Rise and Fall of Rome and How

¶ … rise and fall of Rome and how Christianity affected the history of Rome.

Use at least two sources of information.

The rise and fall of Rome was due to many changing factors including religious, social, cultural and military.

Analyze and explain the rise and decline of Rome. How did Christianity affect the history of Rome? How did Christianity affect the history of Rome?

In analyzing the reasons for the rise and fall of Rome, it is important to begin by noting that Rome wasn't always the cultural and economic center of Italy. It took hundreds of years for Rome to evolve into a vast empire. Legend has it that Rome was founded in 753 BC by Romulus and Remus, twin brothers who were cast into the Tiber River by their wicked uncle but who both survived. Etruscan kings ruled Rome after Julius Caesar's assassination, until the late 6th century BC, when the Roman Republic was established.

Culturally, Pome was beyond measure -- art, music and architecture flourished. During its height, the Pantheon, Colosseum and the Arch of Titus were but some of their accomplishments. But as accomplished as they were in these areas, the Romans neglected math and science and historians have typically attributed this as one of the factors for their decline.

Rome, which had at one time been prosperous and economically sound also, lost its self-sufficiency throughout the years. In addition, socially there was a great division between city and country, soldier and bourgeoisie. As the Roman Army continued to grow and become more powerful, the peasant population began to fear them. Over taxation critically hurt their agricultural capabilities and the government became nothing more than an icon.

Rome had a government that was always changing to meet the needs of its citizens. Early Rome was ruled by kings and then emperors. At its height, the Roman Empire stretched from the north of Britain to the Egyptian desert. But when Julius Caesar was killed, his adopted son Octavian took over as the first Emperor of Rome. This was part of Rome's demise because the Roman Empire slit into two parts, the East and the West. The West fell in 476 but the East continued for several hundred years as The Byzantine Empire founded by Constantine.

By the end of the 3rd century, Rome was in a bad way. The Christian religion was beginning to have some affect on Rome and St. Augustine began to preach that Rome was not as important as the city of God. Prosperity on the city was waning. The Army was losing power and invaders were squatting and acquiring land. In the fourth century, Emperor Constantine became the first Roman Emperor to become a Christian and made Christianity the official religion of Rome with the Edict of Milan. Christianity was still new and not firmly organized but Constantine wanted to change all that and the persecution of pagan Romans began in earnest. Although Rome was falling apart, Christianity played a role in keeping the empire in tact for another hundred years.