Persecution Under Nero Nero was an emperor who was afraid of his people. Nero was getting out of control of his army he was unable to control his army and keep them in his power. Nero discovered that he was loosing his power so he became a cruel man in his later life. Nero murdered, torture and even imprison his relative and people he called friends. Nero tried everything to impress the people, Nero Built the finesse palaces and arenas. It is said that Nero was the cause of the great fire which had broke out in Rome in A.D.64; this would give the opportunity for Nero to start his building plans. This fire had to be blamed on someone and therefore Nero had accused the Christians for his mistake. This made the Roman people glad because they used this excuse to blame the Christians and vent their anger and hatred upon them. Romans dislike things that they did not know much about this was the reason for such hatred for the Christians. The Romans often fear and hate what they did not understand. The Romans could not understand why Christians worship in secret and worship a God that they have never seen. The Romans never understood why Christians would eat and drink wine, Romans thought this was a special ritual. Some people would say that the Christians were cannibals and even eat babies. The Romans didn’t like the thought that slaves and women attended to the meetings, this was because slaves and women were looked down upon the Romans. The Romans believed that Christians were meeting to plot against the emperor, Christians would not offer incense to Caesar and for that they were punished and used for entertainment to the Romans as they were killed and punished. The Christian refused to worship Roman gods, they openly say their won was the true ruler of heaven and earth, and all other Gods were false, this upset the Romans and were very furious. Nero had been a very cruel man as he was one of the causes why
fears of being conquered is sure of defeat.””. he was considered a tyrant by his opponents he is
Rome – of course, was not built in a day… but its fabrication was indubitably helped by its many great rulers, such as; Aurelius and Augustus. However, on the other end of the parameter, there is infamous Caligula.
that their power was being taken away slowly he gave them positions in the army
Nero was born in 37AD (Dennison, 2012), with the name, Lucius Domitus Ahenobarbus. When he was two his mother was banished by emperor Caligula to Pontian Island. Nero lost his inheritance one year later when his father, Gnaeus Domitus Ahenbarbus, died. When emperor Caligula died, emperor Claudius, a milder emperor, was on the throne. This meant that Agripinna, Neros Mother and Claudius’s neice, was recalled from exile and that Nero was given a good education, being tutored
The book The Great Fire of Rome by Stephen Dando-Collins begins with the story of Nero and his life before power. As the book continues it shows Nero come to power and then slowly lose his mind. The book discusses the persecution of the Christians, and at one point focus’ on a 26 year old man named Joseph, who has become a Roman citizen, he meets a man named Paul who is on trial for being Christian and is waiting for the ruling on his case. Paul is taken away and Joseph finds his way to Rome and meets a Jewish actor who is loved by Nero, through this relationship Joseph becomes friends with Nero’s wife and with her help he tries to influence people with the Jewish religion. Then the great fire happens and the author shows two possibilities of what could have happened, with Nero starting the fire and with the fire starting by accident. Over the next couple of chapters there is talk over suspicions of who actually started the fire. Nero is a suspect and eventually convicted of starting the fire but Nero only saw this as a boost to his name. The story ends with a reflection on the good and the bad that Nero had done.
... combat power against a numerically superior, well armed, and highly motivated enemy. His unwillingness to adapt to changing conditions was unrealistic and proved fatal.
...ad noble intentions and was completely loyal to the state, but in the end he is only human and his main weakness was his poor judgment.
There is almost no question that the lifeblood of the Roman state was war, and that the decisions made by Roman politicians were usually in the interest of keeping this blood flowing. Through all of the endless warfare Rome managed to conquer most of the territory surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, and ruled most of this large swath of land by the proxy of co-opted local elites. Therefore it is difficult to imagine how Rome managed to keep its citizenry in check without instilling a powerful sense of fear in them. Despite being such a war like nation the Romans did not run a police state. They did brutally police their citizenry when they saw a threat to the state from within regarding cult like behavior from religions they would have considered strange.
Emperor Nero, infamously known as one of the most malevolent, oppressive, and tyrannical leader throughout history, was the last ruler of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. He was born outside Rome in Antium and his mother married his great uncle, Emperor Claudius, in order for her son to be the next Emperor of Rome. It wasn’t apparent that her son was to become one of the most feared and cruel leaders in Roman history from 54 CE to 68 CE. By examining his achievements and failures as an emperor, his influences and changes over the entire economic, political and social spectrum are revealed.
The purpose of this essay is to examine the barriers to the spread of Christianity during the Roman Empire. The relationship between Christians, Jews, and the Roman Empire was quite complicated. The Romans became involved with the Jews in 63 B.C.E. as part of their domination of the eastern Mediterranean. Christianity originated 6 B.C.E – 29 C. E. by a Palestinian Jew named Jesus, proclaiming to be the Messiah. The NIV Bible is the primary source for this essay. Leviticus from the Old Testament is written as a series of rituals or laws given to Moses by God. The book of Acts, I Corinthians and Galatians are from the New Testament. Acts was written by Luke, one of Jesus’ disciples, and outlines the spread of Christianity. I Corinthians and Galatians are letters to the early church written by Paul, a leader and missionary. The authors of the books of the Bible record eye witness accounts and revelations from God. The World History I textbook and The Survey of World History/Civilization online content are secondary sources used to connect events in the Bible to historical events during the Roman Empire. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire despite opposition from the Jews, the Romans, and problems with the early church.
Factors Which Led to the Spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire Christianity was not born in a vacumn. There were many social, geographical, historical and religious issues prevailing at the time of Christ and all of which were favorable to the spread of Christianity. Geograpicly, Christianity came into being in the Meditation world, the largest of the various centers of civilization at that time. Israel stands almost central to the five continents, dividing the east and west.
Early Christian persecution, 30-250 CE, was not a universal event throughout the Roman Empire, but rather sporadic and local. In 64 CE, a massive fire destroyed almost the entirety of Rome, and in order to escape blame, Emperor Nero
During the first half century after the crucifixion of Jesus, the Roman government including governors in the eastern provinces took no active measures against Christians. The attitude of the higher Roman authorities had always been that Christianity was merely a sect of Judaism, and as such, were entitled to share in its privileges as a recognized religion. In 64 A.D. this attitude suffered a severe alteration. On July 19, 64 A.D. occurred the great fire of Rome. Half a million people were left homeless. Popular rumor persistently asserted that the fire was started by incendiaries acting under the orders of the Emperor Nero. It was said that Nero wanted the city burnt down so he could build a new city which was to be re-named after himself. Nero felt that something must be done to deflect the public indignation against him. To do this he contrived that accusations should be brought against the Christians. So Nero began an aggressive persecution of the Christians in Rome. Those who confessed their guilt were brought to trail. During these trials a great number of other Christians were uncovered and were also brought to trial. Oddly enough, these people were not charged with starting the great fire of Rome, but rather for “hatred of the humankind.”
—. "Profile of Nero." Ancient/ Classical History Web site. n.d. http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/nero/p/Nero.htm (accessed March 1, 2014).
From the third to the fourth century, the Roman Empire witnessed a widespread attempt to stop the spread of Christianity. Initially, leaders of the church were predominately targeted, but later anyone admitting to Christianity became a target. The persecutions hit a climax during Diocletian’s reign. These persecutions actually helped the spread of Christianity by glorifying Christians and beginning a tradition of martyrdom that shaped the Church, and the strength that Christians displayed shows that the persecutions could not have possible stopped the spread of Christianity.