of citizens was relatively small. But in Rome, a small number of families tended to monopolize the major offices in the state. They could give out citizenship without seriously threatening their own power within the Roman state. Citizenship was valuable to the allies, not so much for political reasons as because it allowed them to trade with Romans on an equal basis and to intermarry with Roman families. Generally, it was a good bargain for both sides. The allies got protection and fair treatment, and the Romans got vast numbers of soldiers to assist them in their conquest. The next two stages of Roman expansion were much shorter. Consolidation of dominance over the Western Mediterranean Dominance over the Hellenistic East Western Domination: War With Carthage: Carthage was one of the cities that had been built on the north coast of Africa by the Phoenicians. As a Phoenician city, Carthage was very active in trade and commerce. By 264, Carthage had established a lucrative commercial empire which included much of western North Africa, and part of Spain. The Romans fought two long costly wars with Carthage ( and ). Page 11 of 26

12 Study and identify the following terms related to the Punic Wars: Sicily Battle of Trebia First Punic War ( B.C.) Quintius Fabius Maximus Roman navy the Delayer corvus Battle of Cannae Hannibal Barca Lake Trasimene Hamilcar Barca Publius Cornelius Scipio Second Punic War ( B.C.) Scipio Africanus Saguntum war in Spain elephants and Alps Battle of Zama Domination in the East: After Zama, the king of Macedonia, Philip V, welcomed Hannibal to his court. Hannibal assured Philip that the Romans had expended so many men and resources defeating Carthage that Philip could pick up some territory. On Hannibal s advice, Philip began to put pressure on the Greeks who complained to Rome. The Romans put Scipio in charge. Scipio raised an army, and, in what is called the Second Macedonian War, B.C., he crushed Philip. The Punic Wars had not in fact weakened Rome but given it a large, experienced fighting force led by a truly able commanders. After defeating Philip, the Roman Senate made the Macedonians pay a large fine and told the king to leave Rome s friends in Greece alone. That done, Scipio and his army returned to Rome. Hannibal escaped and ran away to the Seleucid Kingdom. Once there, Hannibal convinced the Seleucid king, Antiochus III, that the Romans were tuckered out, so why not take a shot at expanding Seleucid interests and possessions in Greece." So, in 192 B.C. Antiochus began to move into Greece. The Romans asked Scipio to go to work again, and, as you can guess, he defeated the Seleucid army (The Syrian War, B.C.). The Seleucids were fined, told to behave, and the Romans went home. At this point, with nowhere left to run, Hannibal committed suicide. So, between 204 and 188 B.C., Rome became the big power in the whole Mediterranean basin. Now, I should mention that the Romans didn t annex any of these defeated states yet, they just charged them huge fines and told them to behave. The extent of Roman Expansion up to now outside of Italy had been the acquisition of Spain from Carthage, and that s about it. Rome was not the great empire that she would become, but, Rome had changed as a result of all of these wars, and not necessarily for the better. So, let s look at those changes. Consequences of Roman Domination and Expansion Remember that the early Romans had a simple agricultural economy; but Roman conquests this traditional system was replaced by a far more advanced economy. Wealthy Romans developed extensive trade and a demand for luxury goods that Romans had not known about before. Romans paid for these goods with money brought into Rome by conquest. Also, by 200 B.C., it was becoming harder and harder for small farmers to make a living. There were several reasons for this, but the most important grew out of Roman expansion and warfare. In the early period, most Roman soldiers were farmers who farmed in the winter and fought in the summer. This was easy since the wars took place close to home. But when the Romans begin fighting far away in, say, in Spain, or Greece, or Africa, many soldiers were forced to stay away from their farms for years at a time. When the men went to war their farms went untended and ultimately had to be sold. Wealthy Romans bought these farms and combined them into larger estates called latifundia. The latifundia were mainly intended to produce a cash crop that could be sold for profit. Major products were cattle, wine and olive oil. Page 12 of 26

