ZiSunka
16th October 2006, 03:48 PM
Rome was not a happy place in the First Century. Due to bad leadership and the problems of maintaining by force such a large kingdom, Rome was plagued by troubles similar to America today. Morality was optional and celebrities were worshiped as gods, but economic prosperity gave the citizens enough reason to overlook the ills.
Augustus Caesar was the first emperor of Rome. Previously, Rome had been a republic, a system of government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and elected officials who are responsible to them in accordance with laws. In Rome, the elected officials had been the Senate, a body of men from the upper class who made laws, executed justice and oversaw the bureaucracy of the government. By the time of Julius Caesar, though, the size of the nation made elected government cumbersome and unpopular. The people desired a monarchy, and Julius became the first king of Rome. Already, the title carried with it a king/god status, and Julius is said to have shamelessly enjoyed the worship. Julius even had his own cadre of priests to lead the public in worship of him (Wells, pp 442-443).
By Augustus’s time, Rome was already a nation which had conquered and incorporated a large portion of Europe, a large portion of Asia Minor and the near east and the entire northern coast of Africa (Wells, p 453). He reigned from 27 BC to 14 AD, and was said to have been a capable ruler. He reorganized the provincial governments, and fixed the boundaries of the empire (there had been a number of problems caused by the uncertainty of an unsurveyed border), but he left out critical regions which would have helped bring prosperity and stability to the empire (Wells, p 452). Augustus was the emperor at the time of Christ’s birth, 6 BC (Webster’s).
Augustus was succeeded by Tiberius, a capable but intensely unpopular man. He was addicted to many “gross and abominable vices” (Wells, p 452). But the empire was prosperous during his reign, so “his indulgences in these things and his personal tyrannies were tolerated.” It is difficult to get a friendly picture of Tiberius, because all contemporary sources of information about him are intensely hostile to him (Wells, p 454). He was emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD (Webster’s). He was in power at the time of Christ’s crucifixion in 27 AD. It was under Tiberius that crucifixion became an accepted method of execution.
The succeeding emperor was insane. Caligula’s reputation for extremes of depravity are well-known. He plumbed the depths of human sin as he neglected his official duties. No one dared to stop him or even suggest he curb his strange appetites, for fear of immediate and painful death. He reigned from 37 AD to 41 AD and was assassinated after four scant years. He was 25 when he took power. (Webster’s)
Claudius was fifty-one when he became emperor in 41 AD. He was chosen by the body of the Roman army and known to be uncouth by hardworking and capable. Under his leadership, Rome annexed Britain. In 54 AD, he was poisoned by Nero’s mother.
Nero took power at age 17. He was prone to “monsterous vices and cruelties,” (Wells, p 454) but the empire’s momentum carried it through his reign. He murdered his mother and his wife. Wells conjectures that the Roman emperors suffered from a lack of restraining moral values. Since they were considered gods themselves, they were above human morals and were able to indulge their baser instincts and lusts without fear of spiritual or legal reprisals. They were “under no restraints of law or custom,” Wells said, and thus knew no bounds for behavior (Wells, p 454). If anyone did dare confront them, they were banished or executed.
Nero became extremely unpopular because of his strange and undignified appetites, an uprising in Britain and because of his inaction during a disastrous fire in Rome (the saying “Nero fiddled while Rome burned” came from this) (Cavazzi).
Nero committed suicide in 68 AD after being usurped by Galba, a popular general from the Spanish legions (Wells, p 455).
Four generals attempted to seize power after Nero’s death, but only Vespasian was able to hold on to the throne (Wells, p 455).
Vespasian reigned from 69 AD to 79 AD. His sons, Titus (79 AD) and Domitan (81 AD) formed a sort of dynasty called the Flavian (Wells, p455).
After the assassination of Domitan, a group of emperors who were related, not by blood but by adoption, took power. Nerva (96 AD) and Trajan (98 AD) were the last of the First Century emperors (Wells, p 455). Under this group, the borders of the empire expanded again, significantly. They built the famed “Hadrian’s Wall” across Britain and a palisade between the Rhine and the Danube to protect the northern boundary against he invading barbarians.
By the end of the First Century, the expansion of the empire was over, and the emphasis shifted to defending the frontiers from outside aggressors (Wells, p 456).
