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Marshall High School Mr. Cline Western Civilization I: Ancient Foundations Unit Four EC

* An Introduction to St. Augustine

• Throughout time, there have been pieces of writing that captured the hearts and minds of generations.

• There's Gone with the Wind, The Grapes of Wrath, and perhaps most famous, the Bible.

• Today we'll be discussing a famous work that in many ways has come to be a companion read to the Bible.

• It's known as the City of God.

• Although this work isn't found in most households or lining most bookstore walls, its content molded modern Christianity, and its author, St. Augustine of Hippo, is revered as one of the preeminent sculptors of modern-day Christianity.

• Because the work is so complex, we could take days studying the City of God, a work that flew in the face of the Greek philosophies of men like Plato and the pagan philosophers of Rome.

• In order to condense these vast writings, we're going to break it down into his three main points.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * An Introduction to St. Augustine

• First, Augustine wrote the City of God to refute the Romans who blamed the Christians for Rome's troubles.

• Second, Augustine wanted people to know that internal peace could be found here on earth.

• Third, Augustine wanted people to know that hell is real.

• Before we jump into his works, let's take a look at St. Augustine.

• Born in 354 AD in a Roman North African province, Augustine was an educated and well-traveled man, spending time in places like Africa, Carthage, and Italy.

• Although he wasn't always the most upstanding of gents (for example, he had some real issues with promiscuity and mistresses before finding God), Augustine is heralded as one of the most influential figures in Christianity, an influence that really began to take shape around the year 386 AD.

• Tradition tells us it was in this year that Augustine heard a voice telling him to read the Bible.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * An Introduction to St. Augustine

• Upon picking up his Bible, it fell open to the book of Romans, which reads, “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.”

• With this, his heart was convicted and changed.

• Christians Blamed

• After his conversion and baptism, Augustine moved back to North Africa to become a preacher.

• Around 395 AD he became the Bishop of the Algerian region of Hippo Regius, hence his name, St. Augustine of Hippo.

• As bishop, Augustine sought to guide his people through a turbulent time in Roman history, a time when the empire was being invaded and destroyed by a Germanic tribe known as the Visigoths.

• When Rome was captured in the year 410 AD by the Germanic king, Alaric I, the future of the empire was bleak.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * An Introduction to St. Augustine

• Looking for someone to blame for their woes, many Romans turned to the Christian faith, saying it was their fault that the empire was in such turmoil.

• Wanting to refute such claims, Augustine picked up his quill/pen and began the City of God sometime around 413 AD.

• With this we come to our first main point: Augustine hoped to silence Romans blaming the Christians for the fall of their empire.

• As Rome was ransacked and its people brutally murdered and raped, the rest of the empire was left wondering how the Eternal City of Rome could have fallen?

• Needing some way to make sense of it, they blamed the Christians, their argument being that the gods of Rome had abandoned the empire because the Christian monotheists, or worshipers of only one god, had insulted them by refusing to pay them homage.

• Being ticked off, the gods had allowed the Visigoths to destroy the city.

• Completely disagreeing, Augustine used the City of God to lay out a logical refutation of this argument.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * An Introduction to St. Augustine

• First, he reminded the people that bad things happen to everyone.

• Next, he gave a list of horrible things, like plagues, that happened while almost all of Rome actively worshiped the old gods and Christianity wasn't even on the scene.

• Simply put, he asked, 'Where were your gods then?'

• He then took the gloves off by stating Rome fell because it was spiritually corrupt and morally bankrupt.

• The Christians had nothing to do with it.

• Peace is Possible

• Once he dealt with all the blamers, Augustine got to our second point: Peace can be acquired here on earth by those who choose the city of God, over the city of man.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * An Introduction to St. Augustine

• Peace is Possible

• Concerning peace, Augustine explains there are two cities, one that is temporal, called the City of the World, and one that is eternal, the City of God.

• In his writings, the City of the World represents the natural, sinful world (for example, Rome).

• By doing this, he encouraged his fellow Christians that Rome was never their true city.

• On the contrary, heaven is their true home and it alone will last.

• It will never be conquered.

• With this truth, he told his fellow believers that peace could be experienced on earth by those who follow the guidelines of the Holy Scriptures.

• This is the highest good.

