Introduction to the Medieval World: Class 2
Class 2: Christianity and the Parting of the Ways: Invasions,
Constantinople, Christianity
Assigned Reading:
I. Introduction
A. The question today then, in broad terms is what was
the classical world and why did it collapse. Why didn't
a Mediterranean civ. continue, why did it divide in three parts.
B. We must be careful, about what we mean by collapse of the
Roman Empire
- Influence of Gibbon
- Byzantium continued, and even in the West there
were several crises before its demise.
II The roots of Western History?
A. Near Eastern Cultures
Egypt - c. 4000 BC
Longest continuous civilization.
Architecture, Influence on Jews.
Mesopotamia [IRAQ] - also c. 4000 BC
Sumeria, Babylonia, Assyria
-Writing
-Numbers - use of base 12 in time
-Astronomy and Astrology
B. Jews
The Jews are the only ancient people still around.
One does not meet Hittites or Goths in the Street, but
the Jews are still here.
They absorbed a lot from Egypt and Mesopotamia
- e.g. the creation story. Perhaps legal ideas.
But one massive original contribution:-
Monotheism - A belief in one caring God.
Also a belief in History - that we are going somewhere,
in contrast to more cyclic views in the East.
Jews wrote the Bible - the most read book in the world -
at least 3000 years old.
One of chief sources of western culture.
C. The Classical World - Greece
The other major source of Western ideas.
Ideas are more important than the details of its history.
They survive in literature and art.
From around 750 BC.
Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey
The ideas of an Ordered COSMOS - vital in western ideas
about science, reason and God.
Invention of writing - for everyone not just the clergy.
Thales of Miletus - for first time asked what the world
was made of - water - Science.
Athens - the people, democracy, natural art. c. 500-300 BC
Socrates: People as morally autonomous.
Plato - asked most of the philosophical questions -
how do we know what we know.
Idea of the Soul
Aristotle - introduces observation into science.
"Invents" logic
Alexander the Great. - c. 300 BC. Conquers the whole
Eastern Mediterranean.
Greek ideas and Greek language dominate the whole area.
Hellenism.
[Note
The Greeks did not know about much the Jews, but the Jews
knew about the Greeks.]
All discussion so far has been about the Eastern
Mediterranean, away from what we now call the West,
or even Europe.
D. Classical World - Rome
Always a Western City.
From around 300 it began to grow in political importance.
Within Three Hundred Years it had unified the whole Med. into
one state.
Most spoke either Latin or Greek.
Intellectually Rome was dominated by Greece,
But its genius was in statecraft and law. - Roman Law.
Literature
Cicero - created Latin philosophical terminology
Seneca - stoic playwright
Ovid - love poet
Virgil - the Aeneid.
. Art
Greek copies - marble from bronze.
Architecture
. Philosophy
Platonism - Forms
Aristotelianism
Epicureans
Stoics
E. The Civic Basis of Classical Civilization
Size of Roman Empire - 3000 miles - much bigger than in modern
world.
Number of people - c. 50 Million
[pop of mod. England, or NY,NJ,CT, RI,MASS]
- a lot of empty space.
Number of bureaucrats - c. 1000
So civilization was spread very thinly -
based on cities.
Cities effectively ruled the area around them.
Origin of word `civilization' - civis
II. The Unity of the Late Antique World
A. Unity of the classical world, centered around the
Mediterranean comprising several ancient civilizations,
e.g. Egypt, but since the time of Alexander the Great
dominated by Greek culture, and from the mid second century
BC by the political might of Rome.
An impressive civilization.
B. The Pax Romana from c. 30AD to c. 230AD.
Period of Peace.
[Mention origins of dating system]
[need for periodization]
Gibbon and the Antonnines
The Antonnines - humanity' happiest time?
Gibbon
Hollister - God help us all,
But Gibbon had a point.
III. The Third Century Collapse
A. From Republic to Empire
Julius Caesar
Augustus
New government under old forms.
B. Third Century Difficulties
1. Central Admin. - Rome always governed empire on
basis of its old city government.
As it got bigger Army becomes more important.
In third century the system collapses
-235-285 - 19 emperors. all but one die violently
2. External Attacks
Sassanids in Persian from 224 AD
Germans on European Frontiers.
IV. The Military Revolution
A. 260 - New Governing Class
Merit based. Open
Old Roman forms abolished
Adoption of Eastern ideas of the Emperor
Emperor Worship
idea of Autocracy
"the prince can do no wrong"
"the word of the prince is law"
B. Diocletian 285-305
Spalato
Dividing the Empire - four emperors
Augustuses and Caesars
Fixing the economy - the Edict.
Maintained by Constantine.
V. Constantine and Christianity
A. Constantine - 306-337.
Fought lots of Battles.
B. Milvian Bridge - The Labarum 312 [cf. Apollo]
Edict of Toleration 313 - Christianity.
Christianity about 25% of pop.
Did C. Adopt as a new glue.
Only baptized on his death bed.
Will look at this more - but lets go on
for the moment with political events.
C. Constantinople 324AD
D. For another century or so there was a Roman revival,
mainly in the East, but also in the West.
But it did not last.
Final Split in 395 btw East and West.
410, Rome sacked, 476 last Western emperor. deposed.
Fundamental weaknesses in Rome.
VI. Why Rome Fell?
A. Many reasons given for collapse of Roman Empire
Orgies - immorality - no
Too much lead - no?
Homosexuality - no
Climatic change - poss.
Christianity - complicated effect.
Not monocausal -
but basic weaknesses in the economy must be seen as
important.
B. The Roman Economy
1. Classes - very small upper class.
Roman and regional.
Bias against work - in Greek way of thinking.