The line of the rulers of Rome started with a statesman-turned-god (Julius) continued through a chain of despots, and the First Century ended with a string of inadequate leaders who had their hands full trying to keep the frontiers intact (Wells, p 457).
The lack of religious and social restraints on the first Caesars allowed them to focus their energies on depravities rather than on the good of the empire and those who resided in it (Josephus, 2:10:1). Selfish indulgences superceded the common good and frayed the empire in less than 150 years after its founding and created a society with factions that either participated in the crimes and depravities, or reviled the immoralities and cruelties inflicted upon them.
In addition to the political depravations, the religion of the Romans was prone to excessive immoralities. Sexuality was part of Roman worship and service and the Roman “gods” were no less lustful than the emperors (Josephus 18:3:4). And personal lives got entangled in the lack of morality. Images from Pompeii, a first century Roman city buried and preserved by volcanic ash in 79 AD, reveal the extent to which nudity and sex was accepted as entertainment (BBC).
It was into this environment that a new society was born—Christians, followers of The Way (Acts 24:14).
Against this backdrop of cruelty, immorality, sickness and selfishness, rose a community of people devoted to peace, kindness, moral living and brotherly love (Acts 4:32-35, 9:36, 22:42-47). The community grew in leaps and bounds (Acts 4:4, 9:32-35, 13:49, etc.).
How refreshing The Way must have seemed to those sickened and wearied by the abuses and excesses of Roman life! Undoubtedly, the loving and moral lifestyle of the Christians contributed to the expansion of the faith. People were eager to embrace the spiritual and emotional health that Christ offers (Acts 13:48). As we know, faith in Christ changes even the sickest hearts (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) and brings peace to hectic lives (Romans 8:5-6).
Works Cited
Wells, HG, The Outline of History, Garden City Publishing Co, Garden City, New York, 1921.
Webster’s Dictionary of Biographical Names, Merriam-Webster Inc, Springfield, MA, 1989.
Josephus, Flavius, The Complete Works of Josephus, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1981.
Cavazzi, Franco The Illustrated History of the Roman Empire, http://www.roman-empire.net/emperors/nero-index.html
BBC, Erotic frescoes on display at Pompeii, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/
arts/1657457.stm, Thursday, 15 November, 2001
All scripture references are from God’s Word, World Publishing Inc., Cleveland, 1995. Used by permission.
Augustus Caesar was the first emperor of Rome. Previously, Rome had been a republic, a system of government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and elected officials who are responsible to them in accordance with laws. In Rome, the elected officials had been the Senate, a body of men from the upper class who made laws, executed justice and oversaw the bureaucracy of the government. By the time of Julius Caesar, though, the size of the nation made elected government cumbersome and unpopular. The people desired a monarchy, and Julius became the first king of Rome. Already, the title carried with it a king/god status, and Julius is said to have shamelessly enjoyed the worship. Julius even had his own cadre of priests to lead the public in worship of him (Wells, pp 442-443).
By Augustus’s time, Rome was already a nation which had conquered and incorporated a large portion of Europe, a large portion of Asia Minor and the near east and the entire northern coast of Africa (Wells, p 453). He reigned from 27 BC to 14 AD, and was said to have been a capable ruler. He reorganized the provincial governments, and fixed the boundaries of the empire (there had been a number of problems caused by the uncertainty of an unsurveyed border), but he left out critical regions which would have helped bring prosperity and stability to the empire (Wells, p 452). Augustus was the emperor at the time of Christ’s birth, 6 BC (Webster’s).
Augustus was succeeded by Tiberius, a capable but intensely unpopular man. He was addicted to many “gross and abominable vices” (Wells, p 452). But the empire was prosperous during his reign, so “his indulgences in these things and his personal tyrannies were tolerated.” It is difficult to get a friendly picture of Tiberius, because all contemporary sources of information about him are intensely hostile to him (Wells, p 454). He was emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD (Webster’s). He was in power at the time of Christ’s crucifixion in 27 AD. It was under Tiberius that crucifixion became an accepted method of execution.
The succeeding emperor was insane. Caligula’s reputation for extremes of depravity are well-known. He plumbed the depths of human sin as he neglected his official duties. No one dared to stop him or even suggest he curb his strange appetites, for fear of immediate and painful death. He reigned from 37 AD to 41 AD and was assassinated after four scant years. He was 25 when he took power. (Webster’s)
Claudius was fifty-one when he became emperor in 41 AD. He was chosen by the body of the Roman army and known to be uncouth by hardworking and capable. Under his leadership, Rome annexed Britain. In 54 AD, he was poisoned by Nero’s mother.
