Today in class we went over our tests, and took a lot of notes from a power point.

The Roman Empire

Octavian- AKA Caesar Augustus

-born as Octavian

-Julius Caesar grand nephew

Augustus- the first emporar-gettting it done

-begins the Pax Romana- a period of peace and prosperity

-Built roads, aqueducts (brought water to cities)

-set up civil service to take care of roads the grain supply, even a postal service

-Augustus dies at age 76 in A.D. 14, and passes power to Tiberius
 

From Jesus to Christianity

-Jesus was a Roman citizen and practicing Jew

-at, 30 he began his ministry (A.D. 31-33) preaching to the poor in the empire, and reaching out to outsiders

-statements like "my kingdom is not this world" made the Romans (and Jews) nervous, and they began to plan his execution

-the governor of the Roman providence of Judaea Pontius Pilate (prompted by Jewish high priests) sentences Jesus to death at crucifixion

The Word Spreads about the Risen Jesus

-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 this he spoke to these epistles are a part of the New Testament

-If not for 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 in next line for emperor

-he started off well: granting bonuses to those in the military, declaring treason trials a thing of the past, and made government spending a matter of public record

-all in all, the first seven months of Caligula's reign were " completely blissful" (according to the historian Philo)

-Caligula was probably insane

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 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

-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 him, 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 time 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 1 wall)

-the Western Wall today is 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 Coliseum (thrown to the lions, etc.)

-Despite the oppression, Christianity grew quickly- by AD 200, around 10 percent of the people in the Roman empire were Christians