Hell is Real With the blamers dealt with, and how to acquire peace explained, Augustine moved on to last point, eternal punishment is real and waiting for those who belong to the City of the World. Obviously, this one didn't make him a crowd favorite, but it does give us our last point. Augustine told the people of his age that the judgment described in the Holy Scriptures is true. He wholeheartedly believed the words of the Bible, which read: If this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Taking it a step further, Augustine encourages his audience to live as citizens of the City of God, for not only will they escape judgment, they will be welcomed into heaven, a place of eternal rest and happiness with God. Hmm, I'm thinking that sounds like a much better option. Reasons for Fall As the familiar saying goes, 'Rome wasn't built in a day.' As the not so familiar saying also goes, 'It didn't fall in a day either!' To explain this saying, we're going to look at the gradual decline of Rome, culminating with its sacking in the year 476 CE. In doing this, we're going to blame internal corruption, division, and outside invasion for the demise of Rome, known to the ancient world as the Eternal City. Although there are a plethora of reasons for the fall that we could cite, most of them can be traced back to these three. Internal Corruption Let's get started with internal corruption. As the Empire grew, it became very hard to govern and control. Violence began replacing law and order. Instead of emperors, generals, and politicians being chosen on the basis of merit, positions of power were paid for or gained through violence that could rival any modern day mob movie. Adding to the problem, the rulers of Rome - many of whom had bought or murdered for their positions - had little desire to actually govern, let alone preserve the city. Without a strong central power base, civil wars waged between feuding political groups, while corrupt officials levied devastating taxes on the people of Rome. Inflation soared, commoners died of starvation and disease, and the lights of the Eternal City began to dim. Division In an attempt to keep the light of Rome from completely dying, one emperor, Diocletian, stepped in with a plan to save the day. However, his 3rd century plan actually gives us our second reason for the fall of Rome: division. Seeing that the Empire was just too large to govern effectively, Diocletian decided to divide it into Western and Eastern halves. When one of Diocletian's successors, the famous Constantine, officially moved the capital of the Empire from Rome to Constantinople in the first half of the 4th century, the center of political power moved with it. Outside Invasion To history, the Eastern part of the Empire came to be known as the Byzantine Empire, while the Western half remained under the faltering control of Rome. Since the political force of the Empire had moved East, Rome was, in a manner of speaking, left to fend for itself against not only corruption from within, but also our third reason for its fall: outside invasion. As the Byzantine Empire of the East began to thrive, Rome and its surrounding areas faced further decline. With the political power of the Empire now in the East, and with the city of Rome suffering from corruption from within, the ancient city was ripe for attack. Soon nomads from the North, known as the Germanic tribes, began attacking along the northern borders of the Empire. Without a strong leader, or a strong, well-disciplined military, the city could not mount a suitable defense. Around the year 410 CE, Rome, the city once thought unconquerable, was invaded by the Germanic Visigoths led by Alaric, a name which has become synonymous with the demise of Rome. The Eternal City was looted, much of its ancient architecture was reduced to rubble, and its people were ravaged. For many historians, this event signaled the beginning of the very end for the Eternal City. Finally, in 476, the Germanic people fell once again on Rome. However, this time they gained complete control of the city and its surrounding lands. Their leader, Odoacer, declared himself the ruler of Italy, forcing the last emperor of Rome, Romulus Augustulus, to surrender his crown. This signaled to history the fall of Rome - the extinguishing of the Eternal City. Effects of Constantine When discussing Roman history, most of the emperors after Constantine don't get a lot of mention. In fact, other than perhaps Justinian, most people probably couldn't even name one. Today we're going to remedy this by exploring a few of the emperors after Constantine. Although we're going to focus mainly on Justinian, we'll still give a few others their day in the sun. For starters, when Constantine converted to Christianity in the year 312 CE and then moved the capitol of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople in the year 330, the Roman Empire drastically changed. The West, or Rome and its surrounding areas, faced continual invasion from the Germanic tribes of the North, while the Eastern regions of the Empire flourished. Now onto our emperors. Julian & the Apostate After Constantine, the first event and emperor really given much history-book playing time is Emperor Julian and his reign spanning 360-363. His claim to fame is his attempt to restore paganism to the Empire. Paganism refers to any religion other than Judaism or Christianity. History has termed this, the Apostate. In short, Julian tried to undo Constantine's Christian reforms, calling for the Empire to return to the worship of their old gods. Unfortunately for Julian, he underestimated the sticking power of Christianity. His attempts at restoring paganism were overturned by his successor, Jovian. Valens and Adrianople The next noteworthy event we'll discuss is the entrance of the Huns into Europe and the Battle of Adrianople, occurring under Emperor Valens. The Huns were a warring and rather ruthless people from Asia. To put it very mildly, they were intent on claiming whatever land they came to. When they entered Europe from the East, they pushed the Goths ,or members of Germanic tribes, into the Roman Empire. Rather than declaring all-out war on these refugee-like Goths, the Empire folded them into its lands. This setup worked for a while, but soon the Germanic Goths rebelled and defeated the Roman army in the 378 battle of Adrianople. Emperor Valens himself was killed in this famous battle. Theodosius The last event and emperor we'll discuss before getting to Justinian is Emperor Theodosius. He is known to history as the last emperor to rule both the Western and Eastern halves of the Empire. History tells us Theodosius' reign, which spanned 379-395, was one of violence and military vengeance. Any who dared cross him, or his imperial forces, was severely punished. Despite his propensity toward violence, he is often referred to as Theodosius the Great. After all, he managed to hold the Empire together during a very turbulent time. Justinian Now, we come to Justinian. By the time Justinian came to the throne in the year 527, the Eastern Roman Empire was also known as the Byzantine Empire. It was Justinian's goal to bring the Empire back to its glory days. Not one to waste any time, he sent his military to reclaim much of the Western Empire that had been lost after the Battle of Adrianople and the fall of Rome. This even included Italy and the beloved city of Rome. Not content with merely reclaiming lands, Justinian also respected the laws of ancient Rome. In order to cement them into his time and his Empire, he called for all of Rome's ancient laws to be recorded. In doing this, Rome's ancient laws, also known as the Twelve Tables, were broken down into categories. Outdated laws were done away with, and complex laws were simplified. Desiring the Empire to thrive, Justinian also added new laws dealing with the fair treatment of those within the Empire. For instance, one of his laws held that a person is innocent until proven guilty. This one should be very familiar to anyone who has sat in a history class or watched a TV cop show. Justinian's new laws, together with the laws of ancient Rome, are known today as the Corpus of Civil Law or Justinian's Code of Laws. Completed around the year 529, these laws have formed the basis for the judicial systems of the Western world. Yes, Justinian may not be as well-known as Caesar or Nero, but his influence just might be one of the strongest and longest-lasting of all the Roman Emperors. Early Christian Art: An Underground Movement The first few centuries after the death of Jesus afforded Christians few opportunities for artistic or architectural expression. Christianity was often oppressed by the Roman Empire. Christians might have their property seized or be burned alive. In such a hostile environment, Christian artwork would have proven a liability. The only distinctly Christian symbol of this early age was the Ichthys, or 'Jesus fish.' The Ichthys was a secret symbol, whose name formed an acrostic for the central concept of Christian faith.

Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior. So the nature of Jesus could all be summed up with a simple fish, allowing Christians to identify their secret places of worship as well as the burial places of the faithful.

The Catacombs of Rome

The burial of Christians was a secret affair as well. Unlike their pagan predecessors, Christians were not fans of cremation. Christians believed in a bodily resurrection. I suppose they thought Jesus wouldn't know what to do with an urn full of ashes. So, instead of keeping the burnt remains of their loved ones on a shelf at home, Christians buried their dead. In overpopulated Rome, with its severe lack of space, this meant Christians had to find unique places to put their bodies. So Christians tunneled into the soft volcanic stone beneath the city, and there they built amazing catacombs. And it is in these catacombs that we begin to see the first traces of Christian art. Early Christians decorated their catacombs with frescoes, or paintings on fresh plaster. These frescoes are very simple and allegorical; not refined at all. This sort of primitive Christian painting copies the Pompeian style that was popular across the Roman Empire. They just reused an old style for new content. Sarcophagi After the Emperor Constantine fully legalized Christianity with the 313 Edict of Milan, Christians began moving their burials above ground, with grand sarcophagi, or stone caskets. These sarcophagi provide us with our first examples of Christian sculpture. Yet with sculpture, Christians faced a new problem. The classical world was full of sculpture, from idols of gods to friezes to life-sized sculptures adorning buildings. The early Christians saw pagan sculptures of gods as what they were - graven images, which are strictly forbidden by the Bible as idolatry. For this reason, sculpture took a back seat during the early Christian years. Though the early Christians did make use of sculpture on occasion, they took special care to make sure that the sculpture was clearly part of the decoration, rather than an object of adoration. Therefore, early Christian sculpture avoided the life-sized scale of their pagan predecessors, and almost completely avoided full statues or sculpture in the round. Instead, Christians used shallow relief sculpture and depicted biblical scenes and Christian allegory. Early Christian Mosaic Yet Constantine did more for Christianity than just protecting it from persecution. Constantine also actively sponsored the spread of Christianity through the building of churches throughout his empire. Though these churches were very plain on the outside, their interiors were bursting with colorful design in the form of mosaics. The mosaic had been around since Sumerian times. The Romans and Greeks did some incredibly detailed mosaics using cubes of colored marble. Provided with these vast spaces, early Christians took the art form of mosaic from the floor and spread it onto the ceilings, the walls, everywhere. Early Christians created mosaics of biblical narratives and symbolic awesomeness. And instead of natural stone, they used colored glass, allowing them to create vibrant colors. This glass also gives the mosaic a sort of glittery, semi-translucent quality that you really must see in person to appreciate. The figures seem to shimmer as you move about. Though the Christians created some beautiful mosaics, the art of mosaic would reach its apex in the Byzantine art to follow. Illuminating the Word of God Just one form of early Christian art remains to be covered, and that is the illuminated manuscript. Illuminations are illustrations to accompany a written text, usually incorporating gold leaf. This addition became possible as the ancient world shifted from the tightly wound scroll of papyrus to the bound codex, what we would call a book. The fact that papyrus scrolls needed to be rolled made illumination all but impossible, because layers of paint would crack off and fall apart with repeated rolling and unrolling. The advent of vellum, or parchment, as a writing surface provided artists with a much more supple surface than brittle papyrus. It also meant that pages could lie flat, rather than being rolled and unrolled. The codex arrived on the scene around 100 AD, just in time for Christians to start illustrating their favorite book: the Bible. One of the earliest surviving illuminated Bibles is the Vienna Genesis, created around 500 CE. Here we can see a naturalistic style and a strange association of place and time. The picture does not display a single event, but a whole sequence, strung out along the path of the illustration - sort of like a medieval comic book. This illustration technique allowed illustrators to pack a lot of story into a very small space. The Rise of Constantine and Christianity Christianity and the Roman Empire had a long history of bad blood. Several Roman emperors made a point of persecuting Christianity, either because they were trying to preserve the religion of their ancestors or simply because Christians provided a convenient scapegoat for the problems of the empire. Christianity was illegal throughout the empire, and Christians were subject to injustices ranging from seizure