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| | ===Roman Emperors=== | | ===Roman Emperors=== |
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| − | Augustus, known until 27 B.C. as Octavian, was the first Roman Emperor and the ruler when Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea around 4 B.C. Augustus ruled until his death in A.D. 14, whereupon the Roman Senate appointed Augustus's adopted son Tiberius as the next emperor, the first in a line of Augustus' successors known as the "Julio-Claudian" emperors. | + | Augustus, known until 27 B.C. as Octavian, was the first Roman Emperor and the ruler when Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea around 4 B.C. Augustus ruled until his death in A.D. 14, whereupon the Roman Senate appointed Augustus's adopted son Tiberius as the next emperor, the first in a line of Augustus's successors known as the "Julio-Claudian" emperors. |
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| | When Augustus became emperor, he established the praetorians to protect the Roman general ("praetor") and the emperor. These elite, well-trained and privileged troops served as a kind of secret police, having more power than the Secret Service does today in protecting the president of the United States. It became essential to gain the support of the praetorians in order to hold high office in government. Constantine later abolished the praetorians in the early A.D. 300s. | | When Augustus became emperor, he established the praetorians to protect the Roman general ("praetor") and the emperor. These elite, well-trained and privileged troops served as a kind of secret police, having more power than the Secret Service does today in protecting the president of the United States. It became essential to gain the support of the praetorians in order to hold high office in government. Constantine later abolished the praetorians in the early A.D. 300s. |
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| | The Roman civilization began as part of Hellenism from the Greek empire, but the Romans had their own major contributions in engineering (roads and aqueducts), law, the military, and the spread of Christianity. Roman architecture developed the use of cement and the large arches, domes and vaults, as implemented in the Pantheon (not to be confused with the Parthenon, which was Greek) and the Arch of Constantine. Roman art used mosaics. Latin, the great language of the Roman empire, formed the basis for the "romance" languages of Europe still in use today: French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, and is also the primary language of some churches, such as the Roman Catholic Church. Note that English is not a "romance" language and is not directly descended from Latin; but English did borrow greatly from Old French, which is a romance language. | | The Roman civilization began as part of Hellenism from the Greek empire, but the Romans had their own major contributions in engineering (roads and aqueducts), law, the military, and the spread of Christianity. Roman architecture developed the use of cement and the large arches, domes and vaults, as implemented in the Pantheon (not to be confused with the Parthenon, which was Greek) and the Arch of Constantine. Roman art used mosaics. Latin, the great language of the Roman empire, formed the basis for the "romance" languages of Europe still in use today: French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, and is also the primary language of some churches, such as the Roman Catholic Church. Note that English is not a "romance" language and is not directly descended from Latin; but English did borrow greatly from Old French, which is a romance language. |
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| − | The Romans were not geniuses. They valued education only for its practical benefits and contributed little intellectually. On a practical level the Romans accomplished much with their roads, orderly society, and system of justice. Roman law held together its vast empire just as Greek culture held together the Hellenistic world. Perhaps most of all, Christianity grew in the Roman empire. | + | The Romans are not known for their intellectual achievements. They valued education only for its practical benefits and contributed little intellectually. On a practical level the Romans accomplished much with their roads, orderly society, and system of justice. Roman law held together its vast empire just as Greek culture held together the Hellenistic world. Perhaps most of all, Christianity grew in the Roman empire. |
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| | ==The Roman Empire and Christianity== | | ==The Roman Empire and Christianity== |
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| | The German tribes would raid the Roman civilizations on the frontier along the Rhine, Danube and the north shore of the Black Sea, capturing women and slaves in the raids to send back to do domestic work. The Roman empire under Caesar was strong enough to repel these attacks, capturing the blond-haired invaders and turning them into slaves of Rome. But over time the Germans learned to organize themselves and the Roman empire on the frontier became less civilized: the line between civilization and barbarism became blurry. By the third century A.D., it was not always clear which side was the civilized one! | | The German tribes would raid the Roman civilizations on the frontier along the Rhine, Danube and the north shore of the Black Sea, capturing women and slaves in the raids to send back to do domestic work. The Roman empire under Caesar was strong enough to repel these attacks, capturing the blond-haired invaders and turning them into slaves of Rome. But over time the Germans learned to organize themselves and the Roman empire on the frontier became less civilized: the line between civilization and barbarism became blurry. By the third century A.D., it was not always clear which side was the civilized one! |
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| − | The Germanic nomads caused rural peasants to flee into the cities, weakening them. Recall that in A.D. 410 the Visigoths, a wandering nation of Germanic people from the northeast led by King Alaric, sacked Rome itself. Another German chieftain named Odoacer finished the job off in A.D. 476, when he dethroned the last Roman Emperor of the West: Romulus Augustulus. | + | The Germanic nomads caused rural peasants to flee into the cities, weakening them. Recall that in A.D. 410 the Visigoths, a wandering nation of Germanic people from the northeast, led by King Alaric, sacked Rome itself. Another German chieftain named Odoacer finished the job off in A.D. 476, when he dethroned the last Roman Emperor of the West: Romulus Augustulus. |
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| | ===Persians=== | | ===Persians=== |