13 Latifundia were operated by slaves, and the owner might only visit them once or twice a year. He looked on it has an investment. The slaves who worked on these estates were non-romans who had been taken prisoner by the Romans in war. These changes caused serious disruptions to Roman society. Those farmers who were forced to sell their land had to move to the cities, and the urban population rose rapidly in Italy after 200. In the cities work was scarce for free Romans as slaves did most of the unskilled labor. There were not enough jobs available so the unemployed either had to beg or steal to make ends meet. Urban poverty and crime became a serious problem. While a growing number of Roman citizens got poorer, other Romans became extremely wealthy. Fairly early on it became necessary for the Senate to create a welfare program, called the corn dole, that provided poor Roman citizens in the city with free grain to keep them from starving. The winners in this new economy had varied backgrounds. Most senators made money, but there were also others who became rich as well. These men were wealthy enough to afford to serve in the army as cavalry, so they were called equestrians. Wealthy Romans lived in unprecedented luxury: they had expensive houses and clothes, many slaves. They could afford to provide better education for their children. They often sent their sons to study in Greece. These social and economic difficulties were aggravated by political problems. After 200 B.C., a very few wealthy families increasingly monopolized the important Roman offices. They fell into the class of wealthy Roman Senators called nobiles, which means notable or well known persons. Discus the means by which the nobiles came to dominate the Roman state through the Senate, through politics, foreign policy and wealth. Think about ways that noble patrons could use their clients to secure their political interests. The Senatorial Class the nobiles became increasingly more callous about foreign expansion and diplomacy. This new face of Roman foreign policy can best be illustrated by two events that both took place in 146 B.C. The Sack of Corinth: The first was in Greece. Roman leaders pushed the Greeks until, in desperation, Southern Greece revolted against Roman influence. Instead of resorting to diplomacy to settle what was a fairly minor difference, the Roman consul Lucius Mummius invaded and destroyed the city of Corinth. He had no real reason to do so except to loot the city and send the booty back to Rome. The Third Punic War:That same year Rome declared war on Carthage without much more provocation except that it still existed. The great city of Carthage was defeated, destroyed so that not one stone was left standing on another, and Roman soldiers sowed the ground with salt so that nothing would grow there. By 146 B.C. Rome WAS the 400-pound gorilla on the Mediterranean block, and it was out of control. The Reforms and Deaths of the Gracchi Brothers After 133, a series of internal struggles broke out that gradually undermined the whole structure of the Roman state. The conflict was ignited by the action of two brothers named Tiberius Gracchus (d 133) and Gaius Gracchus (d.121). These two men came from a very distinguished plebeian Senatorial family, But they were still anxious to solve the problems which had arisen at Rome in the previous century. Using your text, and the lectures, study the reforms of Tiberius Grachus (Tribune 133 B.C.) and his brother Gaius (Tribune 123, 122). Identify the following terms: nobiles land reform optimates public lands populares Plebeian Council equestrians final decree of the Senate The Age of Generals Begins It was not long before men appeared who were able to destroy the Senate's power over the army. The first was named Gaius Marius (d. 87 BC). Marius was not really a reformer, but he was unpopular with the Senate because he did not come from a distinguished noble family. Normally, he would not have had a chance to reach high office, but he was able to get enough support from the equestrians to win the office of Consul in 107 BC. Page 13 of 26

14 How did Marius change the way that soldiers were recruited? What were the consequences of this new form of recruitment? How did Roman soldiers essentially become clients of their general rather than loyal troops of the Roman Republic? using your text, notes and on line lectures identify and explain the following terms. Marius Mules quid pro quo Lucius Cornelius Sulla Gaul Pompey proconsul Crassus crossing the Rubicon Mithradates Battle of Pharsalus Marcus Tullius Cicero the Ides of March novus homo Marcus Antonius concord of the orders Octavian First Triumvirate The Second Triumvirate is the name historians give to the official political alliance of Octavian, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Marcus Antonius formed on 26 November 43 BC. There were two 5-year terms, covering the period 43 BC 33 BC. The Second Triumvirate was an official (if extra-constitutional) organization, that controlled the Roman state. The most important members of this new arrangement were Julius Caesar s nephew (and adopted son and heir) Octavian, and Caesar s closest friend and general Marc Antony. Octavian was able to out maneuver Antony. Antony was sent to Egypt to consolidate Roman control of the East, while Octavian stayed in Rome. Despite having married Octavia, Octavian s sister, in 40 B.C., Antony openly lived in Alexandria with Cleopatra VII of Egypt. Cleopatra had also been Caesar s girlfriend, and bore him a son named Caesarion. A master of propaganda, Octavian turned public opinion against his colleague. Octavian paraded Antony s antics in Egypt with Cleopatra and scandalized the Romans. Finally Antony and Cleopatra put an expedition together to attack Rome. Octavian s forces decisively defeated Antony s and Cleopatra s at Actium in Greece in September 31 BC and chased them to Egypt in 30 BC. Both Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide in Alexandria, and Octavian personally took control of Egypt and Alexandria. With the complete defeat of Antony, Octavian was left sole master of the Roman world. Octavian would become the first Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar. Augustus Caesar (same person as Octavian) was the most important man in Roman history. He maintained control of the Roman State for the rest of his life. He was dominant from 30 B.C. to A.D. 14. During that 43 years he reorganized the Roman government to give permanent control to one man. He was the first Roman emperor. Augustus used military power to have himself put in charge of the old city-state government of Rome. He gained control by combining many powers of the old magistrates, consuls and tribunes into the largely informal and unofficial role of first citizen. Using the text and your notes and on line lectures, study the ways that Augustus consolidated his control over the Roman state. How did he use the powers of traditional Roman offices? Which offices? How did he organize the provinces? How did he maintain control of the Roman army? Of all of his titles, Augustus liked the title princeps best. Why? Dr. Price argues in his lecture that Augustus was able to create a mass delusion among the Romans. What was that delusion, and how did he pull it off so successfully that his rise to power created the Roman Empire? The Roman Empire Identify the following names and terms from the text and lectures: Julio-Claudians Year of the Four Emperors Augustus Flavians Tiberius Vespasian Caligula Titus Claudius Domitian Nero Good Emperors Trajan Marcus Aurelius Commodus civitates romanization household administration Page 14 of 26