of property to death in the arena. Yet, after three centuries of Roman Emperors grinding Christians under their feet, a new emperor decided to give Christians a hand up. His name was Constantine. Early Christian architecture exploded under the protection and patronage of this ambitious emperor. Constantine wanted to unify the crumbling Roman Empire under Christianity. To do so, he began building churches across the empire on a massive scale. The Basilica For centuries Christians had been meeting secretly in houses. With Constantine's conversion to Christianity, there was suddenly an opportunity to build public places of worship. Yet what should these churches look like? They could not look like Roman temples. A Roman temple is a pretty place for an idol to sit. It holds a god, a place for ritual sacrifice and perhaps a treasury. Christian ritual is not about burning food to an idol; it's about coming together as a congregation. The problem is there's nowhere in a Roman temple for a congregation to congregate. A bigger, more open space is necessary. To meet these needs, Constantine chose the Roman basilica as the model for his churches. Basilicas were the shopping malls of ancient Rome; they also served as council chambers, meeting halls and law courts throughout the empire. The basilica was a large rectangular hall with colonnades running down both sides. It had high windows to let in plenty of light. Many were built with a wooden roof, making their construction cheap and fast. Others featured an apse or raised semi circle at the opposite end of the entrance, framed by a triumphal arch, one of the most distinctly Roman forms of architecture. Constantine adapted this building to Christian services. The long, open rectangular colonnade was the perfect place for congregations to congregate. This area became known as the nave. That semicircular area at one end, or apse, seemed like the perfect place to put an altar. The entrances were then moved from the sides to the front, so the whole building has a single axis, with the apse as its focal point. Before the entrance, he added an atrium, or open-aired columned courtyard typical of Roman palaces. Between the atrium and the nave was the narthex, or main entrance of the church. With these adaptations, the Constantine's basilicas provided the space the Christians needed for their congregations and lent the Church the authority of an established form of imperial architecture, thereby proclaiming Christianity's status as a state religion. Unfortunately, none of Constantine's basilicas survive unaltered. The closest surviving example is the Basilica of St Paul outside the walls in Rome. Here we can see how these architectural elements came together to create a powerful visual and spatial effect. Entering the church requires passing through all of the elements we just covered. You start out in the columned atrium and then pass through the narthex. This brings you to the nave, which runs up to the triumphal arch, with the apse behind it. The overall effect was one of increasing grandeur as one stepped deeper and deeper into God's house. The basilica provided Christians with a place to commune and engage in the foremost Christian sacrament: the eucharist, in which pious Christians shared a communal meal of bread and wine, symbolizing the body and blood of Christ. Yet there was another important Christian sacrament, something that made a Christian a Christian, and that was baptism. The Baptistry While baptism would eventually become a matter of sprinkling babies, the early Church followed the example of the Bible and baptized people of all ages by immersion. Indeed, the very word 'baptismo' means 'I submerge.' Most Basilicas lacked an in-ground pool, thus a different space would need to be created for this important rite of passage. Luckily, the Romans already had the perfect public places for this service readily available: the Roman bath. The Roman bath took several forms, but the most popular was a round or polygonal building crowned with a dome. By the 1st century CE, this round design had already been expanded upon by the Romans to build temples, like the Pantheon. The form was later adapted for tombs, like the mausoleum Constantine built for his daughter. Early Christians adapted this form to build baptistries, or places to baptize people, like this Arian baptistry built in Ravenna circa 4-500 CE. Later, the Byzantines would expand upon this form, building their churches around this central-planned, domed scheme. True Beauty Lies Within As you've looked at these pictures of early Christian churches, you may have noticed a trend. These buildings have a rather plain, if not severe, exterior. Their lack of external decoration is offset by their lavish interior decoration. This marks a sharp contrast with the Roman temple. The Roman temple is a grand thing, decked with life-sized, realistic sculpture. Yet life-sized statues make Christians nervous, since they're so close to pagan idols. Christians needed a new way to decorate their buildings. Rather than sculpture and friezes, the early Christians chose a different medium: the mosaic. Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore Rome Arian Baptistry Ravenna

