1. Life in the Roman Empire

2. Roman Architecture 0 The Roman Style 0 Heavier and Stronger than Greek architecture 0 Used concrete: a mix of stone, sand, cement, and water 0 Used arches 0 Aqueducts: structures that carried water over long distances 0 Carried water from the countryside to cities 0 Helped provide fresh running water 0 Roads 0 Helped Romans to trade, communicate, and transport troops around the Empire

3. http://www.romaq.org/index.php?pid=mapwww.romaq.org/index.php?pid=map

5. Roman Emperors 0 Augustus (Octavian) was the first Roman Emperor 0 The following emperors ranged from Good (Hadrian), bad (Commodus), to terrible (Nero and Caligula) 0 Emperors served a lifelong term 0 If people did not like the emperor, there was only one way to fix it… 0 Paranoia was common 0 Emperors enjoyed fabulous wealth, power and privilege http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/emperors.html

6. 0 In AD 284 Diocletian became Emperor 0 By this time the empire was difficult to manage effectively 0 Provinces didn’t always do as they were told 0 The empire was so big, provinces felt far away from Rome 0 The provinces put a financial strain on the Empire 0 Province provided taxes and goods 0 HOWEVER, Money was needed to build new roads, to support the armies, and to enable more growth Source: http://rome.mrdonn.org/twoempires.html Managing an Empire

7. The Empire SPLITS! 0 To better manage the empire Diocletian splits the empire in half. 0 Diocletian took control of the Eastern Empire due to the greater wealth and trade. 0 He appointed a military leader named Maximian to rule the Western half

8. Christianity in the Roman Empire 0 The Roman Empire was originally polytheistic (worshipped more than one god) and worshipped the Roman gods 0 The Romans eventually conquered Judaea where Christianity had started 0 Christianity is monotheistic (belief in only one god) 0 Romans were tolerant of other religions in their empire BUT felt threatened by the Christians 0 Christians taught that God was greater than the emperor 0 Christians refused to honor Roman gods

9. Christianity in the Roman Empire 0 Still Christianity spread in the Roman Empire 0 Gave the poor hope for a better life after death 0 Gave help to widows, orphans, and the poor 0 Diocletian outlawed Christian services and put many Christians to death 0 Many Romans saw Christians as heroes for their bravery 0 By AD 200s, 50,000 Romans converted to Christianity

10. Constantine and Christianity 0 Constantine became the Roman emperor in AD 305. 0 He claimed the Christian God helped him win a battle for the control of Rome 0 Constantine encouraged Christianity 0 1. Proclaims freedom of worship in all of the Roman empire 0 2. Ended persecution of the Christians 0 3. Made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire 0 Constantine moves the capital of the empire to Byzantium and renames it Constantinople

11. ROME CONSTANTINOPLE