15 borders of the Empire Rhine Danube Antonine Constitution auxilia You should be able to identify good and bad, and very bad emperors. What made a good one? What made a bad one? And what happened to the bad ones? Christianity Takes Form One consequence of the growth of the Roman Empire and the uprooting of people and societies within the Empire was that people were separated from their old local religions. In the Ancient World, religious activity had been tied to one s locality, and one s ethnicity. Local religions and cults began to fade in the face of a broad membership to the Roman Empire. As people began to move throughout the Mediterranean they often lost their connection with the gods and cults of their native lands. Membership in the Roman Empire brought many benefits, but, by the end of the first century B.C., in the area of religion, it created something of a vacuum among those who lived in it. The following terms and names are related to material on Early Christianity in the text ( ) and lectures (both in-class and on-line). Identify them, learn them, know them. Roman Imperial Cult Roma genius of the living emperor Gospel of St. Luke exclusive monotheism orthodoxy persecution Decius Domitian mystery religions heresy Q Gospels Isis Messiah Gnostics Mithras Saul of Tarsus St. Cyprian Christianity St. Paul Apostolic Succession Jesus of Nazareth Jerusalem Synoptic Gospels Eucharist St. Jerome Gospel of St. Matthew presbyters Vulgate Bible Gospel of St. Mark apostles What elements did mystery religions share in common? Why were they so successful? Dr. Price argues that early Christianity was, in fact, a mystery religion, although in some ways it was quite different from other. what were its similarities? Differences? Over time, the bishops of the churches in the largest cities like Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople and, of course Rome, became more important. These bishops began to dominate councils of churches and influence important decisions. So, over time the Christians became more organized and more hierarchical in terms of church authority. One last important factor that helped to create a unified Christian Church that took place in the 4th century was the creation of the New Testament. In 382, the pope commissioned a noted Christian scholar named Jerome to produce a Latin translation of the Old and New Testaments (the Vulgate Bible) to be the standard version for Christians everywhere. The Vulgate Bible is still the standard Bible in use by Roman Catholics. The Late Empire TheThe Good Emperors have already been covered. (see above) The Severan Dynasty ( ) began when Septimius Severus came to the throne in 193. Severus militarized the Empire, giving more power to the military over civilian affairs within the provinces. Severus philosophy of governing: Keep the army happy and ignore the civilian population. Problems plaguing the Empire from around s A.D. Internal Problems Barracks Emperors Page 15 of 26

16 Empire contracts plagues slight drop in temperature leads to shorter growing seasons and contraction of good available agricultural land. problems raising revenues. No coherent tax policies. inflation Roman emperors debase coinage to pay army. debased coinage is worth less than good coinage. fewer slaves: As Rome contracts fewer slaves are taken from conquered areas. Slaves freed to become tenant farmers. between , the population of the Empire contracted by about one third. External Problems The Germans begin to take advantage of weakness in Empire. They begin to raid into Roman territory in increasing numbers. The Parthians (Persians) begin to cause problems in the eastern territories of the Empire, in Mesopotamia, Syria and Eastern Asia Minor. The Romans probably still had the resources to defend against one of these problems, but not both. But the Roman Empire was not dead yet. it still had vast resources, and strong traditions. what it needed was someone who could pull it all together again. and it looked in 284 as if it had found just such a person. this person was the emperor Diocletian. he revived the empire, at least for a while. When Diocletian became emperor in 284, he determined that the Empire was declining primarily because of its internal and not its external problems. So, he set out to shore up the crumbling internal system and the first thing he did was give himself the power to do it. He got rid of the last remnants of the Republic and gave himself a new title of Dominus, which meant lord, or perhaps more appropriately master specifically the master of a slave. Whereas Augustus had stressed the fiction that he was merely the first among equals (princeps), Diocletian based his rule on absolute power and the mystery of his person. He was almost never seen in public. When he did appear he wore magnificent clothing and jewelry to emphasize his wealth and power. He met with and took advice from a select group of advisors called the companions. The very few who actually gained audience with the Dominus were forbidden to look him in the eye, and had to kiss the hem of his garment when they entered or left the ruler s presence. His home was called the Sacred Palace, and he was said to be divinely appointed to rule. There was still a Senate in Rome and another was created in Byzantium, but their powers were nil; both essentially served as town councils. Diocletian, with an enormous bureaucracy was the sole ruler of the empire. He created the Tetrarchy. He split the Empire into eastern and western halves. Each half had an emperor (the Augustus) who ruled their half essentially independent from the other half. Each half also had an assistant emperor (the Caesar) who helped with governing and were supposed to step up into the Augustus position when the Augustus died or retired. This system was supposed to make it easier to make quick policy decisions and also to solve the problem of imperial succession. He knew that this army would need resources and that meant the collection of regular and dependable taxes. He reformed the tax rolls so that only cultivated land could be taxed. The taxes were higher than they had been. He also issued a new silver coinage in an attempt to fight inflation. To make certain that this income would be forthcoming, he tried to freeze social and economic life as it was at that time. He declared that farmers could not sell their land and move, and, if they did, their neighbors would be responsible for paying their taxes. He decreed that civil servants could not quit, and, if they died, their children had to take their places. He decreed that businessmen could not shut down or open new businesses and could not leave the cities. He essentially issued laws that would keep everyone in important professions doing exactly the same thing forever. In addition to freezing occupations, Diocletion also froze prices. The taxation was too high for smaller farmers, so many of them sold their land to larger land holders and became tenant farmers, themselves. A smaller number of landowners cam to dominate a wide range of tenant farmers. This new agrarian social system became the basis for Medieval peasant agriculture. And to make certain that people would stay where they were, he promised horrible punishments to anyone who disobeyed. He ordered the confiscation of property, maiming of limbs, gouging out of eyes, and branding of faces. But what this tells you is not that all of this working but just the opposite. Page 16 of 26

