Week 5 Reading Guide
Chapter 8
1. How did the Roman Republic differ from Athenian democracy? In what ways did the Roman Republics governing framework respond to the political needs of the Romans? How did Rome use citizenship as a tool of governance?
-The Roman Republic people had a lot less power than the Athenian Democracy, But, it was supported by practices and principles. Rome could not have a direct democracy like Athens because it was so much larger.
-The Roman Republic treated all parties fair in civil and criminal cases. The laws were all about the people of Rome. But, eventually a social contest came about called the Struggle of the Orders, and this caused chaos between different types/ groups of people.
-Citizenship of Rome
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5. Why were their Romans unable to protect the western part of their empire from the Germanic invaders? How did the division of the empire contribute to the fall of the Western Roman Empire?
-The Germans moved in slowly, living in villages and farming with the Romans. There weren’t too many problems with them coming in for a while.. The Romans even began to assimilate the Germans into their armies, and allowing them to have command positions. Eventually the Germans began to take control and tried to force the Romans off of their land and move into their Empire. The Romans eventually got raided and was in very bad shape.
6. How did Christianity become Rome’s main religion? How did this change the status and transform the Christian church?
-Constantine’s reign brought it in, as he really supported the Christian Religion.
-The promise of salvation attracted many, and it highly advanced the Christian church and then Christianity slowly became the official religion. At first, persecution was done to non-believers, but as time went on it became the
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Constantine then legalized it, so it became very popular and important.
-Theodosius adapted it to Germanic culture by banning pagan worship, closing temples of Roman and Greek gods. Also they ended the Olympic games. Also, the Christian faith was blended in with the present culture of Romans.
-Once the pope got authority over the whole Christian Church, there were problems with preachers in many eastern churches—which lead to a division of eastern and western churches.
8. Why did Europe’s warrior nobility become so powerful during the 9th and 10th centuries? What were the main roles of vassals, manors, lords, and serfs?
-With the idea of passing down positions through family ties, the rulers/ families in power were so strong and powerful that there was much wealth and success in the armies. The absolute power stayed with families who knew how to use it, so it made it very strong.
-Vassels: warlords who would swear allegiance and pledge military service to their overlord.
-Manors: land estates that had farmers who were peasants.
-Lords: Nobles who owned manors, and were in control of their peasants and
Democracy:is a system of government by the whole population or all of the eligible members of a state,typically through elected representatives. In the Roman Republic they were kind of a democratic because anyone who was in the democratic was allowed to vote. People who were picking the councilmen were able to know who be selected at the end and didn’t tell anyone until everyone was not voting anymore.If people did not live in the democracy they were automatically not able to vote nor would they still be in the democratic society. Democracy of historical of racism was a big deal back in the day because when people heard that there was a big problem
It was this refusal that caused its practice to be illegal and those who chose to stick with the faith were prosecuted. Although people were being killed for practicing, Christianity started to become even more popular. After seeing Christian martyrs risk their lives for the sake of Christianity, many Romans were compelled and attracted to the faith. Also, there were Apostles who traveled around the empire spreading the message of Christianity. Then in 312 CE, Emperor Constantine proposed the Edict of Milan that banned all laws against Christianity. That allowed people to freely worship, without the fear of harsh punishment. He eventually converted on his deathbed. Then in 392 CE, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of Rome. Christianity went from being an illegal religion to the official religion of the Roman Empire.
The Athenian and Roman governments both had similarities in their form of government, but the differences that they had made them unique because of the parties and rules they lived by. To start off, the Athenian Government was a democracy and the Roman Government was a republic. Each of them had very important specific details which make them unique and different like what made them citizens and able to vote for the officials, and how they organized their government system.
The new faith that brought a message and established the resurrection of Jesus Christ was the faith that Constantine adopted as a child from his mother. Christianity during Constantine’s reign established much dominance over other religions and was the main reason for influence of the Christian. Christianity in the Roman world had many perils from gladiatorial battles, to forms of charity which affected the Roman world for good (McGiffert, 34). Charity became with
While both the Roman Republic and Roman Empire have similarities, they also have some major differences. One of
Though the roman empire and the roman republic vary in their political structures they are quite common in the structures of their social hierarchy and reasoning for their downfalls.
