10 Final Exam Questions

1) What people were from western Asia, who moved into central Europe?
a. Vikings
*b. Magyars
c. Muslims
d. Franks
2) The invasions of which of the following did not led to the emergence of a new type of political order?
a. Muslims
b. Magyars
c. Vikings
*d. Mongols
3) In what century did a separation between the western and eastern parts of the Roman Empire begin to develop?
*a. fourth
b. fifth
c. sixth
d. seventh
4)The most serious challenge to the Eastern Roman Empire came from the rise of _Islam_.
5) The _Byzantine_ Empire was both a Greek and a Christian state.
6) The _emperor_ occupied a crucial position in the Byzantine state.
7) The _Macedonian_ dynasty of the 10th and 11th centuries had restored much of the power of the Byzantine Empire.
8) The _Crusades_ were based upon the idea of a holy war against the infidel.
9) In _843_, the Carolingian Empire had been divided into three major sections.
10) In the tenth century, the powerful dukes of the _Saxons_ became kings of the lands of the eastern Frankish kingdom.

Renaissance Art

The time period in which the Renaissance art was created was during the Renaissance period. The Renaissance art is distinctive in many ways. The Renaissance was the revival of the learning and cultural awareness that occurred in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. They occurred mainly in Italy, but also took place in Germany and other European countries. This time period was focused on the revival of the ancient Greek and Roman art, which included a focus on science, philosophy, human beings, and their environment. (Book Internet)

The main reason for the Renaissance began in Italy is because of its location in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Also, Italy was home to many wealthy families, willing to finance education. The Italian Renaissance was divided into three major parts: the Early, High, and late Renaissance.

The Renaissance also marks the part of European history where the Middle Ages were coming to a close and the Modern World was beginning. The main idea of the revival of the roman and Greek was through the belief that the study of the intellectual and artistic treasures of the Greco-Roman antiquity can be reached by artistic greatness, wisdom and enlightenment. This was inspired by Humanism.

During the Renaissance period many changes occurred in the area of art. One change that occurred was the spiritual content of painting. Some of the ideas from Roman history and mythology were borrowed. Some other changes were: devotional art of Christian orientation became classically humanized and classical artistic principles, including harmonious proportion, realistic expression, and rational postures were emulated. These are a few of the many ways in which Renaissance art is distinctive.

Compared to the art of the Middle Ages, Renaissance art is more life-like. This is one way inwhich Renassiance art is distinctive. "Renaissance artists studied perspective, or the differences in the way things look when they are close to something or far away. The artists painted in a way that showed these differences. As a result, their paintings seem to have depth."

One of the artist that was the first to paint with this new style was an artist from Florence named Giotto. Even though he lived more than a century before the beginning of the Renaissance, his his paintings show real emotion. The art produced during the Renaissance would build upon Giotto’s style. (Book Internet)

More ways inwhich Renaissance art was distinctive was that there was mannerism, which was characterized by odd poses and distortions. In a sense, the individual became the subject of art. The church mainly used art to portray passion, emotion, and drama in order to bring people back to the faith.

The Remaining Crusades

Five minor crusades followed the fourth crusade. They were the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth crusades. The Minor Crusades timeline were: fifth crusade 1217 - 1221, sixth crusade 1228 - 1229, seventh crusade 1248 - 1254, the eighth crusade 1270, and the ninth crusade 1271 - 1272. The Minor Crusades were led by many different rulers. The fifth crusade was led by King Andrew II of Hungary, Duke Leopold VI of Austria, and John of Brienne. The sixth crusade was led by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. The seventh and eighth crusades were led by King Louis IX of France. The ninth was lead by Prince Edward; who was later Edward I of England.

"The last four expeditions, the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth crusades were undertaken by the Christians of Europe against the infidels of the East, may be conveniently grouped as the Minor Crusades. The Minor Crusades were marked by a less fervid and holy enthusiasm than that which characterized the first movements, and exhibit among those taking part in them the greatest variety of objects and ambitions."

The fifth crusade started when Pope Honorius III achieved in getting more Europeans to agree to try again to conquer Jerusalem from the Ayyubids. For this crusade the Pope decided that he would be in charge and not the European king. Following the fourth crusade plan, the crusade went south to Egypt. An alliance was made with the Seljuk sultan, Kay Kaus I, in 1218. They then attacked the port of Damietta in Egypt. Following this there was a siege, in which many people on both side died. In 1219, the crusaders finally gained Damietta, however, soon after they began to fight over power of this city. Shortly after, in 1221, the crusaders went after Cairo, to try to take over more of Egypt. However, the Ayyubids flooded the roads by using the Nile river. In order for the crusaders to get out they had to make peace with the Ayyubids. They came to an agreement in which the crusaders had to give back Damietta. After the peace treaty was made the crusaders went home with little progress to show.

Soon after the failure of the Fifth crusaded, Frederick II decided to try his own crusade. Friedrich marched on Acre, in Syria. "Then Friedrich got an offer from al-Kamil, the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt. Al-Kamil wanted to put his brother in power in Syria. He would hand over Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem to Friedrich in exchange for help from Friedrich's army. Friedrich agreed, and crowned himself King of Jerusalem in 1229 AD." However, a few months later Frederick II had to go home to Germany as a cause of problems there. He left Jerusalem without an army to protect it. Then the Mamluks, who were rising into power in West Asia, took Jerusalem.

The seventh crusade was started by King Louis IX of France. After the Mamluks took Jerusalem when Frederick II left it without an army to protect it, Louis announced his Crusade. He raised money from church tithes, then sailed to Cyprus; when he was 34 years old. Here he attacked and took the port of Damietta in Egypt; which was greatly involved in the fifth crusade. Using Damietta as a base, Louis then attacked Cairo. But the Mamluks arrived and defeated and captured him. France had to give back Damietta and pay a lot of gold to get him back. Louis and his army left for Acre in Syria. Louis was now forty years old and had ran out of money. Also, his mother, Blanche of Castile, died. She had been ruling France while Louis was away leading the Crusades, and with her dead Louis had to go home and take charge.

"After Louis IX of France had gotten France organized, following the death of his mother, Blanche, he wanted to try another Crusade. The Seventh Crusade, which Louis led, had ended in failure in 1254 AD, so in 1270, when he was 56 years old, Louis tried again. But he started by going to Tunis, to get a base in North Africa. Unfortunately the plague struck his camp, and Louis himself died of it. That was the end of the eighth crusade"

The ninth crusade is often combined with the eighth crusades. it is often considered to be the last Holy Crusade to get Jerusalem.

Overall the Minor Crusades were not a big success and mainly a waste of human lives.

The Fourth Crusade

The Fourth Crusade was one of the most important crusades in history. It is often understood to be a much simpler crusade than truly is. It is also one of the most complex crusades.

When the Third Crusade failed to regain Jerusalem from the Ayyubids, Pope Innocent immediately started to encourage a new crusade. It took a long time until the crusade took place for a variety of reason. In 1193 AD, Saladin had died. As a cause of this the crusaders thought that Saladin's successors were weaker and would be easier to beat.

For this crusade the crusaders would try something different. Rather than coming down from the north, they would sail the opposite direction to Egypt. Then they would come up from Egypt to Jerusalem.

