Paragraph 4.5 - Christianity and the fall of the Roman Empire - 2021

• Geschiedenis
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 1

Today

Short Romanisation

Presentations

Paragraph 4.5 - The rise of Christianity and the fall of Rome

What was the effect of the picture on the right and the Roman state making coins that could be used anywhere in the Roman empire?

1. Roads made travelling easier, so moving goods was easier. Thanks to the coins that could be used anywhere in the Roman empire, trading was a lot easier.
2. Roads made travelling easier, but due to robbers they were hardly used. Coins made plundering also more effective. You could trace coins a lot less easier than goods.
3. Roman culture was spread much easier due to the roads. Soldiers could show the Roman culture a lot easier.
4. The Roman army moved a lot quicker over the roads than over open terrain, so rebellions were put down much quicker, giving the Romans more control over their empire.

Put in the right order

Roman Empire

Fall of Rome

Village next to Tiber

Roman Republic

Kingdom of Rome

Today

- The rise of Christianity -

What do we celebrate with Easter (pasen)? The Christian meaning.

What is the English name of this religion?

Christianity started with                          . 

The story of his life and teachings form the gospels in the             . 

Among other things Jesus said people should take care of each other and that after                  there was a new life in Heaven. He called this the kingdom come, or the future kingdom. The Romans feared that he meant to start a real kingdom by                              them. So Jesus was arrested and                    . His followers believed that this did not stop Jesus and that he returned from the dead, at          . These followers, or Christians, believe that Jesus showed the way to get to Heaven. At first this group of Christians was only a small cult within               .

Jesus of Nazareth

Bible

this life

rebelling against

crucified

Easter

Judaism

Why do you die if you are crucified? What kills you?

How would you describe the last 2 quotes?

1. agressive
2. anti-roman
3. peaceful
4. happy

The Romans were very strict that everybody had to pay taxes and worship the emperor. In the source below, Jesus is talking about these two topics. Read the text below.

“Give to the emperor what belongs to the emperor, but give to God what belongs to God.“
Jesus of Nazareth, according to the Bible (Matthew 22:21).

What does Jesus say about paying taxes and worshipping the emperor?

Peter and Paul

Read ' The rise of Christianity' 

Very gradually, more and more people in

 the Roman Empire became Christians

Why is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church also the bishop of Rome?

1. The Pope is the bishop of Rome, because the first Christian emperor was also the leader of the Church.
2. Jesus had left Saint Peter in charge, who later became the first bishop of Rome. So the leader of the Church was also bishop of Rome. Even today the pope is the leader of the Church and the bishop of Rome.

Persecutions

• Despite the persecutions, the number of Christians grew in the second and third centuries. The pope was the highest administrator of the Church.

• In 313, Emperor Constantine the Great stopped the persecution of Christians and gave Christians permission to worship their god in public.

Before a battle in 312 AD, Constantine had his army put                   symbols on their

shields. He said that God had told him they would                if they did. 

After they won that battle, he took Rome and became the first emperor to give official status to                             .

Constantine had not only embraced Christianity. In 324 AD, he moved the capital to

Constantinople, present day                            . Constantinople also marked a new beginning: that of a more Christian empire. 

While Rome was full of                   , Constantinople mostly had

 big Christian                             .

Christian

 win

Christianity

Istanbul

temples

churches

Read together

Decline of the Western Empire

 

Read together

The Fall

For what two things is emperor Theodosius the Great remembered?

When Roman wealth disappeared, the Roman denarius (the common silver coin) changed too. Emperors issued                  coins to save silver. 

These new coins were                  , but their                    remained 1 denarius. 

So people started to melt the                                    coins down for the 

                      . They only used the lighter coins as coins. This explains why people lost faith in the denarius. Without faith in the coins,

               almost stopped.

 lighter 

cheaper

 value

old and heavier

silver

 trade