17 Diocletian abdicated in 305 A.D. He went back home and took up farming. He hoped that his tetrarchy system would solve the problem of succession and maintain some kind of stability to the Empire. It didn t, because right after Diocletian stepped down, the four emperors fought among themselves for power. The winner of this power struggle was Constantine, and he is really important for three reasons. He continued the revival of Rome that Diocletian began. (ruled from 311 to 337 AD). He moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to his own city called Constantinople. Constantine also made Christian worship legal with the Edict of Milan (313). Constantine favored Christianity and helped the early Christian Church leaders to formulate orthodox doctrines and organization by means of his leadership in a series of Church Councils. It was necessary to create Christian orthodoxy because a number of problems began to surface. One was theological. The many writings of the early Christians were unclear as to the nature of Christ and his relationship to God. We have already looked at the Gnostics, but in the 4 th century a number of other heresies began to unfold, the most threatening of which were Arianism and Donatism. Arianism: It is named after its founder Arius. It is an eastern heresy. The Arians believed that God, and God only, was a perfect unity eternal, omniscient, unchanging the One. Jesus had none of these traits; as a mortal he could not be the Father & the Son at the same time. So, Jesus, according to the Arian argument could not have divinity. He could only be a sort of prophet, a mediator between God and man. As you can imagine, this caused a serious rift in the Eastern Church. Mainstream Church leaders argued that Christ, the Son, had always existed with God, and his translation to earth through the virgin birth had been a miracle, and the fulfillment of prophesy. But many Eastern Christians preferred Arianism, and some missionaries who went to work among non-christian Eastern German and Slavic tribes were Arian, and converted these groups to Arian Christianity. As we will see, this will be important later on. Some emperors were even partial to Arianism and this partiality would cause problems over the next century or so. Additionally, A Goth named Ulfilas published a Bible and he and a number of Goth (German) missionaries converted a great many Eastern Germans. Ulfilas and his colleagues were Arians, so most Eastern Germans who converted to Christianity were Arians. Donatism: During the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Diocletian ( ), the Bishop of Carthage found himself in a dilemma. If members of his flock were arrested under suspicion of being Christians, they were required to turn over holy books and other Christian materials to the authorities. If they refused they were executed for their faith. If they gave up the stuff (traditor), they were released (to become traditores, where we get the word traitor). The Bishop reasoned that, if Christians were killed because they refused to make a gesture, their refusal was essentially suicide, which is a sin. The Bishop ordered his congregation and priests to comply and avoid death. But some of the Christians at Carthage believed that he Bishop s order was wrong, and that priests who conformed to it and escaped martyrdom were traitors to the church and sinners. In 311, just at the end of the persecutions, the Bishop died. There was an election for a new bishop, the conservatives the ones who disagreed with the order lost. They decided to protest the election and chose as their leader a priest named Donatus. Donatus argued that any priest who had escaped death by surrendering holy things to the emperor was sinful and tainted. He argued that the holy sacraments were invalidated if performed by any priest who was tainted by sin, any sin. A bad man can t be a good priest! Now this opened up a real can of worms! How can anyone know if a priest has committed a sin? This Donatist heresy was so destructive that it was referred to the Emperor Constantine in 313. Constantine agreed to hear the dispute and render a verdict. His verdict was that Donatism should be rejected. But the contention quietly brewed in the Church for the next century or so. Page 17 of 26

18 Finally, it became moot when the church accepted the notion of original sin as doctrine. Under this doctrine all men share the sin of Adam, and are thus born sinful. Since everyone was tainted by original sin, sin must not invalidate the sacraments as all priests are sinners. Constantine viewed Christianity as a vehicle for stability in a Roman Empire that was sorely in need of stability. He had no use for an unstable or disunited Christianity. Constantine founded a dynasty that would rule the Empire for about 40 years. All of his successors, except for the last member of the dynasty would be Christians. The last of Constantine s line, Julian the Apostate would try unsuccessfully to restore paganism as the religion of the Empire. Julian s successor, Theodosius, reinstated Christianity, even making it the preferred state religion. He denounced Arianism and supported and promoted the Church. After Theodosius a series of very weak emperors ruled in the West: Generals increasingly controlled the West. The city of Rome declined as a center of government in the West. Various emperors and generals ruled the West from other cities that were better protected, and in some cases more wealthy and strategically important. In the meantime, the Eastern part of the Empire became more important. The East was wealthier and better populated. It was still a center of cities and trade. Constantinople (Constantine s capital) rapidly became the center of culture, religion and power. The Germans As the fabric of the Roman Empire began to unravel internally, external threats on the frontiers of the Empire contributed to further crises. The most important external threat was posed by a people called the Germans. The Germans are Indo-Europeans who apparently appeared in the area of the Baltic Sea around 1500 B.C. They began to migrate to the south in the late Bronze Age, and they reached the Rhine River, which actually is in today s Germany, around 200 BC. The Romans had had dealings with the Germans from the time that Julius Caesar annexed Gaul into the Empire in the 50s B.C. Most of these dealings had been less than friendly. The Germans were a bellicose people, like the Romans, and most relations between the two in this early period usually involved a fair amount of blood and body parts getting strewn about the landscape. Several German tribes spread down the Danube River and reached the Black Sea around 200 AD. So, Germanic peoples slowly but surely become the neighbors of the Roman Empire to the north. Most of what we know about the Germans is the result of a book called Germania by the Roman historian, Tacitus. The basic social unit of the Germans was the clan of some 10 to 20 families, and, for military and some other purposes, a bunch of these clans would join together to form tribes. This society was dominated by men who were the hunters and the fighters. All other physical labor farming, cooking, etc. was left to women or slaves, but usually the women. When the men were not hunting or fighting, they usually were drinking, eating and arguing. The Germans did not launch a major assault on the Roman Empire at any particular time. They drifted down along the northern border of the Empire, and they would raid into the Empire and suffer attacks by the Roman army in retaliation for these raids. The first Germans actually entered the Roman Empire as slaves, where they were highly prized for their good looks. But the raids continually increased, and after 200 A.D. they became increasingly threatening. In fact, the Romans in the 3rd and 4th centuries even adopted the policy of settling some German tribes along the northern border to protect the Empire from other German tribes. And, since they did that, some Germans became Christians. In fact, the Germans generally adopted many aspects of Roman civilization; they did not really represent a competing civilization. Beginning in the late 300s, Romans began to allow various Germanic tribes to settle in depopulated Roman territories. The Germans settlers could farm the land and defend it against other Germans, AND pay sorely needed taxes to the Roman state. It was a win/win all around. The Germans were being pushed themselves by an asiatic barbarian people called the Huns. Page 18 of 26