Urban proletariats - Rome, Antioch, Alexandria.
But minor as a whole
Most people worked on the land, as coloni
or slaves.
West rich as long as it was expanding - producing
more slaves. Once it stopped expanding it had
little commerce. few cities.
Vast areas of wilderness with oases of cultivation.
Little incentive to produce for slaves,
or innovate in work.
Archimedes - military innovation, not economic.
2. The Civic Basis of Classical Civilization
Size of Roman Empire - 3000 miles - much bigger than
in modern world.
Number of people - c. 50 Million
[pop of mod. England, or NY,NJ,CT, RI,MASS]
- a lot of empty space.
Number of bureaucrats - c. 1000
So civilization was spread very thinly -
based on cities.
Cities effectively ruled the area around them.
Origin of word `civilization' - civis
3. The New Government and Taxes
Was Military - expensive - spent a lot of money on
the army. Needed taxation to support. Little
plunder as rich areas were mostly in Roman Empire.
Military grows from 400,000 to 600,000
But, especially in the West, less and less wealth.
4. Tax farm system
The curiales retire from the towns, to their
country villas. The cities either collapse or
come under the sway of the Church.
When Germans attack again in the fifth century,
the Roman Empire in the West is not in good shape
to resist. So they take over, at first as a new
governing class,
But they prove unable, for a variety of reasons to
maintain classical civ. after c. 600.
We will look into the reasons why in a later class.
5. But in the meantime the Roman Empire has undergone
a fundamental religious transformation.
Which will effect the part that survives in the
East, and lead to long term effects on the new
culture that will arise in the West.
VII. Christianity
A. Paganism
Chthonic religion
Olympian religion
Household Religion
Civic religion
Ritual religion - pontifex maximus
B. Philosophy
Provided intellectual with life pattern.
1. Epicureans
Stoics
Lack of Transcendence.
2. Aristotelianism - not that important in antiquity
3. Neoplatonism - Plotinus.
Revived paganism.
C. New Mood in Religion - Transcendence and Salvation
Peter Brown - from about 170 AD.
Need for individual religion. Need for salvation.
Isis cult
Great Mother - emasculation (also in Christianity.
Mithraism
D. Demons - everywhere.
E. Jews - sophisticated religion.
Israelite Religion - tribal God YHWH
Temple religion - Sadducees
Rabbinic religion - Pharisees
They absorbed a lot from Egypt and Mesopotamia
- e.g. the creation story. Perhaps legal ideas.
But one massive original contribution.
Monotheism - A belief in one caring God.
Also a belief in History - that we are going somewhere,
in contrast to more cyclic views in the East.
Jews wrote the Bible - the most read book in the world -
at least 3000 years old.
One of chief sources of western culture.
F. Jesus
A pharisaic Jew.
[give story of Hillel - what is the law?]
Life - New Testament.
Works
Did he intend to found a church?
Death and Resurrection
G. St. Paul
Greek Speaking Jew.
High Christology - refer office book.
Sin
Atonement.
Missions - Use map.
H. Organization of the Church
St. James and Jerusalem.
St. Peter and Antioch, And Rome
Variety of Patterns
Bishops
Presbyters
Deacons
The Penatarchy - Major Cities dominate.
Not official until Nicea. Cf. Hollister.
I. Why was Christianity So Successful?
Problems - Not Roman, Jewish, Slave religion.
Advantages
Revealed book
Historical concreteness
Belief in the end of the world
Simple initiation rite - Baptism
Urge to mission
Christ as enemy of Demons, and as doctor
Looked after its members.
J. Persecutions - The Blood of the Martyrs
Nero c. 67
Decius c. 250
Catacombs in Rome - Origin of Christian Iconography
Peace 261-303 - Growth of the Church.
Diocletian 303
Constantine
K. Egypt, Anatolia and Rome
L. Vita Perfectiva
Importance of Asceticism.
Early Syrian Christianity
Monasticism. Sometimes said to begin after persecutions,
but St. Anthony goes to Desert in 269
Cenobitic and eremetical
VIII. Development of Christianity
A. Need for Change
Heresy
Problems in formulations of Trinity and Christology
No problem, little doctrine, e.g. on Baptism
B. Until it was legal main job was to survive, but
after it became legal - the problem arose.
Christianity changes from a sect (challenging the world.
to a church (accommodating to the world.
C. The Fathers
Explain concept.
Origen
Athanasius vs. Arius
Ambrose 340-97 - Independence of the Church, vs.
Theodosius II after he attacked Thessalonica.
Jerome 340-420 - Vulgate
Augustine 354-430 - City of God, and Predestination
Not cyclic history. History as an end.
D. Donatism
Response to last persecution. in North Africa
E. Arianism
Egypt - firstborn, therefore not God
Ulfilas and the Goths
F. Councils
Sardica
Nicea 325
G. Monophysitism
Chalcedon
In Byzantine Section
H. Church has 200 Years to infiltrate Roman Life
Julian the Apostate
`Vicisti. Galeleo' - a myth - novel by Gore Vidal
Church takes over the towns - it provides a new community.
IX. Invasions
Persia - Sassanid
Germans - Goths
Tacitus - Germania 98 Ad
German Law - particular vs. Roman Law - principles
e.g.. Wergilds
Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Suevi, Franks
Migrations - Huns ( at Rome vs. Leo I.
Alimenta
Feodorati
Adrianople 378
Odovacar - 478
Theodoric - 495-536
X. Discussion Topics
A. Why Rome Fell?
B. Early Christianity
Historical Origins?
Did it go wrong with Constantine?
C. Asceticism
D. Persistence of Idea of Rome
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© Paul Halsall, 1996.
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