After Jesus died followers spread the word that He was, and is, God. This process was facilitated by the order and shared language of the Roman empire. Sadly, Roman authorities believed that the worshipers of Jesus were dangerous and enslaved or killed many believers.
Persecution continued until 313CE when Constantine the Great ruled that Christianity was legal.
Christianity eventually became the official state religion, spreading it throughout the empire. This ran counter to traditional Roman rule, which declared the emperor to be one of (or equal to) the gods, and was one factor in the decline of Rome, in addition to many others.
In 330CE, the Empire was intentionally split into two parts: the western half centered in Rome and the eastern half centered in Constantinople. This defenensive move did not prevent repeated attacks of Rome by the barbarians who eventually conquered Western Rome.
In class activities:
- Learned the meaning of the ichthus and made our own scratch art fish
- Reviewed the words barbarian and vandal in both their original and modern definition (the kids thought it was hilarious that pants were considered barbaric in Rome)
- Discussed the "hard words" on this week's history cards including "vulgate" and "council" - discussed why our timeline handmotions help our brains to remember the meaning of what we are saying.
- Played a game in which we tried to defend a large area from invaders
- Learned about persecution & Constantine
- Located Rome on a world map, and then highlighted the extent of the empire on regional maps
- Discussed cardinal directions & marked the portion of Rome that fell to barbarians
- Added to our Medieval Notebook
Optional lesson extension activities:
- Watch Crash Course History's brief synopsis of the fall of Rome.
- Play online games as you learn about ancient Rome
- Take a short quiz to see what you remember from class
Assignment:
- Read history cards MA 5 & 6 (St Benedict and Monasticism & Justinian the Great)
- Practice your timeline