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * An Introduction to St. Augustine

• Hell is Real

• With the blamers dealt with, and how to acquire peace explained, Augustine moved on to last point, eternal punishment is real and waiting for those who belong to the City of the World.

• Obviously, this one didn't make him a crowd favorite, but it does give us our last point.

• Augustine told the people of his age that the judgment described in the Holy Scriptures is true.

• He wholeheartedly believed the words of the Bible, which read:

• “If this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority.”

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * An Introduction to St. Augustine

• Hell is Real

• Taking it a step further, Augustine encourages his audience to live as citizens of the City of God, for not only will they escape judgment, they will be welcomed into heaven, a place of eternal rest and happiness with God.

• And you know what, I'm thinking that sounds like a much better option.

* Reasons for the Fall of Rome

• As the familiar saying goes, 'Rome wasn't built in a day.'

• As the not so familiar saying also goes, 'It didn't fall in a day either!'

• To explain this saying, we're going to look at the gradual decline of Rome, culminating with its sacking in the year 476 AD.

• In doing this, we're going to blame internal corruption, division, and outside invasion for the demise of Rome, known to the ancient world as the Eternal City.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Reasons for the Fall of Rome

• Although there are a plethora of reasons for the fall that we could cite, most of them can be traced back to these three.

• Internal Corruption

• Let's get started with internal corruption.

• As the Empire grew, it became very hard to govern and control.

• Violence began replacing law and order.

• Instead of emperors, generals, and politicians being chosen on the basis of merit, positions of power were paid for or gained through violence that could rival any modern day mob movie.

• Adding to the problem, the rulers of Rome - many of whom had bought or murdered for their positions - had little desire to actually govern, let alone preserve the city.

• Without a strong central power base, civil wars waged between feuding political groups, while corrupt officials levied devastating taxes on the people of Rome.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Reasons for the Fall of Rome

• Although there are a plethora of reasons for the fall that we could cite, most of them can be traced back to these three.

• Internal Corruption

• Inflation soared, commoners died of starvation and disease, and the lights of the Eternal City began to dim.

• Division

• In an attempt to keep the light of Rome from completely dying, one emperor, Diocletian, stepped in with a plan to save the day.

• However, his 3rd century plan actually gives us our second reason for the fall of Rome: division.

• Seeing that the Empire was just too large to govern effectively, Diocletian decided to divide it into Western and Eastern halves.

• When one of Diocletian's successors, the famous Constantine, officially moved the capital of the Empire from Rome to Constantinople in the first half of the 4th century, the center of political power moved with it.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Reasons for the Fall of Rome

• Although there are a plethora of reasons for the fall that we could cite, most of them can be traced back to these three.

• Division

• Constaninople is located in modern day Turkey, and would have its name changed later to Byzantium, and then when the Turks conquered it in 1453 AD, they changed it to Istanbul. Today it is called Ankara, and is the capital of Turkey

• Outside Invasion

• To history, the Eastern part of the Empire came to be known as the Byzantine Empire, while the Western half remained under the faltering control of Rome.