The Crusaders did not have enough ships to take everyone to Egypt. So they went to Venice, the great sea power. When the Crusaders went to Venice, in June 1202, they did not have enough money for the ships. So the Venetians made a deal with the Crusaders. The Venetians agreed to finish the needed ship for the crusade if the Crusaders would first seize Zara on the eastern coast of the Adriatic. Zara, however, was a Christian city. Therefore the Pope protested against this. Despite this the crusaders besieged and captured the city.

"The interest of the Venetians and the intention of Dandolo, of course, was not merely to take Zara, but to secure it under their own hegemony." (Book Internet)

After the seize of Zara the Venetians persuaded the Crusaders to turn their arms against Constantinople. For the Venetians, Constantinople would greatly increase trade and influence in the East; and for the crusading nobles it gave opportunities for the growth of wealth and power.

The Crusaders took Constantinople. They burned a great part of it and slaughtered the inhabitants. They also destroyed monuments, statues, paintings, and manuscripts; which took thousands of years of accumulate.

Many islands which had belonged to the Empire now belonged the Venetians. At the end of the Fourth Crusade the Crusaders never fought the Ayyubids at all, and never went to Jerusalem. At the end, they took the piles of money and jewels and gold that they had captured in the sack of Constantinople and they went home. Pope Innocent agreed to let them back into the Church.

The chief crusaders formed part of the remaining territory into the Latin Empire of Constantinople. It was organized in fiefs. This new Empire lasted for less than sixty year. At the end of this period the Greeks returned to power. "The fall of Constantinople to the Venetians and the soldiers of the fourth crusade in April 1204 was its climax." (Book Internet)

The Third Crusade

Following the second crusade came the third crusade. Overall the crusades were a cause of the Christians and the Muslims fighters over the Holy Land. This fight over Jerusalem was such a big deal, because of the importance of religion in the medieval times. Religion played an important role in human everyday life. Religion determined your social class and how you lived your life. Thus a religious place, such as Jerusalem, was important during the medieval times.







Another cause religion had on the crusades is that it was the very reason why many people fought in the crusades. They believed that they fought in the crusades under the name of God; and that by fighting in the crusade they guarantee themselves a place in heaven and would right their wrongs. They believed that it was God's will that they go and fight for Jerusalem.


The third crusade followed the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin and the defeat of Guy of Lusignan, Reginald of Châtillon, and Raymond of Tripoli at Hattin. The main leaders of the third crusade were: Richard I of England, Philip II of France, and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I.





The third crusade started when Frederick I headed out. He, however, was hindered by the Byzantine emperor, Isaac II. Isaac II had formed an alliance with Saladin. Frederick continued on to the Bosporus, sacked Adrianople and compelled the Greeks to furnish transportation to Asia Minor. Unfortunately, this was the end of Frederick's life. He he died in 1190 in Cilicia from drowning, and only part of his forces went on to the Holy Land. Only 1,000 of the 30,000 who had originally left Germany reached their destination of Acre.





The remaining two leaders, Richard I and Philip II, were uneasy allies. They reached Acre in 1191, with help from the remnants of Frederick's army. They besieged the city, but Saladin's army attempted to break the siege, but were turned away. The city was taken on July 12. Philip, was frustrated with Richard, and left the Holy Land in August.


"On August 22, Richard executed the 3000 Muslim prisoners he still had in his custody at Acre, when he felt Saladin was not honouring the terms of Acre's surrender."


After this event, Richard wanted to take the port of Jaffa. This he would need to launch an attack on Jerusalem. While on this march, Saladin attacked him, but Richard won victoriously. By January of 1192, Richard was prepared to march to Jerusalem. (Book Internet) However, Saladin reinforced his army and city. As a cause of this when Richard came within sight of Jerusalem twice, he retreated each time in the face of Saladin's larger army. In July, Saladin tried to retake Jaffe. He, however, failed on July 31.





"King Richard and Saladin finally concluded a truce by the terms of which Christians were permitted to visit Jerusalem without paying tribute, that they should have free access to the holy places, and remain in undisturbed possession of the coast from Jaffa to Tyre. " As a cause of this the third crusade came to an end.


"The third crusade was the last effort of the united Christendom." (Book Internet)

The Second Crusade

The success of the Christians in the First Crusade had been mainly a cause of the disunion among their enemies. But the Moslems learned in time the value of united action, and in 1144 A.D. succeeded in capturing Edessa, one of the principal Christian outposts in the East. The fall of the city of Edessa, followed by the loss of the entire county of Edessa, aroused western Europe to the danger which threatened the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem and led to another crusading enterprise.

"The apostle of the Second Crusade was the great abbot of Clairvaux, St. Bernard. Scenes of the wildest enthusiasm marked his preaching. The scenes that marked the opening of the First Crusade were now repeated in all the countries of the West. St. Bernard, an eloquent monk, was the second Peter the Hermit, who went everywhere, arousing the warriors of the Cross to the defence of the birthplace of their religion. When the churches were not large enough to hold the crowds which flocked to hear him, he spoke from platforms erected in the fields."

The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe, called in 1145. Edessa was the first of the Crusader states to have been founded during the First Crusade, and was the first to fall. The Second Crusade was announced by Pope Eugene III, and was the first of the crusades to be led by European kings, with help from a number of other important European nobles. The armies of the two kings marched separately across Europe and were somewhat hindered by Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus; after crossing Byzantine territory into Anatolia, both armies were separately defeated by the Seljuk Turks. Louis and Conrad and the remnants of their armies reached Jerusalem and participated in an ill-advised attack on Damascus. The crusade in the east was a failure for the crusaders and a great victory for the Muslims. It would ultimately lead to the fall of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade at the end of the 12th century.

"Unlike the spectacular success of the First Crusade, the Second Crusade, launched in 1145, is generally regarded as a disaster for the Christian West. Even those who took part in the Crusade saw it as a failure."

In the East the situation was much darker for the Christians. In the Holy Land, the Second Crusade had disastrous long-term consequences for Jerusalem. (Book Internet)

Each of the Christian forces felt betrayed by the other. A new plan was made to attack Ascalon. Conrad took his troops to here, but no further help arrived, due to the lack of trust that had resulted from the failed siege. This mutual distrust would linger for a generation due to the defeat, to the ruin of the Christian kingdoms in the Holy Land. After quitting Ascalon, Conrad returned to Constantinople to further his alliance with Manuel. Louis remained behind in Jerusalem until 1149. Back in Europe, Bernard of Clairvaux was humiliated by the defeat. Bernard considered it his duty to send an apology to the Pope and it is inserted in the second part of his Book of Consideration. There he explains how the sins of the crusaders were the cause of their misfortune and failures. When his attempt to call a new crusade failed, he tried to disassociate himself from the fiasco of the Second Crusade altogether. He would die in 1153.

In 1171, Saladin, nephew of one of Nur ad-Din's generals, was proclaimed Sultan of Egypt, uniting Egypt and Syria and completely surrounding the crusader kingdom. Meanwhile the Byzantine alliance ended with the death of emperor Manuel I in 1180, and in 1187 Jerusalem capitulated to Saladin. His forces then spread north to capture all but the capital cities of the Crusader States, precipitating the Third Crusade. (Book Internet)

Overall the second crusade the strength of both the French and the German division of the expedition was wasted in Asia Minor, and the crusade accomplished nothing.

The First Crusade

The First Crusade played a very important part in Medieval England. The First Crusade was an attempt to re-capture Jerusalem. After the capture of Jerusalem by the Muslims in 1076, any Christian who wanted to pay a pilgrimage to the city faced a very hard time. Muslim soldiers made Christianity a hard way of life. Muslim soldiers also tried to fill Jerusalem with danger for a Christian. This greatly angered all Christians.