19 Visigoths some 100,000 settle an area south of the Danube River with permission of the Eastern Emperor Valens. Romans treat them badly and in 378 the Visigoths defeat Valens and his army at the Battle of Adrianople. Valens is killed in the battle. The emperor Theodosius makes peace with the Visigoths and settles them further west in Greece. Now they threaten the Romans in the west. In 406 the Rhine River froze and thousands of Western Germans walk across into the Western Roman Empire. Romans, desperate to defend the West evacuate Britain completely in 410. That same year Visigoths under King Alaric invade Italy and sack Rome. Alaric spared churches and many Romans, but the sack of 410 was a blow to Roman morale. Many pagans blamed this disaster on Christianity. They argued that the old gods had punished Rome for falling away from the old religion. To refute this charge, St. Augustine of Hippo wrote his most famous book, The City of God. In it, he argued that all earthly states are imperfect and must eventually fall. Romans were wrong to think that the Empire would last forever. Politics or any other activity designed to make this world better or stronger will ultimately fail. For that reason, such activities are relatively unimportant. The only perfect state is the city or Kingdom of God, which is in heaven. Men should try to prepare themselves to be good citizens in that state. Finally, in 476 AD a German chief named Odoacer conquered Rome and expelled the Emperor Romulus Augustulus (a boy), and that is considered by historians the fall of the Roman Empire. It was even considered at the time the fall of the Roman Empire. However, I want you to put in your notes that 476 AD is the fall of the Roman Empire in the West. Not in the East. In the East it continues for another 1000 years. In the West after 476, increasingly different German tribes carved little kingdoms out for themselves. But the populations that they controlled were Romans, so German kings did all they could to be Roman as well. They converted to Christianity, the employed Roman civil servants and advisors, they maintained as best they could Roman institutions like assemblies and gladiatorial contests they did all that they could to maintain a certain degree of romanitas in their kingdoms. Roman Art, Literature and Culture Study the Spielvogel text on this subject. He covers the culture of the Republican Period on pages and the culture of the Augustan Age ( ), and the so-called Silver Age ( ). How do these periods differ? study the importance of rituals and omens, as well as the household cults in Roman religion on pages Identify the following terms: Jupiter Optimus Maximus auspices pontifex maximus Vesta pontiffs Janus college of pontiffs Penates augurs festivals college of augurs Study the growth of slavery in the Republic. Why was the revolt led by Spartacus of particular concern to the Romans? Also the position of women and marriage in the Roman family. Spielvogel notes that the development of law, especially the civil law was one of Rome s chief gifts to the Mediterranean World, and even to us today (Louisiana s civil code is based on Roman Law. Learn and identify the following terms related to the Roman legal system: ius civile ius gentium praetors jurists ius naturale Page 19 of 26

20 Literature and art in the Republic. Identify the following from the text: Greek New Comedy Stoicism Plautus mos maiorum Terence Greeklings Cato the Elder Scipio Aemilianus On Agriculture Culture in the Augustan Age. Also look at the culture of the Silver Age Identify the following terms from Spielvogel ( , ). Augustan Senate Tacitus equestrian class Seneca Augustan reforms Juvenal Virgil architecture The Aeneid aquaducts Horace gladiatorial shows Satires eruption of Vesuvius Ovid medicine Amores slavery Art of Love the Roman family Livy Page 20 of 26

21 From Classical to Medieval In the last few lectures, I have been discussing the great changes that took place in government and religion during the Roman Empire. I have followed the story to the 400s when the western part of the Empire was overrun by barbarians. These events were paralleled by great changes in the outlook and thought of Greek and Roman civilization. By the late 400s the outlook of the ancient world had been replaced by a new, medieval view of life. The development of intellectual life in the Roman Empire and the Early Middle Ages is my subject for today. The most important trend in thought during the Roman Empire was a growing disgust for the material world and the physical side of man and a growing concern with the supernatural and the human soul. This marked a momentous change in traditional attitudes. Most ancient peoples were originally very much like us. They were concerned with the practical problems of surviving and prospering in everyday life. This was especially true of the Romans. Their main goal was to be successful politicians and rulers. Their favorite philosophy was Stoicism, which taught them how to make the world better. It was a practical philosophy. They were proud of their political success. The poet Virgil had said that the Romans were such good rulers that their Empire would last forever. But during the Empire, the Romans became disillusioned and gradually lost this practical, optimistic outlook. It became impossible for most men to succeed in politics because control over politics and political life steadily fell into the hands of the emperor and the bureaucracy. In the 200s, Rome suffered great political problems that killed the old Roman optimism. The perfect Empire no longer worked, and no one seemed to be able to do anything about it. These problems convinced most people in the Empire that the material world of nature as a whole was imperfect and corrupt. They became extremely pessimistic. This pessimism is reflected in the conception of the physical universe that almost everyone in the Empire came to accept. The universe was thought to be made up of seven spheres, one inside another. Each sphere contained one of the seven known planets, and the Earth was in the very center. Men were struck by how different things seemed to be in the outer spheres from the way they were on earth. The planets moved in regular, unchanging patterns that could be described by mathematical laws. They seemed perfect and eternal. Thus arose the idea that the perfect, eternal place was up in the sky somewhere, literally in heaven. This idea was held by many pagans as well as Christians. In contrast, life here on earth was always confused and changing. This had to be the worst place in the universe. They called it the sublunar world, the world below the moon. Page 21 of 26

