RULERS AND EMPIRES
The ancient Roman Empire, with its capital in the city of Rome, began in 27 BC following the collapse of the Roman Republic and lasted until the fifth century. Ruled by emperors, it spread around the Mediterranean Sea into Europe, Africa, and Asia. The city of Rome was then the largest urban area in the world, and the empire grew to an estimated 70 million inhabitants. Among the most powerful economic, cultural, political, and military forces of its time, Rome was the largest empire of the ancient world and one of the greatest ones in all world history.
Augustus, Rome’s first emperor, established a form of government known as a principate, which combined elements from the ancient Roman Republic with the traditional powers of a monarchy. Under Augustus, Rome began to flourish once again after a period of political unrest, and the emperor came to be regarded as divine. Subsequently, all good emperors received worship as gods after their death. Perhaps the most influential rulers of Rome after Augustus were Trajan (AD 98–117), Hadrian (AD 117–138), Antoninus Pius (AD 138–161), and Marcus Aurelius (AD 161–180).
Jesus Christ was born during the rule of Augustus (27 BC–AD14) and was crucified during Tiberius’ reign (AD 14–37). Since Rome considered Christians a part of Judaism, they enjoyed the privileges given to that religion for several decades. Persecution of Christians by Judaism seemed an internal religious controversy to the Roman authorities. Nevertheless, starting from Nero’s reign, the empire began to view Christianity as a new and non-authorized religion and a danger to the unity of the state. Some people accused Christians of starting the Great Fire of Rome in 64. But persecution remained sporadic or regional until 250 when it became a state policy. It ended during the reign of Constantine I (AD 312–337) with his famous Edict of Toleration of 313. After about 320, the Roman state began to favor Christianity. But the empire was in crisis. Theodosius I (379–395) was the last emperor to rule over a unified Roman Empire. The western part of the empire, suffering from repeated invasions and the flight of the peasants into the cities, had grown weak compared with the eastern one, which was wealthier. When Theodosius died in 395, Rome split into separate eastern and western empires. The western empire fell to Germanic tribes in 476 when they overthrew the last western Roman emperor. Known as the Byzantine Empire, the eastern one survived for several centuries.
Many direct and indirect references to the Roman Empire and its civilization fill the New Testament. It names the emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, and (in the postscript to 2 Timothy) Nero, as well as its capital, Rome. The Judea of New Testament times was a province of the empire first governed by the Herodians, an Idumean dynasty at Rome’s service, then later more directly by Roman governors.
The Roman army of occupation with its officers, soldiers, organization, and discipline served as a backdrop to many stories and incidents in the Gospels. In the epistles, military life and weapons provided metaphors of Christian militancy. The Gospels and the book of Acts describe Roman court proceedings and punishment. The apostle Paul’s difficulties with imperial authorities and the special treatment he received on several occasions during his missionary travels and final imprisonment reveal how important Roman citizenship could be.
An imperial decree making it mandatory to register for taxation led Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. Jesus discussed with His religious rivals in Judaism taxation and duties to the emperor. Taxation and military occupation were a constant cause of irritation and the desire for freedom among the Jewish people. That is why many Jews expected Jesus, if He were the Messiah, to free them from Rome’s dominion by leading them as a political and military ruler to a new glorious period of independence. His arrest, trial, and execution reveal the ambiguous relationship the Jewish authorities had with Roman imperial representatives in Palestine. Regarding Jesus as a danger to their limited political power and influence over the Jewish people, the Jewish religious leaders sought to use the power of Rome to rid them of Him.
Many archaeological remains of Roman civilization have survived to this day: buildings of all kinds, amphitheaters, aqueducts, palaces, stadiums, and temples. They offer vivid testimony of the wealth and organizational genius of the Greco-Roman culture. It has left a lasting mark on Western civilization.
The Roman Empire’s strengths as a political organization were beneficial to the spread of the Christian gospel in its early stages. They included the following: a sense of the unity of all humanity under a universal law and the person of the emperor who incarnated the values of the empire; free movement, because Roman military strength had brought a lasting period of peace; an excellent road system that favored good communications and travel; and finally, Roman conquests led to a loss of belief among many people in their local gods and thus created a spiritual vacuum filled by the gospel.
At the same time, there arose a growing rivalry between the values of Christianity and those of the empire. Rome could tolerate worship to local gods if the inhabitants of the empire recognized the superiority of the Roman civilization through emperor worship. That was not a problem for the polytheistic pagans. But Christ demanded exclusive allegiance because all other gods were false ones. Unable to understand Christian exclusivism and spirituality, pagans accused Christians of atheism (not believing in the existence of the traditional deities) or of being “enemies of the public good.” It led to the persecution of Christians until Constantine instituted a policy of tolerance.
Bryan, Render to Caesar: Jesus, the Early Church, and the Roman Superpower.
Carter, The Roman Empire and the New Testament: An Essential Guide.
Northand Price.The religious history of the Roman Empire: Pagans, Jews, and Christians.