1. What Happened to my Rome?
The Fall of the Roman Empire…

2. Rome ruled the Mediterranean world for 600 years
Rome ruled the Mediterranean world for 600 years. At its peak, during the first and second centuries A.D., the empire extended from Spain to the Euphrates River and from England to Egypt. Yet by the end of the fourth century, the Roman Empire was collapsing.

3. More and more There barbarians (uncivilized people) began to invade Rome. The army of Rome couldn’t be trusted anymore. The Romans decided they were too important or too wealthy to fight for Rome. Therefore, Roman government decided to hire mercenaries from places outside of the Roman Empire. Most of the mercenaries are German, who have little loyalty to Rome.

4. Slave population: Historians are not sure of the exact percentage of slaves living in Ancient Rome, but they estimate to be 20 and 30%. As many one-third of the people in the early parts of the empire were likely slaves

6. Many Jews denied that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God
Many Jews denied that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God. The Roman rulers looked upon Jesus as a revolutionary and a threat to their government. Romans values were different than Christian values

8. The Romans believed that if a person was harmed by someone, they should harm them back, gain wealth, that success was more important than being a good person, fight and defeat enemies, show no mercy (compassion and understanding), and loyalty to the emperor was important. However, Christian values focused on being a good and kind person. Christians practiced being merciful, be peacemakers, be good to people even if they mistreated you, and look to God for answers.

9. Jesus was executed by crucifixion by the order of the Roman governor in 30 A.D.

10. Christians still continued to believe in Jesus after his death
Christians still continued to believe in Jesus after his death. Due to the different beliefs between Romans and Christians, Emperor Trajan said, “Christianity threatens the existence of the Roman Empire. Rather than giving their loyalty to me, they (the Christians) only accept the teachings of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, they refuse to fight for Rome, claiming that it goes against their religion. The religion gains large numbers of followers everyday.”

11. As a result, Emperor Trajan, said “The method I have used towards those who have been labeled Christians is as follows: I asked them whether they are Christians. If they say ‘Yes”, then I ask them again. If they admit that they are Christians again, then they are sentenced to death.

13. At the height of it’s power, Rome conquered parts of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

14. The Western Roman Empire was the western part of the Roman Empire which, later, became known as The Holy Roman Empire. By 285 CE the Roman Empire had grown so vast that it was no longer feasible to govern all the provinces from the central seat of Rome. The Emperor Diocletian divided the empire into halves with the Eastern Empire governed out of Byzantium (later Constantinople) and the Western Empire governed from Rome. Both sections were known equally as `The Roman Empire’ although, in time, the Eastern Empire would adopt Greek instead of Latin and would lose much of the character of the traditional Roman Empire.