• Since the political force of the Empire had moved East, Rome was, in a manner of speaking, left to fend for itself against not only corruption from within, but also our third reason for its fall: outside invasion.

• As the Byzantine Empire of the East began to thrive, Rome and its surrounding areas faced further decline.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Reasons for the Fall of Rome

• Although there are a plethora of reasons for the fall that we could cite, most of them can be traced back to these three.

• Outside Invasion

• With the political power of the Empire now in the East, and with the city of Rome suffering from corruption from within, the ancient city was ripe for attack.

• Soon nomads from the North, known as the Germanic tribes, began attacking along the northern borders of the Empire.

• Without a strong leader, or a strong, well-disciplined military, the city could not mount a suitable defense.

• Around the year 410 AD, Rome, the city once thought unconquerable, was invaded by the Germanic Visigoths led by Alaric, a name which has become synonymous with the demise of Rome.

• The Eternal City was looted, much of its ancient architecture was reduced to rubble, and its people were ravaged.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Reasons for the Fall of Rome

• Although there are a plethora of reasons for the fall that we could cite, most of them can be traced back to these three.

• Outside Invasion

• For many historians, this event signaled the beginning of the very end for the Eternal City.

• Ironically, in order to prevent this, emperors for generations had been paying off the Germanic tribes not to invade Italy, and even hiring them as mercenary supplements to their legions.

• The actual Romans began to depend on them so much, that over 90% of the Roman legions were actually made up of Germans and other foreigners

• Alaric was actually not only a Germanic barbarian chieftain, and King of the Visigoths, but also a general in command of a Roman Legion, who, when passed over for a greater command, rebelled and took Rome with his legion, who owed more to their Germanic brothers, than to any perceived alliance with Rome.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Reasons for the Fall of Rome

• Although there are a plethora of reasons for the fall that we could cite, most of them can be traced back to these three.

• Outside Invasion

• In other words, the Germans were treated more as slaves than as equal Roman citizens by the Romans themselves.

• The Romans had become insolent, fat, and lazy

• They made fun of the barbarians

• They did not speak refined Latin

• They wore beards

• They were often not Christian

• But yet, they depended on them for their security

• Finally, in 476, the Germanic people fell once again on Rome.

• However, this time they gained complete control of the city and its surrounding lands. Their leader, Odoacer, declared himself the ruler of Italy, forcing the last emperor of Rome, Romulus Augustulus, to surrender his crown. This signaled to history the fall of Rome - the extinguishing of the Eternal City. Effects of Constantine When discussing Roman history, most of the emperors after Constantine don't get a lot of mention. In fact, other than perhaps Justinian, most people probably couldn't even name one. Today we're going to remedy this by exploring a few of the emperors after Constantine. Although we're going to focus mainly on Justinian, we'll still give a few others their day in the sun. For starters, when Constantine converted to Christianity in the year 312 CE and then moved the capitol of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople in the year 330, the Roman Empire drastically changed. The West, or Rome and its surrounding areas, faced continual invasion from the Germanic tribes of the North, while the Eastern regions of the Empire flourished. Now onto our emperors. Julian & the Apostate After Constantine, the first event and emperor really given much history-book playing time is Emperor Julian and his reign spanning 360-363. His claim to fame is his attempt to restore paganism to the Empire. Paganism refers to any religion other than Judaism or Christianity. History has termed this, the Apostate. In short, Julian tried to undo Constantine's Christian reforms, calling for the Empire to return to the worship of their old gods. Unfortunately for Julian, he underestimated the sticking power of Christianity. His attempts at restoring paganism were overturned by his successor, Jovian. Valens and Adrianople The next noteworthy event we'll discuss is the entrance of the Huns into Europe and the Battle of Adrianople, occurring under Emperor Valens. The Huns were a warring and rather ruthless people from Asia. To put it very mildly, they were intent on claiming whatever land they came to. When they entered Europe from the East, they pushed the Goths ,or members of Germanic tribes, into the Roman Empire. Rather than declaring all-out war on these refugee-like Goths, the Empire folded them into its lands. This setup worked for a while, but soon the Germanic Goths rebelled and defeated the Roman army in the 378 battle of Adrianople. Emperor Valens himself was killed in this famous battle. Theodosius The last event and emperor we'll discuss before getting to Justinian is Emperor Theodosius. He is known to history as the last emperor to rule both the Western and Eastern halves of the Empire. History tells us Theodosius' reign, which spanned 379-395, was one of violence and military vengeance. Any who dared cross him, or his imperial forces, was severely punished. Despite his propensity toward violence, he is often referred to as Theodosius the Great. After all, he managed to hold the Empire together during a very turbulent time. Justinian Now, we come to Justinian. By the time Justinian came to the throne in the year 527, the Eastern Roman Empire was also known as the Byzantine Empire. It was Justinian's goal to bring the Empire back to its glory days. Not one to waste any time, he sent his military to reclaim much of the Western Empire that had been lost after the Battle of Adrianople and the fall of Rome. This even included Italy and the beloved city of Rome. Not content with merely reclaiming lands, Justinian also respected the laws of ancient Rome. In order to cement them into his time and his Empire, he called for all of Rome's ancient laws to be recorded. In doing this, Rome's ancient laws, also known as the Twelve Tables, were broken down into categories. Outdated laws were done away with, and complex laws were simplified. Desiring the Empire to thrive, Justinian also added new laws dealing with the fair treatment of those within the Empire. For instance, one of his laws held that a person is innocent until proven guilty. This one should be very familiar to anyone who has sat in a history class or watched a TV cop show. Justinian's new laws, together with the laws of ancient Rome, are known today as the Corpus of Civil Law or Justinian's Code of Laws. Completed around the year 529, these laws have formed the basis for the judicial systems of the Western world. Yes, Justinian may not be as well-known as Caesar or Nero, but his influence just might be one of the strongest and longest-lasting of all the Roman Emperors. Early Christian Art: An Underground Movement The first few centuries after the death of Jesus afforded Christians few opportunities for artistic or architectural expression. Christianity was often oppressed by the Roman Empire. Christians might have their property seized or be burned alive. In such a hostile environment, Christian artwork would have proven a liability. The only distinctly Christian symbol of this early age was the Ichthys, or 'Jesus fish.' The Ichthys was a secret symbol, whose name formed an acrostic for the central concept of Christian faith.

