Blog Post 53 : Questions

Today in class we just went over a few things and made up some question that may be in the test 

-     What’s a princeps

a.       1^st citizen , with a traditional Roman name

2.       What the title Caesar means?

a.       A title to the designated successor of a regaining empire

3.       When did the Pax Romana begin?

a.       27 B.C. and it lasted 207 years

4.       What steps did Augustus go through to build a government?

a.       He brought the government under his control

b.      Showed respect for local institutions

c.       He reorganized the army

5.       What did Constantine do for the roman empire

a.       He made so that people don't have to be scared to be a Christian or any other religion

6.       Who took over after Augustus and what was his relationship to him?

a.       His name was Tiberius and he was his stepson

7.       What was the revision of Constantine

a.       The cross in the sky saying conquer  by this

8.       Where did it take place?

a.       Battle of milvian bridge

b.      Right before battle he prayed to the Christian god and then the cross in the sky appeared

9.       What did he do right before he went into battle?

a.       They painted crosses on their shields

10.   What god did the Christians have to give sacrifices too after the fire?

a.       Jupiter

11.   What new government under decollation had how many officials?

a.       20,000

12.   What were the 3 out of the five problems in the roman empire

a.       Epidemic disease

b.      They couldn't defend the frontier against barbarians

c.       Emperors began to lose their hold on powers

d.      They didn't have a big enough army because it was too expensive to maintain

13.   Who did Christianity appeal too?

a.       Poor people because there was a lot of them and they were vulnerable and the other ones made rich people feel like they were the only worthy ones but Christianity goes out to all people.

14.   What did the edict of Milan do?

a.       Constantine declared it and it tolerated all religions.    

Blog Post 52 : The Replacements

Today in class, Grace and Kelly taught the class. We just mainly went over the notes we took from the other day. And reviewed there blog , which is below:

http://gracewestciv.blogspot.com/

Blog Post 51: The struggles in Rome

99 Problem ( Just a few below )

• In the 3rd century AD:
• epidemic disease spreads throughout the Empire 
• its too hard to defend the frontier against the barbarians
• emperors began to lose their power 
• Stayed in power for about 2 1/2 yrs., 
• Maintaining armies is expensive 
• Too many poverty-stricken citizens 

Diocletian to the rescue !!!!

• 284 AD - Diocletian's reforms
• increases the size of the army to 4000,000
• 1/3 bigger than during Augustus' time 
• recruit from the ranks of the barbarians 
• Divide Roman territories into smaller provinces 
• this new government had 200,000 officials 
• they were better at collecting taxes - this provided for a larger army 

Time marches on...

• 300 AD 
• 60 million people in the Roman empire 
• several million Christians 
• Christianity has quite an appeal to the poor 
• Some christians are even gaining positions of power, becoming the ruling elite ( Becoming in charge ) 

To prosecute or not to persecute ?

• Diocletian ( ruled from 284 - 305 ) left Christians alone at first 
• then he undertook the most systematic persecution of all
• What was his persecution ?
• About 3000-4000 Christians were killed and thousands more were tortured. He burned several churches to the ground. 
• What did he do to change the Roman empire ? 
• the structure of Roman imperial government and helped stabilize the Empire economically and militarily, enabling the Empire to remain essentially intact for another hundred years despite being near the brink of collapse in Diocletian's youth
• Constantine ruled as emperor 306 - 337 
• What was the connection with Christianity ?
• He ultimately gave Christianity political and social legitimacy in the Roman Empire, thus allowing the young religion to establish itself, obtain powerful patrons, and ultimately dominate 
• How did he restructure the empire ?
• He made Christianity the roman religion 
• United the Romans more than the attempts to unite under the pagan gods
• 1. He changed the capital of the Greek city to Byzantium

Blog Post 50: 2nd test on Rome Review

today in class we went over the test we took yesterday; which I did terrible on ......... Sadly.And we took notes on the powerpoint he presented :
Christianity in the Pax Romana
Christianity - Roots

• What we know of Jesus come from the "Gospels" Matthew, Mark, Luke & John 
• Gospel means good news 
• Jesus taught that one must strive for perfection since God was perfect, and Jesus sought out the imperfect in society 
• Jesus believed he was Messiah 
• He was seen to be a threat to the Roman Empire; For many reason:
• He was trying to in-power people spiritually
• He was Jewish  
• The followers who attempted to spread the word of his teachings were known as apostles
• And they believed that he is both human / divine , also that he rose from the dead ans ascended to heaven

Start spreading the news 

• Paul of Tarsus was a Jew who became a follower of Jesus after a miraculous vision on the road to Damascus
• He help found other churches , stay in touch with other Christians; by writing letters 
• Paul talked of “predestination” which meant that God chose who was to be saved and who was to be damned

Blog Post 49: LO-2 Christianity in the Era of the Roman Peace

We took a test in class today , it was pretty surprising. But after the test we were assigned to take notes on the topic/section above:

#VOCAB:

• Apostles: Jesus's followers and messengers of his teachings 
• Clergy: Church,ministers,bishops,priests & deacons - who guide the laity 
• Laity: Those members of the church who are not clergy 