22 Neoplatonism This pessimistic attitude toward the material world led philosophers to offer new ideas about how men should act and the goals of action. Most earlier philosophers, such as the Stoics, believed that men could improve the world through virtuous action. But if the world was hopelessly evil and corrupt, this was impossible. Thus Stoicism lost popularity. By the 200s, it had disappeared and been replaced by a new philosophy. Many men helped create the new philosophy, but the most important was Plotinus (d. 270). The philosophy of Plotinus is called Neoplatonism (new Platonism) because he used many of Plato s ideas. But there were many major differences. Plotinus argued that all things in the world come from a perfect, unchanging unity, which he called The One. The world was created from The One in a series of separate stages. First, The One forms a blueprint for the world of nature similar to Plato s world of ideas. From this blueprint comes the purposes of individual things that Aristotle had argued for. The purposes impose themselves on pure matter to shape the form and development of things in the natural world. Each stage depends on and is inferior to the stage that comes before it. The most perfect stage is The One; the least perfect is matter, which forms the world of nature. From this comes Plotinus view of man. Since the human body is made of matter it is basically imperfect. But the human mind is similar to the higher stages because it is capable of reason. Men must try to bring their minds into closer contact with the higher stages by studying, using reason, and contemplation. If they do that, they will be wise and virtuous. But unlike Plato or the Stoics, Plotinus did not think that men could use wisdom to improve the world. The world was made of matter and imperfect. Nothing could change that. This wisdom of Plotinus was an inner, spiritual quality. It was valuable only for the persons who had it. thinkers form reading and using Greco-Roman philosophy. In fact, there were some semi-philosophical ideas in Paul s letters and in other New Testament books, especially the Gospel of John. There was no reason why philosophy could not be used to explain some Christian teachings so long as it did not come into conflict with basic orthodox ideas. When Christian theologians used philosophy in their religious writing, they used primarily Neoplatonism. It dominated more abstract Christian theology from 200 to St. Augustine & Christian Thought In fact, it was a Christian writer at the end of the Empire who pulled together the various trends of imperial thought and used them to express for the first time in complete form the outlook that was to characterize the Middle Ages. He was St. Augustine (d. 430). Augustine was originally a pagan and a student of Neoplatonism, but he eventually converted and became a bishop in North Africa. In 410, Rome was captured by the Visi-Goths, and many pagans blamed this disaster on Christianity. To refute this charge, Augustine wrote his most famous book, The City of God. In it, he argued that all earthly states are imperfect and must eventually fall. Romans were wrong to think that Christian Adaptation of Neoplatonism It may not be immediately apparent, but this conception was not very different from many Christian ideas. Christ had taught that the inner condition of the soul was more important than external action, and many later Christians, such as monks, scorned the body and the world. In fact, there was only one major difference between philosophical ideas and Christian ideas, as Plotinus himself pointed out. Philosophical truth was based on reason and logical argument. Christian truth was based in part on divine revelation. This kept strict pagan philosophers from accepting Christianity, but it did not prevent Christian Illuminated page from City of God shows St. Augustine writing above, and the City below. Page 22 of 26

