6.+50+CE+to+300+CE

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= = =I. Kings and Rulers=

Here is a list of rulers in Rome from 50 CE to 300 CE: Julio-Claudian Emperors - Flavien Emperors - The Antonines - The Severan Emperors
 * Claudius (42-54 CE)
 * Nero (54-68 CE)
 * Vespasian (68-79 CE)
 * Titus (79-81 CE)
 * Domitian (81-96 CE)
 * Nerva (96-98 CE)
 * Trajan (98-117 CE)
 * Hadrian (117-138 CE)
 * Antoninus Pius (138-161 CE)
 * Marcus Aurelius (161-180 CE)
 * Commodus (180-193 CE)
 * Severus (193-211 CE)
 * Caracalla (212-217 CE)
 * Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (218-249 CE)
 * Decius (249-251 CE)
 * Valerian (253-260 CE)
 * Gallienus (260-270 CE)
 * Aurelian (270-275 CE)
 * Tacitus (275-284 CE)
 * Diocletian (284-312 CE)


 * Emperor Nero** is one of the distinguishable emperors of his tim[[image:6a00e54eea6129883300e54f36c98d8834-800wi[1].jpg width="202" height="288" align="left" caption="Nero Beheading the Apostle Paul"]]e. He is known for his perverse mind and his persecution of Christians. He also murdered both his mother and his wife. His actions may be explained in part by his unstable childhood; his family was banished by the emperor Caius Galigula in 39 AD and his father died when Nero was only three. His mother Agrippa eventually married her uncle, the emperor Claudius, and Nero became a probable heir to the throne. In 54 AD Agrippa murdered Claudius, and as a result, Nero became Emperor at the age of 17, making him the youngest emperor up to that point. Nero was known to be generous and mild until 59 AD, when he ordered the murder of his mother. After that, his personality seemed to turn sour. There was a nine day fire in Rome in 64 AD, and many people thought Nero started it on purpose so that he could rebuild the city in his honor. Nero placed the blame on the Christians, however, and they were heavily persecuted. They were killed in brutal ways, including being torn apart by dogs and used as torches for light at Nero's parties. Nero's reign ended in 68 AD when, with the help of his secretary, he committed suicide. He was the last of the Julio-Claudian Emperors. More about Nero



Born in 51 AD, **Domitian** was the son of the Emperor Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus. Titus was the favorite of their father and prepared to be emperor someday. Unlike Titus, Domitian was not considered fit to rule by his father, so his upbringing was largely in poetry and the arts. In 79 AD, Titus ascended to the throne, but nothing changed for Domitian. That is, until 81 AD, when Titus died from illness (there are rumors that Domitian poisoned him). Since Titus had no heir, Domitian became Emperor. He wanted to be known as a conqueror, so one of his first acts as Emperor was to conquer //Agri Decumates//, the lands beyond the upper Rhine and upper Danube. Over time, Domitian became drunk with power, and he was known to be a nasty, arrogant, and cruel person. In fact, he preferred to be addressed as ‘master and god.’ The Roman senate eventually became disgusted with him and hired the assassins to murder him in 96 AD.

====**The Five Good Emperors **====

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 * Nerva**, the first, was chosen to be emperor by the assasins that had murdered Domitian. Unlike Domitian, Nerva had very good relations with the senate. He spent a lot of money on ensuring good relations with the public and developed a system of adopting heirs to make sure the best candidates came to the throne.======

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 * Trajan**, Nerva's adopted heir, became emperor in 98 AD. He started his rule by killing all the leaders of a group that had shamed Nerva,and he also showed the senate plenty of respect. Trajan was often called Optimus Maximus, meaning 'The Best,' because of his popularity with the senate and a series of foriegn wars in which he tried to extend the empire. He also did work in many public services, like the distribution of food, the repairing of roads, and the construction of the Forum and the Market.======

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 * Hadrian**, Trajan's heir, became emperor in 117 AD. Hadrian's first major accomplishment was to end the foreign wars Trajan had started. Instead, he used the money to pay more attention to the provinces of Rome and created the Equestrian Order, which dealt with civel services. Hadrian was very intellectual and surrounded himself with great minds.======