The First Crusade also opened an era in which Western Europe came into direct contact with the great trade routes that united the civilizations of Eurasia. For the first time since the fall of the Roman empire, western Europe was not isolated, but a part of a greater world. Many things flowed along these trade routes. Some were good, such as paper, the compass, medicines and spices, new crops and advances in mathematics. Some were not so good, such as leprosy, gunpowder, and bubonic plague. Like most great events, there were many factors, some immediate and apparent, some basic and apparent, and some in between that went together to cause the people of western Europe to seek to conquest and hold the lands of the Eastern Mediterranean.

One of the causes of the First Crusade was that Europe was already in a period of expansion, and its capacity for war and conquest had grown during the years of fending off raiders from all direction. Most importantly from the standpoint of the crusades, the Italian city states had developed navies of merchant/fighting vessels that had seized control of the Mediterranean. They had reconquered Sicily and southern Italy from the Muslims, and there was a general sense that, like the Vikings and Magyars, the force of the Muslims was spent and that the way eastward lay open.

Another cause of the First Crusade was the spirit of religious reform that had led to the Investiture Controversy had been accompanied by an increase in popular spirituality. People were no longer to accept their religion passively; many wanted to participate actively and to do something positive in honor of their god. (Book Internet)

One of the major causes of the First Crusade was since their victory at the Battle of Manziker, the Seljuk Turks had been pressing towards Constantinople and were now actually within sight of the city.

"The leaders of the First Crusade included some of the most distinguished representatives of European knighthood. Count Raymond of Toulouse headed a band of volunteers from Provence in southern France. Godfrey of Bouillon and his brother Baldwin commanded a force of French and Germans from the Rhinelands. Normandy sent Robert, William the Conqueror's eldest son. The Normans from Italy and Sicily were led by Bohemond, a son of Robert Guiscard, and his nephew Tancred."


The months which followed the Council of Clermont were marked by an epidemic of religious excitement in western Europe. Popular preachers everywhere took up the cry "God wills it!" and urged their hearers to start for Jerusalem. A monk named Peter the Hermit aroused large parts of France with his passionate eloquence, as he rode from town to town, carrying a huge cross before him and preaching to vast crowds. a horde of poor men, women, and children set out, unorganized and almost unarmed, on the road to the Holy Land. This was called the Peoples Crusade, it is also referred to as the Peasants Crusade. Dividing command of the mixed multitudes with a poor knight, called Walter the Penniless, and followed by a throng of about 80,000 persons, among whom were many women and children, Peter the Hermit set out for Constantinople leading the Peoples Crusade via an overland route through Germany and Hungary. Thousands of the Peoples Crusade fell in battle with the natives of the countries through which they marched, and thousands more perished miserably of hunger and exposure. The Peoples Crusade was badly organised - most of the people were unarmed and lacked the command and discipline of the military crusaders. The Byzantium emperor Alexius I sent his ragged allies as quickly as possible to Asia Minor, where most of them were slaughtered by the Turks. The daughter of Alexius, called Anna Comnena wrote a book about her father and the crusaders called the Alexiad which provides historical details about the first crusaders. Those crusaders who crossed the Bosphorus were surprised by the Turks, and almost all of the Peoples Crusade were slaughtered. Peter the Hermit did survive and eventually led the Crusaders in a procession around the walls of Jerusalem just before the city was taken.

Meanwhile real armies were gathering in the West. Recruits came in greater numbers from France than from any other country, a circumstance which resulted in the crusaders being generally called "Franks" by their Moslem foes. They had no single commander, but each contingent set out for Constantinople by its own route and at its own time.

The crusaders traversed Europe by different routes and reassembled at Constantinople. Crossing the Bosphorus, they first captured Nicaea, the Turkish capital, in Bithynia, and then set out across Asia Minor for Syria. Arriving at Antioch, the survivors captured that place, and then, after some delays, pushed on towards Jerusalem. The Siege of Antioch had lasted from October 1097 to June 1098. Reduced now to perhaps one-fourth of their original numbers, the crusaders advanced slowly to the city which formed the goal of all their efforts. When at length the Holy City burst upon their view, a perfect delirium of joy seized the crusaders. They embraced one another with tears of joy, and even embraced and kissed the ground on which they stood. As they passed on, they took off their shoes, and marched with uncovered head and bare feet, singing the words of the prophet: "Jerusalem, lift up thine eyes, and behold the liberator who comes to break thy chains." Before attacking it they marched barefoot in religious procession around the walls, with Peter the Hermit at their head. Then came the grand assault. The first assault made by the Christians upon the walls of the city was repulsed; but the second was successful, and the city was in the hands of the crusaders by July 1099. Godfrey of Bouillon and Tancred were among the first to mount the ramparts. Once inside the city, the crusaders massacred their enemies without mercy. A terrible slaughter of the infidels took place. For seven days the carnage went on, at the end of which time scarcely any of the Moslem faith were left alive. The Christians took possession of the houses and property of the infidels, each soldier having a right to that which he had first seized and placed his mark upon. (Book Internet)

"Against all odds, the first armed pilgrimage to the Holy Land was successful, and the Christians captured Jerusalem in 1100. They benefitted from the disunity among the Muslims and set up the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Although it was only ninety years before the Muslims had reorganized and taken back most of what they had lost, the effect of the crusaders' success was great. A heightened sense of confidence animated the Europeans and, with new influences from the East, culture and intellectual life flourished. Western Europe, so some historians hold, came of age."

The Life and Death of Charlemagne

Charlemagne was King of the Franks. Charlemagne, means Charles the Great, and was mainly known as Charles I. Charlemagne was both a historical and legendary figure. There are several areas in which the legend contradict with the historical Charlemagne. Even historical account may exaggerate Charlemagne's achievement, in many cases.

Charlemagne was the son of Pepin III, who was also known as Pepin the Short. He was the brother of Carolman and Gisela. Originally, Pepin was a Mayor of the Palace for the dynasty known as the Merovingians. The Mayor of Palace helded great power, sometime the mayors had more powers than the kings; such Pepin. In AD 751, Pepin crowned himself as king of the Franks. Pepin started a new dynasty, known as the Carolingians.
At Pepin's death in AD 768, the kingdom was divided into two for Charles and Carolman. However rivalry between two brothers escalated into conflict, and ended with Carolman's death in 771. ThusAs a result of this, Charles became the sole ruler of the Franks. (Book Internet)

Charlemagne became involved in a series of campaigns or wars, to expand his kingdom. He fought in the war against the pagan kingdom of Saxony. When he received their surrender, he forced the Saxons to become Christians or else they were killed. In 778, he entered to Spain, with the intention to help a Moorish king to end the uprising. However he failed to capture Saragossa, and thus returned to France. On hsi way to France his rearguard was ambushed at Rencesvals. They were attacked by Gascons and Basques. Einhard only listed among the dead: Anselm, Count Palatine; Eggihard, the King's steward; and Roland, Lord of the March of Brittany.

Charles had to quell a rebellion among the Saxons, where he executed over 4000 Saxons as example in 782. There was sporadic rebellions over 22 years. One of his sons, Pepin, plotted against Charles, during his campaign against the Avars. When this conspiracy was uncovered, he forced his son to take up a monastery life.

