5/9/2014: The Decline of the Roman Empire

Rise of Christianity 

• center figure 
• killed by Roman leaders 
• 3 years of preaching
• small number of people believe he is messiah 
• Saul- persecutor becomes Paul the evangelist 
• spreads Jesus' message all over the place
•   Christians and Jews are monotheistic 
• Romans believe in many gods
• differences:
• jews have been around longer than the Romans
• christians; small group that was like a strange cult 
• eventually some of the leaders started to believe in Christianity
• in AD 313: Constantine has a battlefield conversion
• the edict of Milan- no more persecuting Christians 
• Christianity ends up becoming the official religion of Rome
• The Emperor and the Pope and Bishops worked together

The Changing World of Rome

"Instead of dying, the Mediterranean Civilization of Greece and Rome began to spread among many still-barbarian northern peoples, until it became the christian Europe of the Middle Ages."

• As long as Rome prospered the emperors barely noticed Christianity's growth.
• Christianity and the empire formed a partnership
• barbarian attacks began to weaken and demolish the empire