Downfall of Roman Empire Notes

In class today we finally finished our notes on the downfall of the Roman Empire... we will have a test early next week.

The Decline of the Roman Empire:
rise of christianity
- Jesus spends three years preaching, is killed by roman leaders
- Jesus' followers believe he's the Messiah and savior who has risen from the dead
- Saul (the persecutor) becomes Paul (the evangelist), spreading Jesus' message (one true god, not roman gods)
- christianity evolves from cult status to established, official structure
- priest, bishops, pope (Bishop of Rome)
- christians & Jews were monotheistic (believing in one god)
- this conflicted w/ roman beliefs
- persecution against both was common
- christianity appealed to the poor, and since there were many poor, their numbers grew
- the Roman Empire and christianity are now linked in power and influence
decline of the Roman Empire:
- food supply was dropping
- roman generals fought for control; soldiers' loyalty declined and mercenaries appeared
- Diocletian (emperor) divided the empire into two
- greek- speaking east had more resources
- latin speaking west had Rome and tradition
- AD 324- Constantine becomes emperor over both halves of the empire
- capital moves from Rome to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople), where Asia met Europe (now turkey)
- after his death, empire is divided again
- this time, "barbarian invaders" (Huns, vandals, Visigoths, angles, saxons, franks) overrun the empire's frontiers
- that's it for the Roman Empire (AD 476)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review For Test and Crusades Powerpoint

In class today, we took notes on the Crusades and reviewed for our upcoming test on Friday. The Crusades  was a military campaign launched by Christian Europeans to win back the Holy Land occupied by the Muslims. In 1095 AD, Pope Urban II started the crusades by writing a letter/speech and it lasted for 200 years. The purpose of the Crusades was to win back the Holy Land conquered by the Muslim's . The holy land was a small area on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea known as Jerusalem, it was sacred to the Christians because Jesus was said to have lived and taught there. Then, we started talking about what  may be on the test on Friday. It was said there will be questions on Clovis, when the Middle Ages took place, lords, germanic invaders, the church, Charles Martel's lineage, and much more.  
Read more

Powerpoint Notes on Charlemagne

In class today, we took notes from the powerpoint on Charlemagne and his family tree. We also learned about Clovis ruling the Franks (Germanic people of Gaul). In 496, he has a battlefield conversion- he and 3,000 of his warriors became christians... similarly like Constantine and his soldiers. By 511, the Franks and Church are united in one kingdom w/ Clovis and the church working as partners. The spread of christianity occurred because of the Church and Frankish rulers, in 520, Benedict writes rulers for monks such as vows of poverty, Chasity, and obedience. His sister Scholastica wrote similar rules for nuns. Pope Gregory the first or Gregory the Great went secular (worldly power) by making sure the church revenues were used to help the poor, build roads, and raise armies (an theocracy). Clovis' descendants included Charles Martel who defeated a muslim raiding party from Spain at the Battle of Tours in 732. Charles Martel's son, Pepin the Short who worked with the church and...
Read more

Middle Ages Test

In class today, I made up my Middle Ages test I missed from last week. The test was pretty easy and I ended up getting a 97 on it. Later on, we all took notes on the Renaissance in Europe. Renaissance means rebirth of learning and culture. The artists in these cities were inspired by the Romans and Greeks.  Merchants dominated politics and t he Medici were a powerful banking family. They paid artists, writers, and musicians to create beautiful works of art, t hey were patrons. In the Renaissance time period, classical writings were important to them, worldly (secular) values were essential, and christian values were still important, but separate from secular values.
Read more