23 the Empire would last forever. Thus politics or any other activity designed to make this world better or stronger will ultimately fail. For that reason, such activities are relatively unimportant. The only perfect state is the city or kingdom of God, which is in heaven. Men should try to prepare themselves to be good citizens in that state. That is what is important. Life in the world of nature is important because it is in that life that men gain or do not gain the knowledge of God that will allow time to be saved. They may gain that knowledge in three ways. On their own, men must study the scriptures and the teachings of the Church. They also learn from personal experience and from the exercise of reason. But these two things are not enough. Unlike the philosophers, Augustine thought that the soul of man, as well as the body, was tainted with imperfection. He is the chief author of the Doctrine of Original Sin. Thus the soul of man cannot achieve knowledge of God by its own efforts. God himself must confer grace on those to be saved. For our purposes, the major idea here is that life in this world is chiefly a preparation for life in the next. In the Middle Ages, salvation was the underlying aim of almost all human activity. Decline of Intellectual Activity After Augustine, original intellectual activity in Western Europe declined rapidly as a result of the collapse of the Empire politically. We must look at the Early Middle Ages, which were culturally bleak. The political conditions that came with the fall of the imperial government in the 400s destroyed the institutions that had supported the traditional civilization of Greece and Rome. The cities of Western Europe declined steadily in population and in numbers in the early part of the Middle Ages. They were the primary targets of barbarian attack because most of the material wealth in the Empire was located in them. Once the Germanic kingdoms were established, civil war and banditry disrupted trade and cut the cities off from one another. The threat of attack and the decline of trade forced city-dwellers to flee to new lives as farmers or monks in the countryside. Roman schools of rhetoric and law were located in the cities and supported by the city governments. When the cities disappeared, formal higher education also came to an end. Some educated men fled to their rural estates or to monasteries. They were able to pass some of their knowledge to others, but it was difficult because they were so isolated. Limited intellectual activity continued in the 500s and 600s, but it became more and more restricted over time. One sign of the decline of learning was the disappearance of knowledge of the Greek language from Western Europe. Until the late Empire, educated Romans had all been virtually bilingual they knew Greek as well as Latin. But by the 300s, knowledge of Greek had begun to become rarer for various reasons. Augustine, who was a very well educated man, knew very little Greek at all. The fall of the Western Empire cut ties with the East and put and end to knowledge of Greek altogether. Between 400 and 1400, we know perhaps a half dozen intellectuals who read Greek. This meant that Greek learning in philosophy, science, and other scholarly subjects was accessible to westerners only in Latin translation. These translations were not very numerous. Until the end of the Middle Ages, for example, only one of the twenty-six major works of Plato was available in Western Europe. The few educated men in Western Europe perceived that the great learning of Greece and Rome was slipping away. Thus, the main effort of intellectuals after 400 was to preserve as much as possible. A representative figure was a man named Boethius (d. 524). He was a Roman, but he served as a minister for one of the Ostro- Gothic kings of Italy. He was finally executed for political reasons. He knew Greek, and he set out to translate Aristotle and Plato into Latin. Unfortunately, his death kept him from finishing. He was only able to translate two basic works of Aristotle on logic. It was not very much, but it was the only writing of Aristotle known in Western Europe until about Monastic Preservation Another man who had great indirect influence on the preservation of learning was St. Benedict of Nursia (d. 543). He came from a wealthy Roman family, but he eventually turned to religion. After he had tried to be a hermit monk for a short time, he decided to found a monastery in central Italy. Page 23 of 26

24 For this monastery, he wrote a set of rules to govern the organization and every-day activities of the monks. They were so popular that they were adopted by most other western monasteries. One feature of his rules was that the monks had to be kept busy all the time to keep them from falling into sin. One thing they were to do was to copy manuscripts. It was through the efforts of Benedictine monks that any of the great books of ancient times were preserved at all. In this work of preservation generally, so much had to be done that only the very slimmest intellectual ties were maintained with the civilization of the ancient world. To save time, men passed on books that covered the widest possible range of learning. Much of what was kept were only textbooks. As such, they were very general and very elementary as a rule. They did not delve very deeply into most subjects. Since medieval thinkers occupied all their time in preservation, they had little chance for original research or original thought. They placed an unduly high value on the limited learning of texts. Despite the efforts to preserve ancient culture, the early Middle Ages became increasingly dark intellectually. In this lecture, I have been trying to make one basic point. What we call the decline and fall of Rome represented more than just a change in government in Western Europe. It marked a significant break in the line of civilized development in two ways. To take the more obvious way first: adverse conditions determined that a great part of the intellectual tradition of Greco-Roman civilization would be lost. Men in the Middle Ages generally knew less about ancient life and ancient thought than we know today, and our own knowledge is more limited than we would like. Just as important, however, is the fact that many of the basic assumptions of Greeks and Romans had already been discarded or radically altered well before the Roman Empire itself ceased to exist. Page 24 of 26

25 The Byzantine Empire A few lectures ago I talked about the German penetration of the Roman Empire. We saw that the barbarians came in and established several weak kingdoms in the western part of the Empire. With this development, Roman government came to an end in the West, but it continued to exist in the East for another thousand years. Historians often call this surviving state the Byzantine Empire because the capital was in Constantinople, which had previously been known as Byzantium. But the people who lived in it never called it anything but the Roman Empire, and they always thought of themselves as being Romans. In the beginning, it roughly consisted of the eastern half of the Roman Empire, but in a thousand years of history, it periodically grew and shrank. The Empire had its greatest extent under the emperor Justinian ( ). His armies reconquered large territories in the West. They destroyed the kingdom of the Vandals in North Africa and brought that land back under Roman control. More important, they recaptured Italy from the Ostrogoths. The Byzantines ruled Italy for nearly a century. But for most of the Middle Ages, the Byzantine rulers were mainly concerned to protect the territory they had in the eastern Mediterranean. In this region, they had two principal groups of enemies. In Europe their enemies were the Slavs. The Slavs were the last great group of Indo-European barbarians to appear. The Slavic languages include Russian, Polish, and various others. In Asia, the main enemies of the Empire were the Moslems. I will be looking at them in later lectures. Together these enemies continued to whittle away at the Eastern Roman Empire through the rest of the Middle Ages. But for most of the period, the eastern Romans were able to hold on to Greece and Asia Minor, which represented the heartland of their Empire. These regions had many different peoples, but the dominant language and culture were Greek, as it had been in Roman times. The governments of the Eastern Empire kept the organization created for the Roman world by Diocletian and Constantine in the 300s. The Byzantines believed that the office of emperor had been created by God to care for mankind and protect Christianity. But the man who held the office was theoretically still an elected official. In practice, the ruler normally chose his own successor after consulting with the Senate of Constantinople. This Senate had been created by Constantine in imitation of the old Roman Senate. It was made up of the main leaders of the civil administration of the Empire. Occasionally, however, emperors were assassinated or overthrown by civil war. Then, it was usually the army that decided who the new ruler would be. Page 25 of 26