Nero took power at age 17. He was prone to “monsterous vices and cruelties,” (Wells, p 454) but the empire’s momentum carried it through his reign. He murdered his mother and his wife. Wells conjectures that the Roman emperors suffered from a lack of restraining moral values. Since they were considered gods themselves, they were above human morals and were able to indulge their baser instincts and lusts without fear of spiritual or legal reprisals. They were “under no restraints of law or custom,” Wells said, and thus knew no bounds for behavior (Wells, p 454). If anyone did dare confront them, they were banished or executed.
Nero became extremely unpopular because of his strange and undignified appetites, an uprising in Britain and because of his inaction during a disastrous fire in Rome (the saying “Nero fiddled while Rome burned” came from this) (Cavazzi).
Nero committed suicide in 68 AD after being usurped by Galba, a popular general from the Spanish legions (Wells, p 455).
Four generals attempted to seize power after Nero’s death, but only Vespasian was able to hold on to the throne (Wells, p 455).
Vespasian reigned from 69 AD to 79 AD. His sons, Titus (79 AD) and Domitan (81 AD) formed a sort of dynasty called the Flavian (Wells, p455).
After the assassination of Domitan, a group of emperors who were related, not by blood but by adoption, took power. Nerva (96 AD) and Trajan (98 AD) were the last of the First Century emperors (Wells, p 455). Under this group, the borders of the empire expanded again, significantly. They built the famed “Hadrian’s Wall” across Britain and a palisade between the Rhine and the Danube to protect the northern boundary against he invading barbarians.
By the end of the First Century, the expansion of the empire was over, and the emphasis shifted to defending the frontiers from outside aggressors (Wells, p 456).
The line of the rulers of Rome started with a statesman-turned-god (Julius) continued through a chain of despots, and the First Century ended with a string of inadequate leaders who had their hands full trying to keep the frontiers intact (Wells, p 457).
The lack of religious and social restraints on the first Caesars allowed them to focus their energies on depravities rather than on the good of the empire and those who resided in it (Josephus, 2:10:1). Selfish indulgences superceded the common good and frayed the empire in less than 150 years after its founding and created a society with factions that either participated in the crimes and depravities, or reviled the immoralities and cruelties inflicted upon them.
In addition to the political depravations, the religion of the Romans was prone to excessive immoralities. Sexuality was part of Roman worship and service and the Roman “gods” were no less lustful than the emperors (Josephus 18:3:4). And personal lives got entangled in the lack of morality. Images from Pompeii, a first century Roman city buried and preserved by volcanic ash in 79 AD, reveal the extent to which nudity and sex was accepted as entertainment (BBC).
It was into this environment that a new society was born—Christians, followers of The Way (Acts 24:14).
Against this backdrop of cruelty, immorality, sickness and selfishness, rose a community of people devoted to peace, kindness, moral living and brotherly love (Acts 4:32-35, 9:36, 22:42-47). The community grew in leaps and bounds (Acts 4:4, 9:32-35, 13:49, etc.).
How refreshing The Way must have seemed to those sickened and wearied by the abuses and excesses of Roman life! Undoubtedly, the loving and moral lifestyle of the Christians contributed to the expansion of the faith. People were eager to embrace the spiritual and emotional health that Christ offers (Acts 13:48). As we know, faith in Christ changes even the sickest hearts (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) and brings peace to hectic lives (Romans 8:5-6).
Works Cited
Wells, HG, The Outline of History, Garden City Publishing Co, Garden City, New York, 1921.
Webster’s Dictionary of Biographical Names, Merriam-Webster Inc, Springfield, MA, 1989.
Josephus, Flavius, The Complete Works of Josephus, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1981.
Cavazzi, Franco The Illustrated History of the Roman Empire, http://www.roman-empire.net/emperors/nero-index.html
BBC, Erotic frescoes on display at Pompeii, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/
arts/1657457.stm, Thursday, 15 November, 2001
All scripture references are from God’s Word, World Publishing Inc., Cleveland, 1995. Used by permission.