Our Heritage from Ancient Rome Rome governed the largest empire of the ancient world.

Law, government, la nguage, architecture, and literature are part of the Roman heritage. Christiani ty began its development within the Roman Empire. The Romans preserved classica l Greek and Hellenistic culture, but did not make any significant contributions themselves to science or mathematics. The Early Roman Republic Rome began as a group of villages near the western coast of central Italy. The ancestors of the Romans were the Indo-European peoples who entered Italy ab out 2000 B.C. Kings ruled Rome from the 8th to the 6th century B.C. In 509 B.C . the people of Rome overthrew their Etruscan king and founded a republic. Wealthy landowning patricians dominated the early Roman Republic. They con trolled the Senate which elected all other government officials. Lower class pl ebeians had little power. Plebeians gradually gained a greater voice in the rep ublic. The patricians gave them their own assembly. They also won the right to elect tribunes to protect their interests. The laws of Rome were written in th e Twelve Tables, limiting the power of the patricians. Landowning Romans served in a well-trained and well-organized army. Rome struggled for three centuries to gain control of the Italian Peninsula . It then fought a series of wars against many enemies. First Rome conquered C arthage in North Africa, along with Sicily and Spain during the Punic Wars. Rom e then won control of Greece, Macedon, and part of Asia Minor. Rome controlled a good part of the Mediterranean lands by the late 2nd century B.C. From Republic to Empire Rome's wars created many problems for its people. Rome's expansion made so me Romans very wealthy, but made many more poor. The use of slaves increased an d the landed estates of the wealthy grew in size. Many small farmers in Italy c ould not compete with slave labor and lost their farms. They became slaves or u nemployed city dwellers. Some Roman leaders tried to reform Roman society. Between 133 B.C. and 121 B.C. two tribunes, the Gracchi brothers, tried to provide land for the poor. L arge landowners in the Senate opposed the reforms of the Gracchi brothers. Thei r enemies eliminated the brothers and halted land distribution. The deaths of the Gracchi brothers and many of their followers began a peri od of civil war in the Roman Republic. The Social War (90-88 B.C.) occurred whe n Rome refused to grant citizenship to soldiers of its Italian allies. After Ro me put down the revolt, leaders of the common people fought against defenders of the Senate. Between 88 and 82 B.C. the senatorial leader, Sulla clashed with t he tribune Marius and defeated his followers. Sulla became dictator and execute d many of the Senate's enemies. After the retirement of Sulla, Rome returned to constitutional government fo r a short time. However, conflicts soon began between political and military le aders. In 60 B.C. three Roman leaders, Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar formed an in formal governing partnership called the First Triumvirate. They illegally force d laws through the Senate. After the formation of the First Triumvirate, the Roman leader Caesar invad ed and conquered Gaul. Caesar also invaded and began the conquest of Britain. The Senate feared Caesar and supported Pompey. (Crassus was killed by the Parth ians in Asia in 53 B.C.) The Senate ordered Caesar to disband his army. When C aesar refused, the Senate declared him a public enemy. In 49 B.C. Caesar marched on Rome and Pompey fled to Greece. The next year

Caesar defeated Pompey. Pompey escaped to Egypt but was murdered. Caesar cros sed the Mediterranean to Egypt and made it a dependent ally of Rome. He then de feated Pompey's followers in Africa and Spain and put down a revolt in Asia Mino r. Caesar returned to Rome in 45 B.C. as master of the Roman state. He became dictator and held the title of Imperator. Caesar was king in everything but na me. He did not abolish the Senate, but it became only an advisory body. He par doned his enemies and made reforms to improve economic and social conditions. H e extended Roman citizenship to many Gauls and Spaniards to win their loyalty. Some senators became alarmed by Caesar's seizure of power. They realized t hat he did not intend to restore the Republic. A group of senators led by Brutu s and Cassius conspired to kill Caesar. On the Ides of March (March 15), 44 B.C . the senators stabbed Caesar to death in the Senate. The conspirators failed to win the support of the people and the Senate. T hey then fled from Rome. The assassination of Julius Caesar led to another civi l war. On one side were Mark Antony and Lepidus, two of Caesar's chief lieutena nts, and Caesar's grandnephew, Octavian. They formed the Second Triumvirate and then defeated Brutus and Cassius in 43 B.C. Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus divided Rome's empire among themselves. Lepi dus soon lost power leaving the other two to fight it out. Octavian controlled the west and Antony the east where he formed an alliance with Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. At the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C., Octavian defeated his two rivals an d annexed Egypt. Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. The Pax Romana The Roman Senate gave Octavian the name Augustus. The Senate gave him dict atorial powers. Augustus did not abolish the Senate or claim any autocratic pow ers. He called himself Princeps or "First Citizen." The reign of Augustus bega n a period called the "Pax Romana" (Roman Peace). Augustus reformed the civil s ervice and made the government of the provinces more efficient. The Romans expa nded their system of roads. Commerce and prosperity increased and cities grew. The Augustan Age was the high point of Roman literature and art. The Pax Romana continued under the descendants of Augustus called the Julio -Claudian dynasty (14 B.C.-68 A.D.). Rome granted citizenship to more provincia ls and the territory of the empire grew. Under the five Good Emperors (96-180 A .D.) the Roman Empire reached its greatest geographic extent. Christianity Develops in the Roman Empire Christianity developed in the 1st century A.D. in the Roman controlled area of Palestine. The people who followed the teachings of Jesus were called Chris tians. Our knowledge of Jesus and his teachings comes from four books of the Ne w Testament called the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote the Gospels after the death of Jesus. Jesus was baptized by his cousin John the Baptist wh en he was about 30 years of age. His followers recognized him as the Messiah or savior who would save the Jewish people from oppression. Jesus was known as Ch rist, from the Greek word Christos, which means savior. Jesus believed that there was only one true God, and that the people should follow the Ten Commandments. To these beliefs found in Judaism, he added many new teachings. He taught that God was the loving father of all people, not only the Jews. He preached that all people were the children of God. In the Sermon on the Mount he preached "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth ." He also said, "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the chil dren of God." Jesus soon gained 12 followers (or disciples) who traveled with h im as he taught and preached. Jesus taught that all who believed in him would g

