More on Roman History

• Rome was the starting point of propaganda
• Many people look back to Rome for the start of this
• The Resgesti were plaques all around Rome that told what Augustus did after he die
• Augustus dies in 14 C.E., Tiberius takes over
• Caligula comes next, he is a nutcase, relations with his sister, threw people off cliffs, tried to make his horse a senator
• Claudius was next, very strange, shy, anti-social, didn’t do much, scared to death to be an emperor
• Nero is next, another nutcase, burned down half of Rome to make a park in his honor, put a palace on the property and a giant statue of himself, blamed Rome burning on Christians, he is forced to commit suicide and says, "The world has lost a great artist" when he commits.
• This ends the Julio-Claudian Dynasty
• Vespasian is the next emperor
• Wanted Rome run "military style"
• Restored order
• When Roman emperors died, they became state gods, taxes had to be paid once a year to the state gods.

• Vespasian dies
• His son, Titus, takes over
• 1st: He finishes the Vespasian Amphitheatre
• 2nd:

• Titus dies
• Replaced by Domitian(a blood relative)
• Tough guy
• Builds bath complexes(more like a modern-day health club)
• Assassinated

• Replaced by Nerva
• The start of the "Good Emperors"
• Nerva(96-98(
• Trajan(98-117)
• Hadrian(117-138)
• Antoninus Pius138-161)
• Marcus Aurelius(161-180)
• Nerva starts the practice of choosing the heir to the emperor instead of just making the closest blood relative emperor
• He picks Trajan
• A military genius
• Monument - "Trajan's Column"
• It has the story of a battle around it to the top

• Era of the Emperor Hadrian - a renaissance man
• Philosopher
• Architect
• Statesman
• World traveler
• First roman emperor to not be form Italy
• He was from Spain
• He has a beard(trademark of Greek philosophers)

• Rome is very multi-cultural
• No matter what you looked like you were a Roman
• • Marcus Aurelius
  • Roman Empire reaches its height and expands no further
  • Septimius Severus
  • First African emperor of Rome
  • LAST dynasty of Rome
  • LATE ANTIQUITY
  • Age of the Soldier Emperors - third century CE
  • Emperors are generals and do not last long at all because of civil warfare
  • Diocletian - fundamentally alters the form of Roman government
  • Gets rid of Principate and starts the Dominate - a very totalitarian style of government.
  • Tetrarchy - rule by four. Two halves - the west and the east, two guys in charge of each.
  • Battle of the Milvian Bridge
  • Constantine wins and becomes sole emperor of Rome
  • Constantine saw a vision of the Christian cross on the day of the battle
  • Has all his soldiers paint the Chi Ro on their shields
  • He declares Christianity in Rome to be LEGAL
  • Constantine
  • Moves the capitol of Rome from Italy to Constantinople (modern city of Istanbul)
  • Roman Empire is forever altered
  • Rome is sacked in 476 by the Germanic tribes
  • Gibbon - Rome FALLS
  • Toynbee - Rome evolves into Europe
  • EARLY CHRISIANITY
  • It was illegal at first, and they had to meet in secret
  • They did this in the Catacombs
  • It spreads around Greece and Rome itself and then it really takes over
  • Janius Bassus
  • Jesus is shown as a Sheppard in early Christian art
  • They depicted him in a way that others wouldn't recognize because it was illegal
  • Fish imagery is used as a code
  • BYZANTINE EMPIRE
  • Christianity is becoming the standard religion of the Roman world
  • Justinian I - had his palace in Rowena, north of Rome
  • He tries to merge the Church and the state together