Page 43 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies

Ancient Rome

Connect…

Of all the empires that have ruled the earth, God decided to send His Son, the Messiah, during the
Roman occupation of Israel. Have you ever wondered why? Times were difficult. Life was rough. The
Romans heavily taxed those whom they conquered. And anyone who opposed them in any way, they
destroyed. So why did God send Jesus to a Roman world? Let’s see if we can figure that out today…

The Lesson ...

Ancient Rome

The Roman civilization began with the
founding of the city of Rome in the
753 century BC and lasted until the
empire collapsed in the 5 century
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AD. The empire grew to become the
largest empire in the ancient world,
with about 20% of the world’s
population under its domination.
Jesus lived during the zenith of the
Roman Empire.

The civilization of Rome contributed
much in the way of law, politics,
engineering, art, literature,
architecture, technology, warfare, and
language. It was known for creating
extensive systems of aqueducts and
roads, as well as the construction of large monuments, palaces, and public facilities. Eventually, internal
moral corruption plagued the empire to the extent that in the 5 century AD, surrounding barbarian
th
kingdoms began to conquer and control portions of the kingdom until it finally dissolved into the
Byzantine Empire and moved into the Dark Ages. Eventually, internal moral corruption plagued the
empire and led to its downfall. By the 5th century AD, surrounding barbarian kingdoms began to
conquer and control portions of the kingdom. The Roman Empire gave way to what is called the
“Byzantine” era. The Dark Ages soon followed in Europe. The last vestiges of the Byzantine Empire were
destroyed in 1453, and all evidence of the once-massive Roman Empire slowly disappeared.

The Roman road was the bloodstream of the empire. Merchants paid taxes to Rome on all their
transactions, and they needed roads to carry their goods to an ever-widening market across the empire.

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