It was Charlemange who helped the Roman church to break away completely from those church of the eastern Byzantine Empire. As a result, when he went to Rome, Pope Leo III crowned him as the Holy Roman Emperor. It wasn't until 812, when Michael I recognised Charlemange as Emperor of the West.

His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. He is numbered as Charles I in the regnal lists of France, Germany, and the Holy Roman Empire. (Book Internet)

The Investiture Controversy

The Investiture Controversy was about the ceremony by which a man became a bishop or an archbishop. During the investiture, the bishop or archbishop, elect was given a signet ring representing his authority to act legally for his territory, a long staff like a shepherd's crook signifying his spiritual leadership of the people of the diocese, a lump of dirt that demonstrated his possession and ownership of the lands with which the churches in his diocese had been endowed, and a white woolen stole to hang around his neck indicating that he was a legitimate successor to a long tradition of spiritual teaching and leadership reaching all the way back to the apostles.





The Investiture Controversy was a political crisis in the 11th century, in which the pope and the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire argued about, essentially, which of them had the supreme power over the other. It also refers to related controversies in other European countries, most notably in England, regarding the dual allegiance of bishops to their sovereign and to the pope. It is also considered as the most significant conflict between secular and religious powers in medieval Europe.

It began as a dispute between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Gregorian Papacy concerning who would control appointments of church officials. Pope Gregory VII condemned lay investiture in 1078 as an unjustified assertion of secular authority over the church; the issue was pivotal in his dispute with King Henry IV and in the larger struggle over Henry's refusal to obey papal commands. Henry successfully drove Gregory from Rome and installed an anti pope, but it would be Gregory's rejection of lay investiture that would ultimately prevail. Henry I of England renounced lay investiture in return for the guarantee that homage would be paid to the king before consecration. The Concordat of Worms forged a similar compromise between Henry V and Calixtus II. (Book Internet) The controversy, undercutting the Imperial power established by the Salian Emperors would eventually lead to nearly fifty years of civil war in Germany, the triumph of the great dukes and abbots, and the disintegration of the German empire, a condition from which it would not recover until the reunification of Germany in the 19th century.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -The Holy Roman Empire - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"The Investiture Controversy had some far-reaching effects. The Church was now under the control of a professional elite and had established the principle that non-professionals shouldn't have any say in how the Church ran its affairs. When the Protestants rebelled against the Catholic Church four hundred years later, one of the things that they demanded was that lay people should have a big role in running the Church. Then, too, the Church had gained its ends through politics and had to continue playing politics. "

The Investiture Controversy also effect Germany. (Book Internet) In Germany, the authority of the emperors had been damaged to the point that the region didn't develop a national government until 1870 with a war against France. The First and Second World Wars, which took about 100,000,000 lives, were continuations of that first conflict. As a result of this it could be said that there wouldn't have been any Adolf Hitler if there hadn't been an Investiture Controversy.

This is what the Investiture Controversy was and how it change the balance of power between the papal authority and the leadership of Europe.

Just War, Jihad and the Crusades

The concepts and actions carried out in the names of Just War and Jihad lead to the Crusades in many ways. Many of the ideas of just war and jihad caused the crusades to occur. They, in a sense, made it okay to go to war and start the crusades.

The Crusades were a series of military campaigns during the time of Medieval England against the Muslims of the Middle East. In 1076, the Muslims had captured Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the most holy of holy places for Christians. This is because Jesus had been born in nearby Bethlehem and Jesus had spent most of his life in Jerusalem. He was crucified in Jerusalem on Calvary Hill. Jerusalem was the most important place on Earth for a true Christian which is why Christians called Jerusalem the "City of God". However, Jerusalem was also extremely important to the Muslims also. This is because Muhammad, the founder of the Muslim faith, had been there and there was great joy in the Muslim world when Jerusalem was captured. A dome, called the Dome of the Rock, was built on the rock where Muhammad was said to have sat and prayed and it was so holy that no Muslim was allowed to tread on the rock or touch it when visiting the Dome. As a result, the Christian fought to get Jerusalem back while the Muslims fought to keep Jerusalem. These wars were to last nearly 200 years.

The jihad is often translated as "holy war on behalf of Islam". To them if a war is for the will of Allah then it is right to fight. This is one way inwhich the idea of jihad influenced the crusades. The Islams thought of the crusades as holy wars. Therefore they agreed to fight in them. (Internet Book)

Most Muslim Scholars see the world as divided into two houses, the House of Peace and the House of War. To them the lands controlled by Muslims belong to the House of Peace, while those who have not yet submitted to Islam belong to the House of War until they are subdued.
So the entire context of the eastern Crusades is one of response to continuous Islamic aggression.

"In the year 1095, people were shocked in Western Europe by the words of Pope Urban II, "The Muslims have conquered Jerusalem". Pope Urban wanted the Christians to retake Jerusalem from the Muslims. People shouted "God wills it". . . Religion was important to the knights in the Middle Ages. One of the results of the Crusades was the founding of new Christian religious orders. Most of the monks were former knights who fought against each other in the Crusades. The knights did capture Jerusalem for a short period of time, but the Muslims kept on re-taking Jerusalem. The knights gained temporary power, but lost many soldiers during the deadly Crusades, not to mention causing the death of many innocent Muslims. The Crusades is a violent reminder of the greed of Middle Ages."

"Unlike Islam, Christianity had not yet developed the notion of a holy war. In the fifth century Augustine described what constituted a just war but excluded the practice of battle for the purpose of religious conversion or to destroy heretical religious ideas. Leaders of nations might decide to go to war for just reasons, but war was not to be a tool of the church. Unfortunately, using Augustine's just war language, Popes and Crusaders saw themselves as warriors for Christ rather than as a people seeking justice in the face of an encroaching enemy threat."

The Pope called for a war of the cross. Both, the Muslims and the Christians, thought that "God" was on their side. However, both sides can not be right. (Internet Book)

Jihad And Just War

Jihad and Just War are often described as the same thing and are often used interchangeably. However, are they really the same thing? Before answering this question it is important to have a basic understanding on both of these concepts.

Jihad can be described as "holy war", or more precisely it means the legal effort to expand the territories ruled by Muslims at the expense of territories ruled by non-Muslims. The purpose of jihad is not directly to spread the Islamic faith but to extend sovereign Muslim power. Jihad thus has the eventual goal of achieving Muslim dominion over the entire globe. Jihad ha two main different meanings. The first is that Muslims who interpret their faith differently are infidels and therefore targets of jihad. The second meaning rejects the legal definition of jihad as armed conflict and tells Muslims to withdraw from the worldly concerns to achieve spiritual depth. Jihad in the sense of territorial expansion has always been a central aspect of Muslim life. That's how Muslims came to rule much of the Arabian Peninsula by the time of the Prophet Muhammad's death in 632. Jihad is often described as the fifth pillar of Islam. (Internet Book)

"An appeal to the Islamic tradition of defensive jihad by which every Muslim is obligated, as an individual duty, to take up arms against invaders. It lays out the justification not only for the attacks of September 11 but also for other terrorist attacks linked to bin Laden’s al–Qaeda group, notably, the bombings of the two American embassies in East Africa and of the U.S.S. Cole. It also provides a warrant for future attacks by every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it for a continuing war by terrorist and other means by Muslims against Americans and their allies."