26 The Byzantine Empire at the height of its expansion under the rule of the Emperor Justinian (ruled ). The Byzantine Empire went a long way toward preserving Roman civilization, although its language and culture were Greek. But however the ruler was actually chosen, his name would be proclaimed to the people of Constantinople, who would cheer and clap. Their applause symbolized the election. Once on the throne, the emperor was an absolute monarch, who controlled all aspects of government, just like the Roman emperors from Diocletian on. He wore the old purple robes and crown, and men had to bow down in front of him and touch their foreheads to the floor. He was referred to by the Greek title autocrator, autocrat, and sometimes he was even called basileus or king. Now, you should remember that Diocletian had greatly enlarged the Roman imperial bureaucracy. The Byzantine rulers used this large, powerful administration to help them in running the government. The system worked because the East escaped the great collapse of civilization that hit Western Europe in the early Middle Ages. The Byzantine Empire continued to have many large, populous cities. In the cities, trade and industry remained strong, and the ancient educational institutions still operated with only minor changes. Justinian closed the schools of pagan philosophy because they taught ideas inconsistent with Christianity, but the schools of rhetoric and law still taught these subjects as before. The cities provided wealth to support the large bureaucracy, and the schools trained educated people needed to keep the bureaucracy operating efficiently. As a result, the Eastern Roman Empire was the best organized state in Europe through most of the Middle Ages. If the Empire had a weakness, it was the army. Because they were wealthy, the emperors often hired foreign mercenaries to fight for them instead of drafting their own subjects. The mercenaries were professional soldiers, so the army was generally well organized and effective against enemies. But it was not as large and not always as loyal to the state as a citizen army would have been. The main check on the power of the emperor and his administration was that he had to conduct government according to the law. The law that was used was based on the Roman law. Justinian took special pains to see that traditional Roman law would be preserved. At the start of his reign, he ordered a group of legal scholars to draw up the famous Code of Justinian. They collected all the earlier Roman laws still in force and arranged them systematically according to subject. They also collected selected passages from the works of the jurisconsults. Finally, they wrote a textbook based on their earlier work to be used to train lawyers in the imperial law schools. This work preserved the Roman law in the East and also put it into a convenient form that was passed back to Western Europe later on. This was the major contribution of Byzantium to European civilization. Page 26 of 26

27 Byzantine Church & State Now I want to give special attention to one last institution of the Byzantine Empire. That institution is the church. Christianity was the official religion of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the relationship between the church and state was very close. Because the emperors believed that God had created their office, they regarded themselves as the ultimate rulers of the church. They claimed the final power to enforce religious decisions. Now, emperors might consult with Church leaders on religious matters and allowed councils to settle many issues, but the final power always rested with him. Church leaders sometimes disagreed with the emperor s decisions and tried to resist them. But the ruler was powerful enough to control the Church in the area that he ruled. Thus, the Eastern Church had what is called Caesaro-papism, a system in which the emperor headed the Church. Among the leading churchmen, power was divided. Remember that the Council of Nicea had given special authority to four men the bishops of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. Three of these men ruled areas that were in the East. The practice eventually grew up of calling them patriarchs. They regarded the Bishop of Rome, the pope, as senior in prestige, but they did not agree that he had any jurisdiction over them. The patriarchs considered the pope to be only the first among equals. They claimed to have independent religious powers in their own areas, subject only to the Emperor. During the 300s, a fourth Eastern bishop grew in importance and joined the others. He was the Patriarch of Constantinople. Because he was the bishop of the second capital and later the only capital of the Empire, it was inevitable that he would become a major leader in the Eastern Churches. But the emperors prompted the growth of his authority because his position in the capital made him easy to control and an ideal agent for carrying out their religious policies. The other patriarchs grumbled about this, but imperial support made the patriarch of Constantinople the chief cleric in the East. At first, the Eastern Church was not a separate entity. It was part of one universal Christian church along with the Church of Rome and other Western churches. I now want to discuss the relations between the leaders of the Eastern Church and the pope. As joint leaders of Christianity, the emperor, the patriarchs, and the pope tried to cooperate in defining, protecting, and promoting orthodox beliefs. But over time, cooperation became harder. The churches in the two parts of the Roman Empire had slightly different traditions, and they occasionally disagreed about matters of religious practice and even about minor matters of belief. But these questions were overshadowed by the larger issue of who should have the greatest influence in making religious decisions. Under the Petrine Theory, the popes regarded themselves as the leaders of Christianity. Over time, they insisted on having a stronger and stronger role in deciding religious disputes. But the emperors considered the pope merely another patriarch. They felt that it was their duty to make the final decision. These two views were bound to come into conflict. Iconoclasm The first really serious clash over this issue arose in connection with a movement initiated in the Eastern Church known as iconoclasm ( ). Iconoclasm means the breaking of images. As Christianity grew in the Roman world, paintings and statues of Christ, Mary, and the saints were used to decorate churches. These images gradually became the objects of religious veneration. Some Eastern Christians considered the growing importance of this practice as idolatry. After all, the Ten Commandments had forbidden the making and the use of graven images. In 726, the Emperor Leo III ( ) issued a decree banning all images from Christian churches and ordering their destruction. The images had strong support among the mass of Christians, and many resisted the edict. But the patriarchs simply accepted the decree and tried to enforce it as rigorously as possible. Leo s policies continued off and on under some of his successors until 842, when the rulers finally gave in to popular discontent and abandoned them. The print at right shows Byzantine iconoclasts painting over pictures of Christ and pulling down an alter crucifix from a church. Page 27 of 26