5/5/14

The Roman Empire

 …and to the republic empire

     For which it stands…

• Begins the pax romana - a period of peace and prosperity
• Built roads, aqueducts (brought water to the cities)
• Set up civil service to take care of roads, the grain supply, even a postal service
• Augustus dies at age 76 on A.D. 14, and passes power to…
• Tiberius: bit first, a word about Jesus.     And Paul
• Jesus was a roman citizen and a practicing Jew
• At 30, he began his ministry (A.D. 31-33), preaching to the poor  (and there were lots of em) in the empire, and reaching out to outsiders
• Statements like "My kingdom is not of this world" made the Romans (and the Jews) nervous, and they began to plan his execution
• The governor of the Roman province of Judaea, Pontius Pilate (prompted by Jewish high priests), sentences Jesus to death by crucifixion
• Octavian -- AKA Caesar Augustus
• Paul is instrumental in telling the world about Jesus` life, death, resurrection, and message
• He travels far and wide: Cyprus, Anatolia, Athens, Corinth, Macedonia, Rome, Jerusalem, and maybe even Spain and Britain
• He writes letters to many of those he spoke to these epistles are a part of the  New Testament
• If not the efforts of Paul, it is likely that Jesus remains an obscure preacher, instead of the central figure of the world's largest religion 
• Caligula -- Good start…
• In addition to being Germanicus` son, he was Tiberius` adopted grandson and great nephew -putting him next in line for emperor
• He started off well: granting bonuses to those in the military, declaring treason trials a thing of eth past, and made government spending a matter of public record
• All in all, the first seven month of Caligula's region were "completely blissful" (according to historian Philo)…then…
• …Bad finish for Caligula
• He began to fight with the senate
• He claimed to be a god, and had statues displayed in many places - including the Jewish temple in Jerusalem (Sacrilege!)
• Other examples of cruelty and insanity: he had slept with other men`s wives and bragged about it, indulged in too much spending and sex, and even tried to make his horse a consul and a priest (at least that`s what his critics said )
• Assassinated by his own aides AD 41 (aged 28)
• Next in line: Claudius
• Ostracized by his family because of his disabilities (Limp, slight deafness, possible speech impediment - thought to be cerebral palsy or polio), he was the last adult male in his family when Caligula was killed
• He rose to the occasion: he conquered Britain; he built roads, canals, and aqueducts; he renovated the Circus Maximus
• Had an awful marriage to Messalina, who was quite often unfaithful to hum, even plotting to seize power for her lover Silius through a coup - so Claudius had them killed
• Meanwhile - religious troubles
• Christianity and Judaism: Monotheistic
• Romans had many gods, plus at times the emperor was viewed as a God
• AD 66: a group of Jews called the Zealots tried to rebel, but Roman troops put them down and burned their temple (except for one wall)
• The western wall today id the holiest of all Jewish shrines
• Half a million Jews died in the rebellion
• Persecution of Christians
• Romans were harsh toward those who would not worship the emperor
• Especially Christians, who were viewed as followers of a new, upstart religion (cult)
• Often used for "entertainment" purposes in the Colosseum (thrown to the lions, etc)
• Despite the oppression, Christianity grew quickly  -- by AD 200, around 10 percent of eth people in eth Roman empire were Christians