Just War can be described as it deals with the justification of how and why wars are fought. The justification can be either theoretical or historical. The theoretical aspect is concerned with ethically justifying war and the forms that warfare may or may not take. The historical aspect, deals with the historical body of rules or agreements that have applied in various wars across the ages. There are sveral principles of Just War. One of them is that a just war can only be waged as a last resort. All non-violent options must be exhausted before the use of force can be justified. It continues on to say that a war is just only if it is waged by a legitimate authority. Even just causes cannot be served by actions taken by individuals or groups who do not constitute an authority sanctioned by whatever the society and outsiders to the society deem legitimate. A just war can only be fought to redress a wrong suffered. Further, a just war can only be fought with right intentions: the only permissible objective of a just war is to redress the injury. A war can only be just if it is fought with a reasonable chance of success. The ultimate goal of a just war is to re-establish peace. More specifically, the peace established after the war must be preferable to the peace that would have prevailed if the war had not been fought. The violence used in the war must be proportional to the injury suffered. States are prohibited from using force not necessary to attain the limited objective of addressing the injury suffered. The weapons used in war must discriminate between combatants and non-combatants. Civilians are never permissible targets of war, and every effort must be taken to avoid killing civilians. These are the main principles of Just War. Just War can also be described as a war that needs to be morrally justified. (Internet Book)

While the idea of just war is deeply rooted in Western culture, it is perhaps more strongly rooted today in international law, in American military doctrine and practice, and even in political culture. Though the just war tradition has important Christian roots, it differs from the Islamic juristic tradition in that it can be employed without explicitly religious premises. Similarly, in Western political thought and theology more generally, the nature of the political community, the role of government, and the use of armed force are conceived in secular rather than religious terms. All these features differentiate just war tradition from the juristic tradition of jihad by the authority of the caliph.

In conclusion, Just War and Jihad are very simular, however, just war in a way is an effect of the original idea of jihad.

Jihad

There are many different views on the idea of Jihad. However, the main definition for Jihad is the Arabic word for what can be translated as a struggle or effort to fight. In the West, the word is generally understood to mean holy war. In the Quran jihad is referred to as a military struggle on behalf of Islam. But the Quran also refers to jihad as an spiritual struggle toward self-improvement and moral cleansing. It is said that the prophet Muhammad thought of this spiritual version of holy war to be of far more importance than the physical version. To the Muslims the idea of jihad is considered to be part of every Muslim's duty; to improve society, and improving oneself before the Day of Judgement. This would be considered verbal jihad. In other words it means to strive for justice through words and non-violent actions. Muhammad encouraged Muslims to demand justice in the name of Allah.





"Personal jihad is the most important form. This type of jihad, called the Jihadun-Nafs, is the intimate struggle to purify one's soul of evil influences -- both subtle and overt. It is the struggle to cleanse one's spirit of sin."

Another view on jihad is physical Jihad. This relates to the use of physical force in defense of Muslims against oppression and transgression by the enemies of Allah. Allah commands that Muslims lead peaceful lives and not transgress against anyone.

Jihad is sometimes considered as the Sixth Pillar of Islam. The importance of jihad is roted in the Quran's command to struggle in the path of God and through the Prophet Muhammad and is early Companions. (Book Internet)


This is a few of the many views of the idea of jihad. However, the effect of having many different views of jihad is a vicious clash between followers of different religions, each of whom believes that God is on their side and that the other side is is of Satan. This is far from right; God can not be on all sides, therefore one side must be wrong. There is an absolute truth in the universe; meaning that both sides can not be right.

Even though jihad was a main idea in Islamic history, in recent years it has spread into other religions and groups. Jihad is a very broad word. There are many different views of this word and many people look at it differently. In conclusion, Jihad is a very important concept and is still effecting the modern day world.

St. Augustine: Just War

St. Augustine was born in Tagaste, Numidia in North Africa. His mother was a Christian, but his father remained a pagan until late in life. After a rather unremarkable childhood, Augustine drifted through several philosophical systems before converting to Christianity at the age of thirty-one. At the age of nineteen, Augustine read Cicero's Hortensius, an experience that led him into the fascination with philosophical questions and methods that would remain with him throughout his life. After a few years as a Manichean, he became attracted to the more skeptical positions of the Academic philosophers. Although tempted in the direction of Christianity upon his arrival at Milan in 383, he turned first to neoplatonism. During this time, Augustine became a father to the child of a mistress.

Augustine had studied at Carthage, he used this fact to gain employment in teaching in Carthage and then in Rome and Milan. Here he met Ambrose who is credited for Augustine's conversion and who baptized Augustine in 387. Returning to his homeland soon after his conversion, he was ordained a presbyter in 391, taking the position as bishop of Hippo in 396, a position which he held until his death.


St. Augustine affirms that the world was created by God from nothing, through a free act of His will. Augustine also affirms that the absolute unity and the spirituality of the human soul. In regard to the nature of the soul he affirms that the soul is simple and immortal. The soul has three functions: being, understanding, and loving. Corresponding to three faculties: intellectual memory, intelligence, and will. The primary among these three faculties is the will. The will of man is free. Three kinds of evil can be distinguished: metaphysical, physical, and moral.. Metaphysical evil is the lack of a perfection.Under this aspect, all creatures are evil because they fall short of full perfection, which is God alone. Physical evil consists in the privation of a perfection due to nature. The only true evil is moral evil; sin. Sin is an action contrary to the will of God. The cause of moral evil is not God, who is good, nor is it matter for matter is a creature of God and therefore is good. Neither is the will as a faculty of the soul evil, for it too has been created by God. The cause of moral evil the free will, by which man is able to turn from the right order, to oppose himself to the will of God. Sin, from the very fact it is decadence of being, carries in itself its own punishment. By sinning man injures himself in his being, for he falls from what he was created to be. As a result of this fall there exist the sufferings which he must bear.

"Traditionally Augustine is regarded as the father of what has developed as the Western theory of just war." (Internet Book)

"Fifth-century philosopher St. Augustine of Hippo sought to provide an answer to the question. His approach formed the foundation of the ‘just war’ tradition, which has had enormous influence upon moral-philosophical thought on military issues in the West ever since. This major new study identifies Augustine’s fundamental premises, reconstructs his just-war theory, and critically evaluates the reconstructed theory in light of his historical context and neo-Platonic and Christian philosophical considerations." (Internet Book)

The main point of the Just War Theory is that while war may be awful, it is nevertheless sometimes a necessary aspect of politics.


Augustine believed that, given Jesus Christ's call for his followers to be peacemakers, as stated in Matthew 5:9, using no violence, war is a lamentable sin taking place in the earthly world, and that it can never establish eternal peace. However, he also believed from a practical point of view that if it is necessary to defend the innocent against evil, violence may be used. This constituted his theory of "just war." He concluded that there must be at least two requirements for just war: proper cause and proper authority. The first requirement means that wars be waged only for the purpose of establishing peace. The second requirement is that wars be waged by governing authorities, because they are established by God in the natural world for a providential reason.

Most Important Thing I Learned This Year

Throughout the year I have learned many important things; in which have changed how I view many topics in the world. However, the most important thing I learned this year is the relationship between Christianity and the Roman Empire.

One of the major relationships between Christianity and the Roman empire is how much they innfluenced each other. Rome started out with a polytheistic religion. The Romans believed that with the right ritutual they would have a right relationship with the gods. Even tough this was the state religion, they were still very tolerant of other religions in the empire.

Christianity was very different from the Roman state religion. The Christian relgion started with a man called Jesus of Nazareth. In about 26 A.D. he bagan to preach, telling prople that he was the son of God. He told the Romans that what was important was not strict law, but rather the inner change of the soul. Jesus taught that there was one God and that his commandment was: to love God and one another. Around 29 A.D. he was cruxified by the Roman procurator, Pontius.