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 * Antonius Pius** rose to the throne in 138 AD. Like Hadrian, he was uninterested in conquest and in return, his reign was very prosperous. He watched the development of foreign crisis, improved bureautcratic machinery, and was a great builder. He also stopped the persecution of Christians for a while.======

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 * Marcus Aurelius's** reign from 161-180 AD was full of hardship. There were multiple wars, a great financial instability, and an outbreak of a disease from the East. Aurelius was part of the Marcomanni Wars, and died in 180 AD on the frontier of an invasion of Italy. Aurelius was the last of the Five Good Emperors. ======

=II. Christian Persecution=

A total of 10 periods of persecution occured from 50 AD to 300 AD.


 * The first persecution** of the Christian church began under Emperor Nero (54-68 AD). After he blamed the Christians for a nine day fire in Rome (which he himself may or may not have been responsible for), hate towards the Christians spread throughout Rome. Christians were sewed up in animal skins and torn apart by dogs, and Nero even used some as human torches to light his parties.


 * The second persecution** came under Emperor Domition (81-96 AD). He issued an order "That no Christian, once brought before the tribunal, should be exempted from punishment without renouncing his religion." Christians were blamed for every famine, epidemic, or earthquake. People were bribed to testify against Christians, resulting in the slaughter of many innocents. Christians brought before the council were forced to choose between swearing an oath of allegiance to Domition or being killed.


 * The third persecution** was under Emperor Trajan (98-117 AD). Despite a compelling letter dissuading Trajan's treatment of the Christians (sent to Emperor Trajan by Pliny "The Younger"), the degree of persecution which occured was largely unaffected. Trajan was succeeded by Hadrian (177-138 AD), whose reign ended with over ten thousand Christians martyred.


 * The fourth persecution** was headed by Emperor Aurelius (162-180 AD). He was merciless towards Christians and caused them to suffer in many inhuman ways. Some Christians had their feet crushed in presses and were forced to walk over sharp objects. Others were whipped until the sinews and viens in their back were exposed. A woman named Blandina was torn by lions, scourged, tossed around by a bull, placed naked in a red hot metal chair, and was eventually killed with a sword. The Christian Germanicus was fed to lions, but onlookers were surprised at his bravery and some converted to Christianity.

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 * Some Christians were fed to lions or other wild beasts**


 * The fifth persecution** came under Emperor Severus (193-211 AD). At first, Severus was on good terms with Christians because one had supposedly helped him recover from a sickness. Eventually the hate of Rome's citizens prevailed, though, and Christians continued to get blamed and punished for natural misfortunes. The persecution then spread to Roman provinces in northern Africa.


 * The sixth** **persecution** happened under Emperor Maximus (164-238 AD). Maximus ordered all Christians to be hunted down and killed. They were buried fixty or sixty together in a pit at times. A man named Anteros was martyred for offending the council by making a list of martyrs. Over forty Christians were beheaded at once and their heads were displayed on the city gates. A man named Hippolitus was dragged by horses until he died. A seventy-year-old women confessed her faith and was burned at the stake in the market.


 * The seventh** persecution occured under Emperor Decius (249-251 AD). Decius decided to eliminate the Christian religion because he hated his predecessor, Phillip (who was thought to be a Christian), and because he thought the pagan gods were being forsaken. Many heathens in Rome were eager to help. A man Julian was put in a leather bag with snakes and scorpions and thrown into the sea. A sixteen-year-old girl named Denisa was beheaded after confessing that she was a Christian. A man was stretched upon a wheel until all his bones were broken, and then he was beheaded.


 * The eighth persecution** was under Emperor Valerian (253-260 AD). As many were killed and tortured as in any of the previous persecutions. Saturninis, the overseer of a church, refused to sacrifice to idols and was taken to the top of a temple and tied by his feet to the tail of a wild bull, which then ran down the steps and killed him. Thousands of Christians were martyred in northern Africa. In a city northwest of Carthage, three hundred Christians were lined up around a giant burning lime kiln pit. They were forced to choose between worshiping Jupitor or jumping in, and they all jumped in.


