Second Period

*The Roman Empire

*Middle Ages
*Early Modern Europe

Objective:
Identify the characteristics of the Roman
Empire, Middle Ages, and Early Modern
Europe like important people and culture to
analyze different aspects that were involved
in the birth of Christianity.
Learning objective(s): Learns important
facts about the beginning of the Roman
Empire to understand their way of life.

Biblical Principle:
Dont be afraid, a Savior is born and so is
our faith.
Luke 2:10-11New King James Version (NKJV)
10Then the angel said to them, Do not be
afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings
of great joy which will be to all people.11For
there is born to you this day in the city of
David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

The Roman Empire

Rome was the center of a large empire. An

empire is a large area of land with many
different people. It is controlled by one
person or a small group.
Rome din not become an empire overnight,
It began as a small village on the Tiber
River in Italy about 2,700 years ago.

An Unusual Beginning
Once there were twin baby brothers named
Romulus and Remus. A cruel uncle left them
to die in the Tibet River.
A mother wolf found the babies. She
protected them. Romulus and Remus grew
up to start Rome. This story shows that the
Romans thought of themselves as strong
and brave.

The Early Republic

At first Rome was ruled by kings. Many kings
were cruel. About 2,500 years ago, the Romans
decided they did not want to be ruled by kings
anymore.
The Romans set up a republic. In a republic the
people have the right to choose their own
leaders, like in Athens. But in the Roman
republic, some men had more power than others.
Rich men were called patricians. The common
people of Rome were called plebeians.

Only patricians could become leaders in the

new Roman republic.
After Rome became a republic, the Romans
built a strong army and they began to take
over more land in Italy.
Soon Rome controlled parts of what are now
Spain, France, Greece, and North Africa.

Julius Caesar
As Rome conquered more territories, its
government changed. People no longer chose
their rulers. Instead, Rome was ruled by
dictators, or rulers who have total power.
One of the most famous Roman dictator was
Julius Caesar. He was popular among many
poor people. He promised to find jobs for
them. However, some Romans patricians did
not trust Caesar. They were afraid that he
would try to make himself king. For this
reason they killed Caesar.

Augustus Caesar
After Caesars death, the Roman Republic
came to an end. Rome was governed by
Caesars grandnephew. He took the name of
Augustus Caesar. Augustus means
respected one.
Augustus became the first emperor of
Rome. An emperor is a person who rules an
empire. Augustus ruled well for 41 years. He
made sure that Rome and its empire were
ruled fairly.

He also built many monuments, theaters,

and other buildings in Rome.
Under Augustus, a period of peace began in
the Roman empire. This peace lasted for
almost 200 years. It was called the Pax
Romana, which means Roman peace.

The Birth of Christianity

Palestine was a land in the Roman Empire.

Palestine was the Roman name for Canaan.
When Augustus ruled, a man who changed
world history was born. His name was Jesus.
He taught that there was only one god. He said
that the people must honor God by treating
others with love and kindness.
Many people began to follow the teaching of
Jesus. But people in Roman government
thought Jesus was trying to turn people against
Rome.

They sentenced Jesus to death.

The followers of Jesus created a new
religion- Christianity.
The government tried to stop Christianity
from spreading. They did not like christians
because they refused to worship Roman
gods and refused to serve in the army.
The Romans killed many christians and
made practicing Christianity against the
law.

The number of christians continue to grow.

Finally, the Roman emperor Constantine made
Christianity legal in the Roman empire.
The birth of Jesus divides our calendar into two
parts.
The years before Jesus birth are mark B.C.
these initials stand for before Christ. The
years following the birth of Jesus are mark A.D.
this stands for Anno Domini this means Year
of Our Lord in Latin, the language of ancient
Rome.