Christianity was greatly influenced in Rome by the Apostles Paul and Peter. Paul of Tarus reached out to non-Jews. The Bible includes an epistle written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Rome. The book of Acts records that Paul, though Jewish, was a Roman citizen by birth. When the Jews accused Paul of bringing Gentiles into their synagogue, Paul made an appeal for Caesar to hear his case. He is thought to be beheaded under the rule of Nero. The Apostle Peter is known to have established his headquarters in the city, following his thirty-year ministry in the East. The Apostle Peter was martyred in Rome.

Paul Preaching in Rome

The Roman tolerence towards Christians began to change. They tolerated only religions that did not threatened public order and public morals. Many Romans began to veiew Christians as a rebelious people, because they would not worship the empire's gods or emperor. As an effect of this, the Christians were looked upon as treasonist, and were killed for it. If they were caught, they faced death for failing to worship the emperor. It was not uncommon for emperors to turn the people against the Christians when Rome was faced with difficulties in time. Such as in AD 64, part of Rome was burned down. The Emperor Nero blamed the Christians and the people turned on them. Arrests and executions followed. As a result of these dangers, Christains often had to meet in private.

However, as new emperors came to rule, these extremes went away. Christianity survived all of these difficulties; and is still a thriving religion today. The numbers of Christians in the city grew, particularly as the power and integrity of the empire decayed and the people of Rome lost faith in the old gods. A major turning point for the Christian faith was in 310 A.D. In this year, General Constantine was about to wage battle against general Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge. He was miracusly inspired to take the cross as his standard. Sure enough the following day he won the battle and became sole emperor. He pronounced the religion of state to be Christianity and donated various properties to the Christians so that they might carry on their faith. After this point in time, Christianity grew to new lengths. In 378 to 395 a new emperor, Theosoius the Great, made Christinaity the offical religion of Rome. Romans went from tolerating Christianity, to persecuting all Christians that pushed against the state, to being the state religion. Christiantiy had triumphed.

General Constantine

Throughout all of this, it showed me that God works in amazing ways and that the true religion will always overcome and surpress all of the other false lies out in the world. It also showed me that I should be very thankful that I life in a country where I can practice my faith. It also makes me question what I would do if I was put in the situation of the Romans that were killed for their faith.

This is the most important thing I learned this year.

The Fall of the Roman Civilization

The fall in the Roman civilization was a dramatic event in the history of the world. There are many opinions on why the Roman civilization did fall. One of the popular explanation was the split into an eastern and western empire governed by separate emperors. Some of the other explanations are: the plagues, the use of lead pipes, the Roman army, and liberal thinking emperors.

The Roman Empire was once one empire, but split. The eastern half became the Byzantine Empire, with its capital at Constantinople. While the western half remained centered in Italy. The eastern Roman empire was the stronger of the two and had a trading system with Asia, Africa, and Europe. This led to a more wealthier civilization. The eastern cities were also better fortified and had the Black Sea as a natural barrier against invaders. The western empire was much weaker and did not have the trading abilities that the eastern empire had. These cities were often exposed to attackers along the northern boarder.

Another reason in which why the Roman civilization fell is because of the plagues and diseases that swept the empire. The plagues reduced the population, and affected the fertility of the survivors greatly. The diseases made the Roman people weary. These along with accidents of the time, such as lead pipes, hurt the population of the Roman civilization. The lead pipes poisoned the people, lowering their birth-rate and intelligence level.

Another major cause for the Roman civilization to collapse is because of the fall in the Roman military. The military got out of hand due to the lack of discipline. As the military started to gain power, loyal Roman soldier were scarce. These powerful generals tended to use the power of their armies to further their own political ambitions. At a point in time they gained so much power that at their word emperors would be assassinated, even though it was mainly for their own profit. In the end, the Roman empire could not produce enough to support and maintain the military capability necessary to defend a vast empire in a hostile environment. (Hadas 143)

Another reason in which why the Roman civilization collapsed is because of the liberal thinking emperors. They attempted to spend too much on the poor in their efforts to lift them up. As a result of this it drained the financial resources of the Empire.

As the eastern civilization weakened away, the western empire fell in A.D. 476, when last emperor was removed. After the fall of the Roman civilization the roads and public structure fell, trade declined, and Germanic powers claimed parts of Rome. (Tainter 143)

Through all of these events and actions the Roman civilization eventually fell. However, it showed the people of today an important idea; the decline and fall of empires is a repeating pattern of world history. Even large empires eventually break into smaller pieces.

Hadas, Moses, et al. Imperial Rome. Great Ages of man: A History of the World’s Cultures. New York: Time-Life Books. 1965.

Tainter, Joseph A. The Collapse of Complex Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1988.

Pompeii and the Eruption of Vesuvius

In 79 A.D the great volcano of Mount Vesuvius exploded killing many of the inhabitants of the near by city Pompeii. This was a very extraordinary event in the history of the Roman Empire.

The city of Pompeii was an ancient city located in southern Italy southeast of Naples. It was founded in the sixth or early fifth century B.C., and was a Roman colony by 80 B.C. It became a prosperous port and resort with many noted villas, temples, theaters, and baths. The city was under the dictatorship of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. It was a favorite resort for wealthy Romans, reaching a population of about 20,000 at the beginning of the Christian era. It was also a place of considerable trade and was the port town of Nola and other inland cities of the fertile valley of the Sarnies.

Pompeii was damaged by and earthquake in 63 A.D., but the city would encounter much more than this in its coming years.

On August 24, 79 A.D. Mount Vesuvius blew up and tons of molten ash, pumice and sulfuric gas miles into the atmosphere. The poisonous vapors and molten debris suffocated the inhabitants of Pompeii and the near by cities of Herculaneum and Stabiae. Tons of falling debris filled the streets until nothing remained to be seen of the once thriving communities. The cities remained buried and undiscovered for almost 1700 years until excavation began in 1748.

In a second letter to Tacitus, Pliny describes what happened to him and to his mother during the second day of the disaster: "Ashes were already falling, not as yet very thickly. I looked round: a dense black cloud was coming up behind us, spreading over the earth like a flood.'Let us leave the road while we can still see,'I said,'or we shall be knocked down and trampled underfoot in the dark by the crowd behind.'We had scarcely sat down to rest when darkness fell, not the dark of a moonless or cloudy night, but as if the lamp had been put out in a closed room.
You could hear the shrieks of women, the wailing of infants, and the shouting of men; some were calling their parents, others their children or their wives, trying to recognize them by their voices. People bewailed their own fate or that of their relatives, and there were some who prayed for death in their terror of dying. Many besought the aid of the gods, but still more imagined there were no gods left, and that the universe was plunged into eternal darkness for evermore.

There were people, too, who added to the real perils by inventing fictitious dangers: some reported that part of Misenum had collapsed or another part was on fire, and though their tales were false they found others to believe them. A gleam of light returned, but we took this to be a warning of the approaching flames rather than daylight. However, the flames remained some distance off; then darkness came on once more and ashes began to fall again, this time in heavy showers. We rose from time to time and shook them off, otherwise we should have been buried and crushed beneath their weight. I could boast that not a groan or cry of fear escaped me in these perils, but I admit that I derived some poor consolation in my mortal lot from the belief that the whole world was dying with me and I with it."