 * The ninth persecution** came under Emperor Aurelian (270-275 AD). He's the emperor known for regaining Britain, Gaul, Spain, Syria, and Egypt for the empire, but he was as cruel to the Christians as his predecesors. A wealthy man named Agapetus sold everything he had and gave the money to the poor, and as a result he was arrested as a Christian, tortured, and beheaded. Aurelian was eventually assasinated by his officials, and peace came over the Church for a while.


 * The tenth persecution**, the last major persecution in the Roman empire, came under Diocletian (284-305 AD). He was favorable of Christians until his adopted son persuaded him to eliminate Christianity from the Roman empire. Diocletian issued an edict that all Christian churches and books be destroyed, and that all Christian be arrested as traitors to the empire. A man tore down a copy of the edict and was arrested, tortured, and burned to death. At one time, every Christian in Nicomedia was arrested and put into prison. Many Christian homes were set on fire and whole families died. After a while, governors of several provinces convinced the emperor to stop the killing. He did, but mutilation took the place of killing. Many Christians had their ears cut off, noses slit, one or both eyes put out, bones torn from their sockets, and flesh burned.

Despite all this persecution, the Pagans' attempts to destroy the Christian church failed.

=IV. Architecture= Architecture was a very important part of Roman history. The Romans have accomplished multiple milestones with their distinct pillars, the aquaduct, and the arch. The aquaduct brought water in and out of Rome, and was therefore essential to the overall cleanliness of the city. The arch was not only stronger than previous designs, but can also be pleasing to look at.

The **Maison Carree** was built by Agrippa and dedicated to his sons. It shows the allegiance and loyalty of the Roman colony to the Imperial Dynasty. It's built of limestone and only has entrance on one side.


 * [[image:colosseum[1].jpg width="343" height="229" align="left" caption="The Colosseum" link="romanhistoryhour1:6. 50 CE to 300 CE"]]

The Colosseum** took eight years to build (72-80 AD). It was built by Emperor Vespian and accomodates 55,000 spectator over four levels. Vespian died one year before it was completed. It had 80 entrances. More about the Colosseum on this page.




 * The Pont du Gard** is an aqueduct that carried water accross the small Garden River valley. It has been used as an aquaduct as well as a bridge and many other things. Nowadays, it attracts over one and a quarter million visitors each year.

More information on Roman architecture.

=V. Currency= General info- the basic unit of currency is called an as - the term as comes from hononymous weight (12 unciae=ounces) - the plural term for as is asses. asses are not immune to weight depreciation - there are many different values of the coins - the only way to show their values so we can understand them today is putting them into fractions - the ruler has currency made to model qualities/achievments


 * Denarius- (worth 10 asses)
 * Quinquesis-(worth 5 asses)
 * Quadrussis-(worth 4 asses)
 * Thesis-(worth 3 asses)
 * dupondius-(worth 2 asses)
 * sextans- (worth 1/6 as)
 * Quadrans-(worth 1/4 as)
 * Triens-(worth 1/3 as)
 * Quincunx-(worth 5/12 as)
 * Semis-(worth 1/2 as)
 * Bes-(2/3 as)


 * Basic coins:**
 * __Bronze sesterius of emperor hadrian__-
 * Minted 121[[image:http://www.crystalinks.com/romancoins1.jpg align="right" caption="the aureus (gold), the denarius (silver), the sestertius (bronze), the dupondius (bronze), and the as (copper)"]]
 * this coin shows the qualities of compassion, love, and charity
 * the coin itself is bronz showing genius of the circus holding a chariot wheel
 * __Denarius of emperor hadrian__-
 * minted 117 ce
 * coin shows emperor hadrian wearing a laurel wreath
 * coin shows love and charity
 * one of the most common coins
 * __The Auceus__-
 * fixed value of 25 denarii
 * very rare coin
 * one of the most desirable coins
 * this coin is often deteriorated
 * in good shape, this coin can get tens of thousands at auctions