Rome!

All we did today was go over some of the notes that we went over on Friday, and added some notes, and we listened to Mr Schick sh peal about all of it. we had the long class, and it is the longest class of my life, and all we did was take notes about Rome.

• Paul is instrumental in telling the world about Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and message.
• he travels far and wide: Cyprus, Anatolia, Athens, Corinth, Macedonia, Rome, Jerusalem, and maybe even Spain and Britain.
• he writes letters to many of those he spoke to - these epistles are a part of the New Testament.
• if not for the efforts of Paul, it is likely that Jesus remains an obscure preacher, instead of the central figure of the world's largest religion.
• Caligula - good start
• in addition to being Germanicus' son, he was Tiberius' adopted grandson and great-nephew 
• putting him next in line for emperor
• he started off well: granting bonuses to those in the military, declaring treason trials a thing of the past, and made government spending a matter of public record
• all in all, the first seven months of Caligula's reign were "completely blissful" (according to the historian Philo)... then... 
• ...bad finish for Caligula
• he began to fight with the Senate
• he claimed to be a god, and had statues displayed in many places - including the Jewish temple in Jerusalem (sacrilege!)
• other examples of cruelty and insanity: he slept with other men's wives and bragged about it, indulged in too much spending and sex, and even tried to make his horse a consul and a priest (at least that's what his critics said)
• assassinated by his own aides, AD 41 (aged 28)
• next in line: Clausius
• Ostracized by his family because of his disabilities (limp, slight deafnes, possible speech impendiment - thought to be cerebral palsy or polio), he was the last adult male in his family when Caligula was killed
• he rose to the occasion: he conquered Britain; he built roads, canals, and aqueducts; he renovated the Circus Maximus
• had an awful marriage to Messalina, who was quite often unfaithful to him, even plotting to seize power for her lover Silius through a coup - so Claudius had them killed
• meanwhile - religious troubles
• Christianity and Judaism: monotheistic
• Romans had many gods, plus at times the emperor was viewed as a god
• AD 66: a group of Jews called the Zealots tried to rebel, but Roman troops put them down and burned their temple (except for one wall)
• the Western Wall today is the holiest of all Jewish shrines
• half a million Jews died in the rebellion
• Persecution of Christians
• Romans were harsh toward those who would not worship the emperor
• especially Christians, who were viewed as followers of a new, upstart religion (cult)
• often used for "entertainment" purposes in the Colosseum (thrown to the lions, etc.)
• despite the oppression, Christianity grew quickly - by AD 200, around 100 percent of the people in the Roman empire were Christians.