Archaeologists began excavating Pompeii during the 18th century. Here they found the remains of people, ancient buildings, and other artifacts preserved amid the volcanic debris. Among the structures uncovered was The Forum of Pompeii. (McIntosh 29)

The ash mixed with rain, settled around the volcano’s victims, creating molds. These molds remained intact long after the bodies had decayed. Archaeologists pour liquid plaster into the forms, preserving the exact shapes of the bodies at the moment of death. (Place, 28)

Since that fateful day there have been subsequent eruptions that have reshaped the mountain. They occurred about every 100 years until 1037. On the 16th December 1631, a major eruption destroyed all the towns that had grown at the foot of the mountain. Over the next 300 years there were 23 eruptions of various degrees. The last known eruption was in 1944 when the Allied forces were attacking Italy. The volcano bubbles and smokes yet today. With modern technology, the people living in the area should be given adequate warning prior to any future eruption. Property will be damaged but lives can be saved.




Place, Robin. Bodies From the Past. Thomson Learning, New York, 1995.

McIntosh, Jane. Archeology. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, 1994.

The Stoic Movement of Ancient Rome

In Ancient Rome they believed in the philosophy of Stoicism. They were called the stoics, because the school's founder, Zeno of Cyprus met his students at the Stoa Poikile on the north side of the market place in Athens.Through rational living and self-control, Zeno and his followers sought to find the source of virtue, and thus happiness, within themselves rather than in external things. The stoics believed that the world is a changing conflagration, or fire, which is limited and ordered by a creative force called Logos, or God. Virtue consists of a man's consciously governing the fires of his action, or desires, by reason. The virtuous man is self-sufficient and undisturbed, this meaning that they were not a slave of circumstances or emotions. Like Socrates, he faces events with calmness, living an honest and rational life. Stoics believed in the kinship and equality of all men, on the grounds that every person possesses a spark of the divine fire, or God. They saw the highest good in the contemplation of God and the universe. The history of Stoicism is divided into three periods called the Old Stoa (300 B.C.-129 B.C.), the Middle Stoa (129 B.C.-30 B.C.), and the Late Stoa (30 B.C.-200 A.D.). During the Late Stoa, the Stoic school shifted from Athens to Rome, where Stoicism stressed the importance of citizenship and honor. Roman Stoics often were advisers to Roman emperors. Stoicism even influenced the Christians in ancient Rome.

Stoicism was the most influential philosophy in the Roman Empire during the period preceding the rise of Christianity. Marcus Aurelius was among the most famous Stoics of the Roman era, as well as one of the fiercest persecutors of the Roman Christians during his reign as emperor. The Roman stoics influenced Christians then and changed Christianity that is still studied today.

Zeno of Cyprus

Stoicism believed that all people are manifestations of the one universal spirit and should live in brotherly love and readily help one another. They held that differences such as rank and wealth are of no importance in social relationships. Thus, before Christianity, Stoics recognized and advocated the brotherhood of humanity and the natural equality of all human beings. (Durant 975)

The primary duty one owes is to the state, according to Stoicism. Since God is using the Roman state to further law and civilization, performing one's duty is a religious act. The principal being to which one owes respect is, of course, God; since God is working out his will in history by using the Roman state and Roman officials , the respect one shows for Roman authorities is also a respect shown for God. (Durant 301)

Stoicism was in Rome during the Hellenistic Era. After the death of Zeno of Citium, the Stoic school was headed by Cleanthes and Chrysippus, and its teachings were carried to Rome in 155 by Diogenes of Babylon. Stoic ideas appear in the greatest work of Roman literature, and later the philosophy was adopted by Seneca, Lucan, a poet and associate of the Emperor Nero, Epictetus, and the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Stoicism is perhaps the most significant philosophical school in the Roman Empire, and much of our contemporary views and popular mythologies about Romans are derived from Stoic principles.

In 86, the Roman's excepted the Greek philosophy, stoicism, with open arms. Many Roman politicians at least adopted the high moral tone of Stoicism according to which only virtue is a genuine good, while money, health and even life itself are simply preferred indifferents. Many famous figures in Ancient Rome were either believed in stoicism or had a person who influenced them that did. Such as Cato the Younger and Scipio Aemilianus. Pompey thought it sufficiently important to look in on the Stoic philosopher Panaetius of Rhodes in his comings and goings. Octavian had a Stoic tutor. Among the Roman emperors, the Stoic philosopher Seneca was the advisor of Nero.

The Greeks followed stoicism before the Romans, but he Romans were a far more practical people than the Greeks, and more skilled at governing. Stoicism became the strongest force in Roman life. The two best known Roman Stoic writers were Epictetus, a slave, and Marcus Aurelius, an Emperor. Perhaps we could best get a feel for their attitudes by reading their words directly for once truth becomes of secondary importance to living then it is feelings and not logical order which tell us the real meaning of a culture.

Ancient Rome was a strong believer in Stoicism and this belief was passed on to the Christians. This shows that Stoicism was a great philiosophy and that it influenced the Christian religion to this day.

Durant, Will. Caesar and Christ. Simon and Schuster, Inc., New York, 1950.

Durant, Will. The Age of Faith. Simon and Schuster, Inc., New York, 1950.

The Relation Between the Growth of Christianity and the Roman Empire

The popular religion, known as Christianity, began its main growth during the Roman Empire. Christianity was one of the many different religions competing for the attention of people of the Roman Empire during the first three centuries CE.The growth that took place during this time was extraordinary.

One of the reasons for this growth, of the Christian religion was due to the popularity of different facets of the religion. These included its universal acceptance of all people regardless of their pasts, the strong sense of community within its congregations, its duty to care for the weak, sick and needy. The Roman people greatly liked these ideas. Combined with the great demographic shifts that were occurring in the Roman Empire, Christianity went through a time of great development and expansion. With the Roman Empire new there were many immigrants that wanted to have acceptance into the Roman society, to find a sense of belonging. Since Christianity accepted all, these immigrant would be given acceptance into a close-knit community.

Another way in which Christianity was spread throughout the Roman Empire was while the empire was newly established the Romans were tolerant of different religious customs. This gave Christians the opportunity to teach and spread their message to the Roman people. One man who spread the Christian religion throughout Rome was St. Paul who founded Christian churches in Asia Minor and Greece. Eventually, he took his teachings to Rome itself. In Rome there was a road system throughout all of the empire. St. Paul walked on these very roads to spread the message of Christ. By just the fourth century Christianity was known at the state religion within the Roman Empire.

Another man who taught the Christian message in Rome was Peter. The Apostle Peter is known to have established his headquarters in the city, following his thirty-year ministry in the East. The Apostle Peter was martyred in Rome.

Within the Roman Empire there were many ways to get from one part of the region to the other. This helped Christianity to have the ability to spread. Roads led from Rome to every part of its dominion. Travel was made, if not easy, at least not impossible. This ease of communication made it possible for disciples to spread the Christian message all over the ancient world. Another example of a human who used this is St. Paul; as mentioned previously. If the Roman Empire had not existed, missionaries would have found it extremely difficult to cross the borders of very different and often warring nations without finding themselves accused and punished as an enemy, before they had a chance to spread the good news.