The Roman Republic was a “democratic” republic, which allowed first citizens to vote, and to choose their governors in the senate (Hence, their consuls). However, it was a nation ruled by its aristocracy, and, consequently, the entire Republic`s power was concentrated in a few individuals. Furthermore, the Senate was controlled by Patricians, which directed the government by using wealth to buy control and power over the decisions of the senate and the consuls. This situation aroused the inconformity of the people; as result, a civil war took place in the Republic (destroying it), and then the Roman Empire was born.
After the division of the Roman Empire, the growth of Christianity in the Western Empire thrived. The division of the empires caused the churches to grow and prosper, instead of disintegrating with the rest of the Roman Empire. Churches were some of the most significant establishments in Europe. Over time the churches began to develop their own set of beliefs. Leaders of the church were elected by the people. Bishops were a very important part of the Roman churches in the Western Empire. One in particular, named Bishop Ambrose, was a very skilled lawyer and governor. He made many of the new advances for the early Christian churches, and also set high standards for the administrators. In the fourth century, the Christian community began to divide,
The Roman constitution, written between 167-119 BCE, made it a variety of democracy. There were 3 main parts each having their own power such as elections, decision of peace or war, and passing or repealing laws. These considerations and the constitution shows it was extremely democratic. The Roman Republic was proclaimed in 509 BCE after being overthrown by patricians. Plebeians rebelled against the patricians due to the debt and lacks of political rights.
The Roman Republic was a very successful government in Rome. It is successful because it lasted from 510 BC until 23 BC. That is about 500 years. In comparison to the United States it lasted 250 years more. Thought it was successful, it faced many challenges. Under this type of government two elected consuls shared the head of government.
The Roman Republic held vast amounts of power and it employed a variety of democratic and undemocratic methods in its government to keep its power. Although not all Roman citizens could vote, the Roman Republic only was somewhat democratic because it held elections for most positions, it allowed some Romans to vote, and the people held power in the government. A democracy is a system of government in which the people have the most power, everyone is granted a vote, and free elections are held . Similarly, ‘democratic’ means that the people hold the most power, that all people are able to vote, and elections are free and fair. According to Fergus Millar, “every adult male citizen…could vote, and there was no formal exclusion of the poor.” This shows that many people had the opportunity to vote, and those in Rome were able to easily exercise their vote. With this in mind, it was only a partial democracy as women, slaves, and those
This essay will look at some of the factors leading up to the decline of the Roman Empire and the effects it had on the early Christian Church. A brief history of how the Roman Empire came about and what lead to the total divide in the religions that had somewhat coexisted for hundreds of years. It will look at the effects of the persecutions of the Christians, the political struggles for status and power lead to the fall of the Roman Empire.
In any government system there are many failures and accomplishments. In the republic form of government, the state is ruled by the citizen body. These positions aren’t inherited but rather gained through elections by citizens. In a Republic government the head of state in not a monarch. Also, there are many different Republics through time. The Roman and American Republic are similar in many ways. Ways of similarity are the Roman “Struggle of the Orders” and the American civil rights movements, the structure of government, and the roles of women.
The Roman government has always emphasized democratic ideals such as sharing government responsibilities while restricting kingship and dictatorship. Rome may have initially been run by kings, but this aristocracy was officially outlawed along with the rise of the Roman Republic (Fitzpatrick, slide 17). Power was also very limited
The Roman republic is one the most successful ancient civilizations, lasting through wars and times of peace, it remains relevant today through their advancements in government representation. Rome first gained independence from the Etruscans in 509 B.C.E.. At this time Rome was separated by social class, plebeians, working class with little say in government, and the patricians, wealthy with government control. Over time the plebeians earned some say in government, however, this was hard without substantial wealth. The first form of government was a monarch, who formed the Senate. At first, the Senate was a