Test Questions

Questions For the Test:

What did Constantine do for the Roman Republic?

• he outlawed persecution of Christians

When did the Pax Romana begin?

• 27 BC- lasted 207 years

Who took over after Augustus and what was his relationship with him?

• Tiberius and he was his step son

What revelation did Constantine see?

• when he saw the cross in a vision 
• occurred on Milvian Bridge and he saw the cross that said "Conquer With This"

what god were the Christians forced to sacrifice to?

• Jupiter

Who lit the fire in the Imperial Palace?

• they didn't know but they blamed the Christians 

What were three to five problems in the Roman Empire?

• epidemic Disease 
• they couldn't defend the frontier against the barbarians 
• emperors began to lose the hold in power

Who did Christianity appeal to?

• poor people because it gave them a second chance in life 
• other religions claim only to be open to the rich because they were "higher"

Constantine declared the Edict of Milan

The Diocletian Persucution

Kelley and Grace taught class today and here are the notes we got from their blogs. The Diocletian persecution was the last major persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In the 250's laws were passed against christian citizens. In 260 Gallineus issued an edict that regarded tolerance towards Christians resulting in peace for many years. Later, Diocletian began to persecute Christians after being urged by Galerius . the great persecution lasted form 303 to 311. Diocletian's goal was to wipe out the church. He thought they were causing a fire and wanted to end it. They were told by him to offer sacrifices to Jupiter. h was trying to convert them back to paganism. Some of the edicts he issued were:  1.) commanding that the churches Should be razed to the ground, the Scriptures destroyed by fire, those who held positions of honor degraded, and the household servants, if they persisted in the Christian profession, be deprived of their liberty. 2.) if they would sacrifice, but that those who refused should be tormented with countless tortures; 3.) all the people throughout the city should sacrifice and pour out libations to the idols. 4.)all the people should offer sacrifice and that the that the rulers of the city should see to this diligently and zealously. These were the main edicts that affected the Christians. Later, Constantine restored the Christians faith and rebuilt their churches.In the third century AD: epidemic disease spreads throughout the Empire, it’s too hard to defend frontier against the barbarians, emperors began to lose their hold in power (stayed in power for an average of two and a half years, due to wars or assignations), maintaining armies is expensive, too many poverty-stricken citizens.

Constantine had a vision of a cross above the sun saying, "Conquer by this" and this was the reason him became a Christian. He mother was a Christian. 

284 AD- Diocletian’s reforms: increases the size of army to 400,000 (1/3 bigger than during Augustus’s time, recruited from the ranks of the barbarians), divided Roman territories into smaller provinces (this new government had 20,000 officials (10x bigger), they were more dedicated at collecting higher taxes-this greater yield provided for a larger army).

300 AD: 60 million people in the Roman empire, several million are Christians, Christianity has quite an appeal to the poor and disenfranchised, more Christians means more face to face contactsmeaning more conversions leading to more offspring, some Christians are even gaining positions of power becoming the ruling elite.

Diocletian left Christians alone at first (ruled from 284-305), he undertook the most systematic persecution of all, Constantine ruled at emperor 306-337

edict- an official law

Sick Day

Yesterday I was not in class because I was sick.

Christianity in the Pax Romana

Today in class, we went over our tests. I actually did a lot better than I thought. I got a 90!! I was pretty shocked and happy considering I had no idea we had a test. Kelley had to call her mom because her ride went home sick so she called her on the phone. She asked if she could go to Rita's and I think her mom said yes. So I guess she's going to Rita's. Then we began our notes on Christianity in the Pax Romana. Christianity was a new religion in the empire. It all began with Jesus. Most of what we know comes from the Gospels. The Gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and it means "good news."Jesus was a Jewish itinerant preacher in Judea. He set himself apart from other "Messiahs." Jesus taught that one must strive for perfection because God was perfect. He sought out the imperfect society. His followers believed he was Messiah and that he came to end the world and bring the truly faithful into the Kingdom of God. Jesus was deemed as a threat to Roman Rule and was crucified. His followers believed that he rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. They then attempted to spread the word of his teachings and were known as the apostles. Paul was a Jew who became a follower of Jesus after a miraculous vision on the road to Damascus. He talked of "predestination" which meant that God chose who was to be saved and who was to be damned. He was well-traveled and helped find churches in many places. he also kept in touch with new Christians by writing letters (Corinth, Thessalonia, Rome, and Ephesus.)

Test Day

Today in class, we turned in our 500 word essays. Mr. Schick wasn't so happy because our titles weren't "creative." Then we took a test. I didn't know about the test. I don't think anyone knew about the test. I don't think I did terrible but I know I could have done a lot better if I studied. Then we quietly read the next section in our book.

Extra Notes

In class on Friday, we got our assignment to write a 500 word essay on Pax Romana. We worked on that for the entire class. I found some extra notes that I needed to add from the powerpoint a few days ago. Here are the notes. While in the triumvirate, Pompey got jealous of Caesar and the Senate was getting worried that he gained too much power. The Senate told Caesar to disband his army before returning to Rome for the war. Caesar decides to ignore them, cross the Rubicon and make a grand entrance. This causes a near civil war between Caesar's forces and Pompey's troops. Pompey  was defeated in Greece and killed in Egypt. In 46 BC Caesar returns to Rome in triumph and is known as the "Father of the Fatherland." He had himself appointed tribune, supreme pontiff, consul, and dictator for life. Some of these at the same time. Caesar resettled war veterans and farmland in Italy and in provinces, extended Roman citizenship for provinces. After Caesar was murdered, Mark Antony and Octavian rallied up JC's troops and formed a triumvirate with Lepidus. Mark Antony and Octavian battle each other then join forces against Caesar's assassins then became enemies again. Antony had a love affair with Cleopatra who was the ruler of Egypt. This was unpopular in Rome.

The Overthrow of Rome Part 1

Today in class we went over a powerpoint and took notes on it. Here are some of the notes that I took. People were losing their farms after returning back from war. the War profiteers traded in slaves, weapons, and often abandoned farms to create large plantations. These plantations are called latifundia. War profiteers used up their wealth to buy up ruined farms. This merged small plots into large estates. The displaced farmers could not compete with the low cost of hiring slaves (Carthage). In 150 BC 1/3 of the population of Rome were slaves. The Gracchi Brothers attempted to carve out special rights for the poor which made them enemies with the Senate. They wanted to resettle many of the city'd poor on small farms and provide welfare for those who stayed in Rome. This would raise the number of independent, self sufficient farmers and would reduce the gap between rich and poor. Tiberius' term as tribune ran out because they can only serve for one year. He tried to get re-elected and this enraged the Senate who had now become his enemies. The Senate/Mob they created killed Tiberius and over 300 of his supporters. Gauis was also killed by the Senate. Julius Caesar was an excellent speaker, good general, very intelligent, and knew how to make friends. He took Pompey and Crassus and they formed a triumvirate. Pompey was a general and Crassus was the riches man in the Rome ( and in history). Julius Caesar was named proconsul of Gaul and he conquered a lot of Western Europe including parts of Germany and Britain. Pompey got jealous of Caesar and the Senate was become worried about Julius Caesar. The Senate told him to disband his army before he returned Rome. Caesar decides to ignore them and cross the Rubicon and make a grand heroic entrance. This near causes a civil war between Caesar's forces and Pompey's troops. Pompey was defeated in Greece and was killed in Egypt after being taken hostage.