The Catacombs of Rome

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Reasons for the Fall of Rome

• Although there are a plethora of reasons for the fall that we could cite, most of them can be traced back to these three.

• Outside Invasion

• However, this time they gained complete control of the city and its surrounding lands.

• Their leader, Odoacer, declared himself the ruler of Italy, forcing the last emperor of Rome, Romulus Augustulus, a nine year old boy, to surrender his crown.

• This signaled to history the fall of Rome - the extinguishing of the Eternal City.

* Effects of Constantine

• When discussing Roman history, most of the emperors after Constantine don't get a lot of mention. In fact, other than perhaps Justinian, most people probably couldn't even name one.

• Possibly, because they were all in the east

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Effects of Constantine

• The emperors in the east were comfortable

• The east was stable, as they had been used to imperial rule by foreigners for over a millennia, the west, on the contrary, had only been conquered over the last 400 years, and was still not fully under Roman control then.

• They suffered migrations of northern barbaric tribes looking for a better life

• They lived in pockets of rural people governed by tribal chieftains, and not in the civilized cities with mass populations and the formal governments of the east.

• The east generated a lot of agricultural wealth with its wide sweeping plains, where the west was heavily forested and difficult to farm

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Effects of Constantine

• As a result, the western half of the empire always required a great deal of money to be spent on it in terms of soldiers to maintain order, food to placate the populations, government officials to visit the many tribes, and the vast areas, and the upkeep of the defenses on the border, and maintaining the several thousand tribal leaders so they would stay loyal to Rome.

• Eastern emperors were content to leave this expense to their western “brother” emperors, who were always asking for assistance from the east to maintain their empires, which the east rarely provided.

• Today we're going to remedy this by exploring a few of the emperors after Constantine.

• Although we're going to focus mainly on Justinian, we'll still give a few others their day in the sun.

• For starters, when Constantine converted to Christianity in the year 312 AD and then moved the capitol of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople in the year 330, the Roman Empire drastically changed.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Effects of Constantine

• The West, or Rome and its surrounding areas, faced continual invasion from the Germanic tribes of the North, while the Eastern regions of the Empire flourished.

• Now onto our emperors.

• Julian & the Apostate

• After Constantine, the first event and emperor really given much history- book playing time is Emperor Julian and his reign spanning 360-363.

• His claim to fame is his attempt to restore paganism to the Empire.

• Paganism refers to any religion other than Judaism or Christianity.

• History has termed this period, the Apostate.

