2.10 Christianity & Fall - TEACH

• History
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 1

The Time of Greeks and Romans

2.10 Christianity and the end of the Roman Empire

Around 100 AD the Roman Empire had reached its largest size.

Jesus was born in 1 AD in the province Judea (today Israel)

Lesson 2.10: Christianity and the fall of the Roman Empire

• The Romans had a polytheistic religion: they believed in              many gods  (poly = many).
• The Jews lived in the Roman province Judea (today: Israel). 
• They had a monotheistic religion. They believed in just one God (mono = one).
• The Romans were tolerant. They accepted all different religions...
• ...as long as people also worshipped the emperor.
• The Jews refused to do this.

Jerusalem in the time of Jesus. 

In 70 AD this temple was destroyed by the Romans after a failed Jewish uprising. Today, only the Wailing Wall remains.

Very gradually, more and more people in the Roman Empire became Christians

Emperor Nero, who ruled from 54 till 68 AD, is known for burning Rome and persecuting the Christians

Several Roman writers claim that  Nero sang the "Sack of Ilium (Troy)" in stage costume while the city burned. But historians today believe this did not really happen.

Rumor had it that Nero started the fire himself. Therefore, to blame someone else, he accused the already unpopular Christians for starting the fire. He had them arrested and killed in the arena.

With Nero, the time of the "persecution of the Christians" began. This would last for more than 2 centuries, in which being a Christian was punishable by death. Despite of this, Christianity did not disappear.

Jesus had followers like Petrus, Paulus, Judas, Lucas and Marcus. These are also known as the apostles. After Jesus' 

death the apostles spread Jesus' teachings across the empire.

Jesus of Nazareth

• Born in Bethlemen to Maria and Joseph (Virgin Birth)
• Grew up Jewish with the idea of a Messiah
• Began preaching at 30 to spread the idea of God's love, forgiveness and salvation
• Gathered 12 disciplines (Judas, Peter, John)
• Performed many miracles (curing the sick, walking on water, turning water to wine)

Historical context

Jesus grew up in Judea which was under Roman rule where people sufferend from heavy taxation and social injustice. Jewish authorities also focused more on legal matters rather than compassion and justice. Both these events caused people to hope for a leader to free them

Jesus according to the Roman Cathoclics

Jesus according to the historians

Conflict & arrest

• Jesus and his followers entered Jerusalem on Passover and he is hailed as a king (Palm Sunday)
• Gets betrayed by Judas during the Last Supper 
•  He is sentenced to death by the Romans and crucified on a Friday (Good Friday)
• He will be resurrected on the third day (Easter Sunday) 
• He appeared to his followers before ascending to heaven 

Key words

Palm Sunday: The last Sunday of the Christian fast

The Last Supper

During the Last Supper Jesus tells his disciples that one would betray him that night. Judas is the third person seated on Jesus' left side 

Jesus was arrested for rebellion against Roman rule.

He was sentenced to death by crucifixion by the Roman governor of Judea: Pontius Pilatus.

Jesus was crucified in 33 AD, together with two criminals

The crucifix became the main symbol of the new religion: Christianity

Probably, jesus was crucified by putting nails in his wrists rather than through the palms of his hands.

Romans did not like Christians for a few reasons:

1. Christians didn't follow Roman social norms  

2. Christians refused to worship the emperor

Especially 'weaklings' found the religion appealing: woman, poor, slaves = 'caring for the weak'

Jesus provides food for the poor

Emperor Constantine would become the first Christian emperor. This ended the persecution and caused Christianity to spread further very quickly.

The night before an important battle Constantine had a dream. In the dream his was told that he would win the battle if he fought under the sign of the Christian cross.

Some accounts say that Constantine saw the Greek letters Chi and Rho in his dream and not the cross. Chi and Rho represented the spelling of Christ in Greek.

The next day he had his soldiers paint the Christian symbol of Chi Rho on their shields.

And guess what? His army won the battle.

Homework

Finish the first 5 questions of the practice questions

Jesus provides food for the poor

Lesson 2.10: Christianity and the fall of the Roman Empire

• The Christian calendar starts with the birth of Jesus. 
• That's the year 1 AD
• Jesus was jewish and lived in Judea
• He was crucified by the Romans
• After his death, his followers spread Jesus' teachings around the Roman Empire.
• This is how a new monotheistic religion started: Christianity. 
• Christians also refused to worship the Roman emperor

n 330 AD Constantine established a new capital of the Roman Empire. He built it on the location of the ancient city of Byzantium. The city was named Constantinople after Emperor Constantine. 

In 395 AD, the empire was split into two parts The Western Empire was ruled by Rome, the Eastern Empire was ruled by Constantinople.

The Fall of Rome didn't happen in a day, it happened over a long period of time. There are a number of reasons why the empire began to fail. Here are some of the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire: 

1. The politicians and rulers of Rome became more and more corrupt. They were more interested in power and wealth than in the prosperity and safety of the empire.
2. Attacks from barbarian tribes outside of the empire such as the Visigoths, Huns, Franks, and Vandals. 
3. The Roman army was no longer an invincible army. 
4. The empire became so large it was difficult to govern

source 2.9.7

Modern map showing the barbarian invasions in to the (mainly) Western Roman Empire

In the 4th and 5th centuries, Germanic tribes, like the Goths, Vandals and Franks invaded the Roman empire.

The Romans called these Germans "barbarians".

Especially the Western Roman empire was attacked, conquered and plundered by different Germanic tribes.

In 410 AD the Visigoths attacked and plundered the city of Rome. In 455 the Vandals did the same and plundered the city for two weeks.

In 476 AD, a Germanic barbarian by the name of Odoacer took control of Rome. He became king of Italy and forced the last emperor of Rome, Romulus Augustulus, to give up his crown. Many historians consider this to be the end of the Western Roman Empire.

The Eastern Roman empire continued under the name Byzantine Empire for another 1000 years.

The Western Roman empire was gone. Germanic tribes had created their own kingdoms here. 

Rome had always provided a strong government, education, and culture. Now much of Europe fell into barbarianism. The next 500 years would be known as the Early Middle Ages, or Dark Ages of Europe.

Lesson 2.10: Christianity and the fall of the Roman Empire

• 476 AD: official date of the Fall of the Western Roman Empire
• In Western Europe, a new age started: The Middle Ages.

• The Eastern Roman Empire continued however as the Byzantine Empire.
• It lasted as a Christian empire until 1453.

congratulations

hippodrome

amphitheatre

aquaduct

imperial palace

temple

The Christian symbol that Constantine had
his soldiers paint on their shields is known
as "Chi-Rho"
Explain this symbol by finding out the meaning of Chi-Rho.

toetsweek question?

solve the rebus

no capital letters,
no interpunction

TRUE

FALSE

the pope is the leader of the catholic Church

The gospels are the first part of the Old Testament 

an early Christian symbol was a fish

The Romans saw Jesus as a rebel

Christians accepted Roman gods

"gentile" people were non-Romans

Jesus called Heaven the "kingdome come"

Christianity started as a cult within Judaism

Diocletian was the first Christian emperor

in 476 AD the Eastern Roman empire ended

the Byzantine empire is the former western Roman Empire

Constantinople replaced Rome as the capital city

emperors like Nero persecuted Christians

Visigoths, Franks and Vandals were Germanic tribes

Both the eastern and western Roman empire ended in 476 AD

The late Roman army was well trained and organised

In 410 AD, the Visigoths invaded and sacked Rome

Constantinople is present day Istanbul