- Jesus spends three years preaching, is then killed by Roman leaders
- Jesus' followers think he's the messiah and the savior who has risen from the dead
- Saul (the persecutor) becomes Paul (the evangelist), spreading Jesus' message
- that there is one true God, not roman gods
- Christianity evolves from a cult status to an established official structure
- priest, bishops, pope (Bishop of Rome)
- Christians and Jews are monotheistic (meaning they believe in one God)
- this conflicted with roman beliefs
- persecution against both groups was common
- Christianity appealed to the poor, and since there were many poor people, their numbers grew
- as the numbers grew, even some Roman leaders embraced Christianity
- AD 313: Constantine has a battlefield conversion
- he issues the Edict of Milan
- a law passed that was the approval of Christianity
- made Christianity the official religion of Rome
- not only persecution, but actual approval of Christianity, eventually making it the official religion of Rome
- the Roman Empire and Christianity are now linked in power and influence
Decline of the Roman Empire:
AD 180: Rome has problems
- economic (trade became risky; taxers were too high; food supply was dropping)
- military (frontiers were hard to patrol; roman generals fought for control; soldiers' loyalty declined and mercenaries appeared)
- AD 324- Constantine becomes emperor over both halves of the empire
- moves the capital from Rome to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople), where Asia met Europe (now Turkey)
- after his death, empire is divided again
- this time "barbarian invader" (Huns, Vandals, Visigoths, Angles, Saxons, Franks) overrun the empire's frontiers
- that's it for the roman empire (AD 476)
Diocletian divided the empire into two
- Greek-speaking East (had more resources(
- Latin-speaking West (rome, tradition)
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