• In short, Julian tried to undo Constantine's Christian reforms, calling for the Empire to return to the worship of their old gods.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Effects of Constantine

• Unfortunately for Julian, he underestimated the sticking power of Christianity. His attempts at restoring paganism were overturned by his successor, Jovian.

• Valens and Adrianople

• The next noteworthy event we'll discuss is the entrance of the Huns into Europe and the Battle of Adrianople, occurring under Emperor Valens.

• The Huns were a warring and rather ruthless people from Asia.

• While Asiatic and possibly Turkic in origin, they had had contact with Germanic peoples for hundreds of years, and intermarried with them, and had many Germanic peoples counted in their numbers.

• They were led by a rather aggressive and strategic minded chieftain named Attilla, who had brought several of their tribes together through military might to create a formidable armed force.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Effects of Constantine

• Valens and Adrianople

• To put it very mildly, they were intent on claiming whatever land they came to.

• They pushed to very near Italy itself, and may have conquered the eternal city if not for the intervention and pleas of the Bishop of Rome at that time, Leo, I

• They also came close to capturing the whole of France, but were defeated near the city of Orleans in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains

• Attilla died before he could complete his plans to subdue the western half of the empire, and the Huns were forced to settle on the edges of the Balks forests between the eastern and western halves of the empire, in what is today modern Hungary.

• When the Huns entered Europe from the East, they pushed the Goths, or members of Germanic tribes, into the Roman Empire.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Effects of Constantine

• Valens and Adrianople

• Rather than declaring all-out war on these refugee-like Goths, the Empire folded them into its lands giving them use of poor lands on the periphery, where they were forced to serve as a buffer to the such aggressive tribes as the Huns, and therefore had to be prepared militarily on a consistent basis.

• Not only did they have to be prepared themselves, but they also had to provide the empire with a large part of their young male population for military service elsewhere in the empire

• This setup worked for a while, but soon the Germanic Goths rebelled and defeated the Roman army in the 378 AD Battle of Adrianople.

• Emperor Valens himself was captured, and paraded around naked and in chains before the victorious Goths, a rather humiliating thing for not just Valens, but the Roman people as well.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Effects of Constantine

• Valens and Adrianople

• Eventually, they executed him, just as Rome had sent out the ransom for him the Goths had demanded.

• Theodosius

• The last event and emperor we'll discuss before getting to Justinian is Emperor Theodosius.

• He is known to history as the last emperor to rule both the Western and Eastern halves of the Empire.

• History tells us Theodosius' reign, which spanned 379-395, was one of violence and military vengeance.

• Any who dared cross him, or his imperial forces, was severely punished.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Effects of Constantine

• Despite his propensity toward violence, he is often referred to as Theodosius the Great.

• After all, he managed to hold the Empire together during a very turbulent time, as well as outlaw any pagan religious practices, and convert pagan temples to use as Christian churches, insuring Romans would have no religion but Christianity.

• Unfortunately, going along with this practice, he also closed Plato’s Academy, an act that most Romans were not in support of.

• Justinian

• Now, we come to Justinian.

• By the time Justinian came to the throne in the year 527, the Eastern Roman Empire was also known as the Byzantine Empire.

• It was Justinian's goal to bring the Empire back to its glory days.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Effects of Constantine

• Justinian

• Not one to waste any time, he sent his military to reclaim much of the Western Empire that had been lost after the Battle of Adrianople and the fall of Rome.

• This even included Italy and the beloved city of Rome.

• Not content with merely reclaiming lands, Justinian also respected the laws of ancient Rome.

• In order to cement them into his time and his Empire, he called for all of Rome's ancient laws to be recorded.

• In doing this, Rome's ancient laws, also known as the Twelve Tables, were broken down into categories.

• Outdated laws were done away with, and complex laws were simplified.

• Desiring the Empire to thrive, Justinian also added new laws dealing with the fair treatment of those within the Empire.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior * Effects of Constantine

• Justinian

• For instance, one of his laws held that a person is innocent until proven guilty.

• This one should be very familiar to anyone who has sat in a history class or watched a TV cop show.

• Justinian's new laws, together with the laws of ancient Rome, are known today as the Corpus of Civil Law or Justinian's Code of Laws.

• Completed around the year 529, these laws have formed the basis for the judicial systems of the Western world since that time.

• Yes, Justinian may not be as well-known as Caesar or Nero, but his influence just might be one of the strongest and longest-lasting of all the Roman Emperors.

English Spelling of Greek Word Translation Letter Iota Iesous Jesus Chi Christos Christ Theta Theou God's Ypsilon Uios Son Sigma Soter Savior