• First 200 yrs. - Christianity acquired many lasting features of it's belief and practices
• Jesus 
• A.D. - Destruction of the Temple ; during the period of Jewish conflict  
• Scholars debate how much of the gospels "Good news" reflect Jesus actual words and deeds
• The Teacher 
• Like the Pharisees; Jesus.........
•  obeyed the Law 
• Visited the Temple 
• Called for acceptance of Roman rule , while standing apart from the Temple priest 
• He appealed to a long-standing Jewish tradition 
• However Jesus took this tradition farther than ever before 
• He taught that most faithful righteousness according to the Law fell far short of what was necessary to please God 
• Paul 
• 30 yrs. after Jesus's death, his apostles worked hard to proclaim his "good news" 
• This success brought Jesus's believers face to face with serious questions 
• Gentiles and the Law 
• During his travels; by letter , Paul kept in touch with distant groups of believers 
• Letters written between; 50 & 60 A.D. in Greek 
• The international language of Jews and Gentiles 
• The Life of Early Believers 
• Paul called them by a Greek name used by the Jewish congregations outside Judaea - ekklesia which means " assembly " translated as "church " 
• Earliest churches, there was no formal structure of authority and power 
• The Break with Judaism 
• During Paul lifetime he reproached his fellow Jews for distrusting his vision of Jews and Gentiles "all one in Christ Jesus" 
• 60 A.D. - Jesus died probably beheaded on Rome as a Jewish troublemaker tje vision faded 
• 70 A.D. - The Temple's destruction; most believers in Jesus took as Gods abandonment of the Jews for rejecting the Messiah 
• The Church
• Yrs. passed and Christ didn't return 
• his believers didn't lose their faith that he would one day come , for there was more time to spread the good news  
• Clergy and Laity 
• Early in the 2nd century :
• Churches began to choose bishops as permanent chiefs; priests who assisted the bishops in teaching and worship; and deacons 
• This organization developed from the churches were growing larger  
• Now that the churches had formal rulers , women lost some for the share in leadership 
• They still worked as deacons taking care of the poor / sick 
• The wealthy women wielded weighty influence as owners of houses where Christian gatherings were held for until the 4th century 
• women as well as men were revered if they fell victim to persecution or lived lives Christian self - denial 
• 
  

Blog Post 48 : Class

Today in class in class , we just worked on our Essay that's due Monday. On the assignment we have to reach minimum of 500 words , which we already did and were gonna be way over the limit. But we're working on Google Docs so the both of us can work on it.

Blog Post 47 : Class Notes - The overthrow of the Roman Republic

• What's wrong with Rome 
• People have problems 
• The soldiers/farmers lost their farm's when they returned from Italy 
• They were Proletarian 
• Hey ! It'd s Living 
• War Profiteers ( the Rich / Military officers ) 
• Bought ruined farms 
• 150 B.C. slaves made-up 1/3 of the population of Italy 
• Small plots were merged into large estates: used for; vineyards, olive groves or pastureland for livestock 
• The Gracchi attempt reform 
• They tried to help get rights for the poor 
• murdered by the senate 
• The plan ( could have worked & changed history ) 
• Resettle the city's poor 
• Provide a public subsidy of grain 
• this plan would raise the # of independent self sufficient farmers 
• reduce gap between rich & poor Tribunes came short of time , only could serve 1 yr. 
• His re-election simply enraged his enemies 
• Senate killed Tiberius & over 300 of hi supporters
• Gaius ( 9 yrs. younger ) makes it his goal to carry his brother job 
• But soon he also got killed by the Senate 
• The start of the rise of Julius Caesar 
• talented patrician 
• formed a unique gov. with 2 former sulla 
• Pompey: Accomplished general 
•  Crassus: Richest man in Rome 
• Julius conquered parts of Britain & Germany ( in 8 yrs. ) 
• Giving him great wealth & power
• Power & Ambition 
• Pompey's is jealous & the Senate is worried 
• they tell Caesar to disband his army before returning to Rome 
• He didn't listen and crossed the Rubicon and maked a grand, heroic entrance 
• Pompey gets defeated in Greece 
• Large & In charge 
• 46 B.C. - claimed the title of "Father of the Fatherland" 
• J.Caesar appointed himself as; supreme po
• With his power he extended Roman citizenship to parts of Gaul 
• Build splendid buildings / roads 
• March 15 ( 44 B.C. ): Murder of J.Caesar by the Senate 
• Senate felt he was doing to much  
• And was trying to do the right thing for the republican 
• After the Murder 
• Mark Antony & Octavian ( 18 yrs. ) each got some of J.Caesar's troops and formed NEW triumvirate with another warland - Lepidus 
• They battled each-other 
• M.Antony has a love affair with Cleopatra ( Ruler of Egypt ) - unpopular in Rome 
• Octavian pushes out Lepidus 
• When everything Settles 
• Octavian is supreme warland 
• Runs military dictatorship 
• The name "Augustus" - revered one 
• In charge of greatest empire in the world 
• Start of Pax Romana ( Roman Place )