ain the kingdom of heaven after they died. The Roman rulers were unhappy with the teachings of Jesus. His teachings w ere in opposition to the Roman worship of the emperor as a god. In 30 A.D. Jesu s and his disciples went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. Following the Pass over Meal (the Last Supper) Judas Iscariot, one of the followers of Jesus, betra yed him to the Roman authorities. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of the are a known as Judea, sentenced Jesus to die on the cross (crucifixion). According to the teachings of the apostles, Jesus rose from the dead and 40 days later asc ended into heaven. The followers of Jesus believed that Jesus was the Son of Go d, the Messiah for whom the Jewish people had been waiting. In the years following the death of Jesus, his followers became apostles, t raveling throughout Palestine and Syria and spreading his teachings to all peopl e. Peter and Paul were the most effective in spreading the teachings of Jesus. Paul, being able to speak Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, was the most successful in spreading Christian beliefs to people in many areas, including Greece and Rome. It was Paul who made Christianity an independent religion by separating it from Judaism. Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire Romans viewed Christians as their enemies because they would not worship th e emperor as a god. Emperor Nero (54-68 A.D.) forced Christians to fight gladia tors and wild animals in the Colosseum. In 64 A.D., following a great fire in R ome, he had many Christians, including Peter and Paul, crucified. Christians me t in the catacombs of Rome so that they could hold religious services in safety. Christians were blamed for military defeats, food shortages, and any other adv erse occurrences. They became the scapegoats for the failures of the Roman Empi re. Roman officials scorned Christianity as a religion for slaves and women. Persecution increased under the rule of Marcus Aurelius (161-180 A.D.) beca use he believed that Christians could not be loyal to the emperor. The Emperor Diocletian (284-305 A.D.) demanded that all people worship him as a god. He made Christian worship illegal, burned Christian writings, destroy ed Christian churches, and imprisoned Christian leaders. Those who died for the ir belief in the teachings of Jesus came to be revered and were known as martyrs . Despite the persecutions, about one out of ten Romans had converted to Christ ianity by the end of the 3rd century A.D. Christianity Gains Acceptance in the Roman Empire The persecution of Christians by the Roman government ended when Constantin e issued the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. As a result of a military victory that Constantine believed was due to the Christian God, he began to consider himself a Christian. Shortly before his death in 337 A.D. Constantine was baptized a Ch ristian. Theodosius (379-395 A.D.) passed a law making Christianity the official rel igion of the empire, and referred to its followers as Catholic Christians. The practice of all other religions was made unlawful. Christianity became very pop ular. People were attracted to the teachings of brotherhood, love, peace, and t he promise of salvation after death. Christianity spread throughout Europe and the world. With the acceptance of Christianity, the beliefs and values of the Judeo-Ch ristian teachings would gain wide acceptance in Western culture. The importance of family life, the value of each individual, and the principle that each perso n is judged by his or her own actions were stressed. Charity and honesty were v irtues to be valued.

The Decline of the Roman Empire After the last of the Good Emperors died in 180 A.D., the Roman Empire bega n a rapid decline. Enemies on Rome's borders increased their attacks. A plague caused a decline in the population and economy and helped bring about a rapid i nflation. Civil wars occurred over the succession to the imperial throne. Roma n emperors were able to create stability for a time, but chaos broke out again. Between 235 and 284 A.D., Rome suffered invasions of Germanic barbarians. The army placed one emperor after another on the throne. The army then murdered or overthrew them. Trade suffered, poverty increased and prices rose rapidly. The emperor Diocletian halted the empire's decline. Between 284 and 305 A. D. he divided the empire into western and eastern parts. An emperor helped by a n assistant called a Caesar ruled each part. Diocletian halted the Germanic tri bes. He reorganized the army and provincial government. After Diocletian's retirement in e succession to the imperial throne. f the Caesars defeated his rivals and w imperial capital at Constantinople. Christians. 305 A.D. civil wars again occurred over th In 324 A.D., Constantine, the son of one o became emperor. In 330 A.D. he built a ne Constantine allowed freedom of worship to

After Constantine's death, civil wars again occurred. Army leaders elected rival emperors who spent time and energy fighting each other instead of Rome's enemies. German tribes invaded the empire. In 410 A.D. Visigoths plundered Rom e itself. They then settled in southern France and Spain. The Franks conquered northern France. The Vandals captured North Africa and then sacked Rome. Fina lly, the Ostrogoths conquered Italy and deposed the last Roman emperor in the we st. The Eastern Roman Empire survived and lasted for another thousand years.