Another reason in which the Christian message was spread throughout Rome, was that it was a very grand empire with many types of people with in it. Also the cruelty of the Roman empires grew the faith of those already converted and converted yet more. And lastly, the oppressed nature of the subjects of the Roman Empire made the message of Christ welcome to these lower classes. The message was for the rich and the poor. (Ackroyed 127)

The first converts were usually the poor and slaves for they had a great deal to gain from the Christians. If they were caught, they faced death for failing to worship the emperor. It was not uncommon for emperors to turn Rome's people against the Christian religion when Rome was faced with difficulties. (Bass 41)

This is how Christianity was spread throughout Rome. The Roman Empire helped the growth of the Christian religion greatly.

Ackroyd, Pete. Ancient Rome. DK Publishing, Inc., New York, 2005.

Bass, Newton T. Timelines of History: Volume II. Grolier, Scholastic Library Publishing, Connecticut, 2005.

The Greek and Roman gods

The Greeks and Romans had many similarities and contrasts. One area in which this took place is in their gods.




It was in the late 4th Century B.C. that Roman and Greek mythology began to intertwine. The Greeks and the Romans were very different people at this point in time. The Romans were war based and worked on expanding their territory. The Greeks, however, were art based. They created beautiful statues that held much importance. By the 2nd Century B.C. the Romans made significant progress in conquering a large portion of Greece. Here their different life styles began to interact and intermix. Before long the gods of theses religions influenced each other and were accepted. This is how we get two different religions with the same gods.

Both of the major and minor gods were in both mythologies. Such as
Erinyes or Furiae, Eris or Discordia, Eros or Cupid, Fates or Morae, Graces or Charities, Helios or Sol, Hours or Horae, Pan or Faunus, and Tyche or Fortuna.


"Much of the Roman mythology was barrowed from the Greeks. But while the stories remain essentially the same, the names have been changed. The Romans also have myths of their own, completely separate from thoses of the Greeks." (Bolton 245)



The Greeks and Romans shared the same stories, but used different names. Such as both religions had the twelve Olympians, but each had different names. The twelve Olympians in Greek mythology are: Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Artemis and Hephaestus. The twelve Olympians in Roman mythology are: Jupiter,Neptune, Pluto, Vesta, Juno, Mars, Minerva, Apollo, Venus, Mercury, Diana and Vulcan.









Many of the Roman and Greek gods have the same character, but with different names. One example is the Greek god Zeus. In Roman mythology he is known as Jupiter. However, in both religions he is the lord of the sky, gods, thunder,and Rain. He is also the known as the cloud-gatherer. This shows that both saw him as the same person with the same characteristics, but just used a different name to refer to him.


The gods were like humans, but more magnificent. There superhuman qualities, of courage, skill, and intelligence, were for people to imitate. But these wounderful super beings also fell in love and fought wach other. Even then, they did not suffer pain, or die, as they did not have blood in their bodies, but divine ichor. (Hull 7)



The Greeks and Romans also believed that the same gods created them, but agian just used different names. They thought of their creation as: In the beginning, there was only Chaos and Eros. Gaea, the earth, Erebus, the underworld, and Night emerged from the mixing of these two, and Gaea gave birth to Uranus, the heavens, who then became her mate, and Oceanus, the oceans. Gaea and Uranus together produced the twelve Titans, three Cyclopes, and three hundred-handed giants, or Hecatoncheires, but Uranus feared his children as a threat to his throne, and bade Gaea take them back into her womb. Gaea loved her children, however, and hated Uranus' tyranny. She supplied her youngest child, Chronos, with a sickle, and told him to kill his father with it. He cut off Uranus' genitals, and these fell into the sea and from them were created Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and the Fates, the Giants, and the Meliai nymphs. Chronos succeeded Uranus on the throne and married his sister Rhea. He freed the Titans and shared his kingdom among them, but imprisoned the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires in Tartarus, a fiery pit much like Hell. Chronos and Rhea had six children, who would become six of the gods of the Greek pantheon. Chronos, however, was similarly afraid of his children, and decided to swallow him. Rhea plotted to keep the youngest, Zeus, out of Chronos' way, and gave her husband a rock swaddled in cloth to swallow instead. Zeus was raised on the island of Crete and grew into a handsome youth. Eventually he slipped Chronos a drink to vomit up his other five siblings, and they and Prometheus, one of the Titans, fought and defeated Chronos and the Titans for power. Zeus ruled the earth and married his sister Hera; the gods together created humans to entertain and amuse them as they watched from their home on Mount Olympus.






These are the simularities and contrasts of the Roman and Greek gods.







Bolton, Lesley. The Everything Classical Mythology Book. F+W Publications, Inc., Ma, USA, 2002.



Hull, Robert. Religion & the gods. Sea-toSea Publications, Minnesota, Ca, 2007.

The Art of Ancient Rome

The art of Ancient Rome was greatly influenced by Etruscan art. This also meant that it had a close relationship with Greek art. Roman art really starts to evolve in 500 B.C. with the beginning of the Roman Republic. The Romans were very interested in portraiture; that is making statues that replicate one particular person. The Greeks, however, were interested in ideals, while the Roman were interested in reality. They wanted to show people how they really were instead of making them look as if they were gods.

In about 200 B.C. the Romans conquered Greece and began to imitate their art style. During their conquest in Greece, they looted town and brought the art home. They also brought sculptors home to serve as slaves. The first Roman statues were created in the Roman Republic. Another type of Roman art was painting on plaster. These paintings were painted on a wall, that was made up of three layers of plaster and three layers of a special coating. The colors were applied when the plaster was still wet. This made the amazing paintings to last for the ages to come. The Romans also painted on canvas. These paintings were often of famous battles. They were put in temples or public buildings. Unfortunately none of these paintings have withstood time.

"By the time of the empire, there was a great demand for scullptures to honor the emperor and other important people. The sculptures were put up in public quares, halls, and temples, and some were even placed on top of columns. The idea was to show the power of the empire. Many statues were made of the first emperor, Augustus, and most made him look like a young hero." (Morris 7)

Art was often in the houses of the uper class Romans. They would have beautiful floors covered with mosacis. Mosacis are pictures made with thousands of tiny tiles. There would also be paintings on their walls. (Minnis 19)

Another type of Rome art is architecture. One example is the Triumphal Arch of Tibias. It was made of many different types of archs and columns. The triumphal arch used relief sculpture and inscription to carry its historic and commemorative messages. The Romans also built the Colosseum and the Pantheon. The Colosseum was originally four stories high. It had a total spectator capacity of 45,000-55,000. The Amphitheater is built of travertine outside, and of tufa and brick in the interior. The main pedestals were built of marble blocks. This shows how artistic the Romans were.

The art of Rome in the first and second centuries mainly continued to imitate the traditional styles of Greek art. In the third century, however, many new ideas were established in Roman art. The first new style in Roman art was the taste for bloodshed in art. This was a result of the wars with the Germans in the north. One example is the column of Marcus Aurelius. In it there were many senes of violence and bloodshed. Second, there was an increasing use of the drill, rather than the chisel. Even thou it was easier and faster, it gave the art a different look. The third way in which Rome art changed is the new concern for the soul. This was because there were more and more Christians in the Roman Empire. In art, this shows up as a lot of emphasis on the eyes, which were thought to be the windows to the soul, often with the eyes looking upward to heaven, or toward the gods.

As Rome expanded it took its art with it. It was excepted by many different peoples and its influence and heritage survives in all branches of the arts today.

Minnis, Ivan. You Are in Ancient Rome, Raintree, Inc.; Chicago, Illinois, 2005.

Morris, Ting. Arts and Crafts of Ancient Rome. Smart Apple Media; North Man kato, 2007.