Western Civilization

Between the years 235 and 284, there were twenty-two emper-

ors, and only two of them did not suffer a violent end. German

tribes and Persian armies invaded the empire. There were

plagues, population decline, and economic problems. At the same

time, a new religion—Christianity—was spreading throughout

the empire. Beginning among the followers of Jesus of Nazareth,

Christianity, with its promise of salvation, its similarity to many

mystery religions, and its universality as a religion for all—rich

and poor, men and women, Greek

and Roman—slowly gained accep-

tance. As we shall see in the next

chapter, the response to the crises of

the third century and the rise of

Christianity would gradually bring a

transformation of the Roman Empire

in the fourth and fifth centuries.

CHAPTER TIMELINE

CHAPTER REVIEW

Upon Reflection

Q Was Augustus the last of the republicans or the

first of the emperors? Why do you think so?

Q In what ways was the rule of the Roman emperors

in the first and second centuriesC.E.an

improvement over the republic of the first century

B.C.E.? In what ways was their rule not an

improvement over the last century of the republic?

Q How do you explain the spread of Christianity in

the Roman Empire?

Key Terms

principate(p. 121)

praetorian guard(p. 122)

pax Romana(p. 125)

good emperors(p. 125)

Suggestions for Further Reading

GENERAL HISTORIES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE For an

overview of the Roman Empire, see G. Woolf,Rome: An

Empire’s Story(New York, 2012). For a good survey of the early

empire, seeM. Goodman,The Roman World, 44B.C.–A.D. 180

(London, 1997). On the crises of the third century, seeD. S.

Potter,The Roman Empire at Bay,A.D. 180–395(New York,

2004).

100 B.C.E. 0 100 C.E. 200 C.E. 300 C.E.

Rome

Age of Augustus Five good emperors

The Julio-Claudian rulers

Jesus of Nazareth

Augustan poets Silver age of Latin literature

(Virgil, Horace)

The Pantheon

Roman citizenship to all free

inhabitants of empire

Aurelian pacifies

empire

Severan rulers

China

Han Chinese Empire

144 Chapter 6The Roman Empire

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