About the Persecution of Christians

CK_3_TH_HG_P091_145.QXD 4/11/05 10:56 AM Page 134 II. Ancient Rome particularly skillful showing, the crowd might cheer for his release. In Rome, the Colosseum, a huge arena that seated 45,000, was the site of such events. Chariot races were held in round or oval structures called circuses. Spectators sat in tiers around the sides and cheered on their teams. The Circus Maximus in Rome was the largest circus in the empire. The phrase “bread and circuses” refers to the practice of providing grain and games to the poor of the cities to keep them fed and occupied so that they would not revolt. Such welfare, warned critics of the emperors and the upper classes, only masked the growing problems caused by the uneven distribution of wealth. The massive Colosseum and Circus Maximus are typical of the Romans’ skill at engineering. The Romans used domes to cap their buildings and arches to sup- port walls and ceilings. Arches supported Roman bridges and aqueducts, the stone structures that carried water from the country into and through the cities. The Romans also used stone to pave their roads, which they laid throughout the empire. Many modern European roads are based on the old Roman roadbeds, and some aqueducts are still standing. Mt. Vesuvius and the Destruction of Pompeii Teaching Idea Mount Vesuvius, in southern Italy, is the only active volcano on continental Get an illustrated book about Pompeii Europe. Its most famous eruption occurred in 79 CE, when it buried the Roman and share pictures with students as a resort city of Pompeii and neighboring Herculaneum. way of teaching them about Roman life. The volcano shot gas, liquid rock, and ash into the air. Thick clouds of ash To extend this discussion, talk briefly descended on the city and many residents suffocated. Their bodies, along with about other famous volcanoes around their belongings and even their houses, were buried in the ash. The eruption had the world. precipitated a rainstorm. When the rains came, the ash hardened, preserving everything as it was when the volcano erupted. As a result, Pompeii is a treasure trove of information about Roman life for archaeologists. 41 42 The Persecution of the Christians The birth of Jesus took place during the rule of Augustus. Jesus was tried and executed (by crucifixion) in Palestine, which was a Roman province under the supervision of Roman official Pontius Pilate. But these events, which were to have such a profound effect on later history, remained completely unnoticed in most parts of the Roman Empire. It was only later, during the 1st century CE, that the followers of Jesus began to move out from Palestine and through the Roman Empire, preaching about Jesus and making converts. The apostle Paul travelled throughout the Roman Empire preaching the necessity of faith in Jesus as savior. For the most part, the Roman Empire was tolerant of the religious practices of its far-flung subjects. Many emperors followed the policy of the Emperor Trajan (98–117 CE), who ordered that the Christians be left alone as long as they did not disturb the general peace. However, when times were bad, it was easy to blame the Christians because they were different. They worshipped a god other than the Roman deities and, because they believed there was only one God, they refused to make sacrifices in honor of the pagan gods whom most Romans worshipped. Also, they did not wor- ship the emperor. Christians’ refusal to participate in religious ceremonies that 134 Grade 3 Handbook were supported by the state and the emperor was often used as grounds for persecution. The first persecution of the Christians actually predated Trajan. In 64 Teaching Idea CE, the Emperor Nero (see p. 133), seeking to deflect criticism from himself, Make an overhead of Instructional blamed the Christians for the great fire that had destroyed large parts of Rome. Master 23, The Western Roman The Emperor Diocletian, who ruled from 284 to 305 CE, brought the full Empire and the Byzantine Empire, to resources of the empire to bear against Christianity. He was determined to make orient students to the extent of the Christians give up their practices. Many Christians died for their faith; sometimes two empires. In discussing Justinian, they were forced to fight as gladiators against one another or against wild animals. note that his empire and that of the The phrase “throw the Christians to lions” comes from this time and was origi- west overlapped in places. Point out nally meant literally. However, the persecution of the Christians did not have the that by the time the Byzantine Empire desired effect. Those who were executed were hailed as martyrs, and the religion was conquered by the Ottoman Turks continued to spread in spite of the persecution. in 1453 CE, it had shrunk to not much more than Asia Minor. but over the course of many years, and as a result of many factors. the city of Constantine. Ple comes from the Greek word polis, which The best-known factor, and the most obvious symptom, was the invasion of means, literally, “city-state.” Let stu- western Europe by various so-called barbarian peoples, including the Huns, the dents imagine they were in charge of Visigoths, and the Vandals. In 410 CE, the Visigoths, under the leadership of the empire. Give them the opportunity Alaric, sacked Rome. Many historians view this date as marking the end of the to turn their name into a city, for Roman Empire in the west. Although Roman emperors continued to be pro- example, “Mariaople” or claimed, these men were really little more than puppets of powerful Germanic “Mattopolis.” leaders. The last emperor in the west, Romulus Augustus, was deposed in 476 CE. Ever since the sack of Rome in 410 CE, people have debated the reasons for Rome’s decline. It is now generally accepted that no single factor caused the decline of the western Roman Empire. The factors that contributed to the decline of the western empire can be grouped into four categories. History and Geography: World 135.

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