Biblical Profile: Rome

Rome

In the first century AD Rome was both a cosmopolitan city and a mighty empire that had brought peace and stability to the Mediterranean world.

The Founding and Early Growth of Rome

Rome was founded, according to tradition, in 753 BC on the Tiber River in Italy by a Latin-speaking agricultural tribe. A loose association of chieftains comprised the earliest Senate.

Around 600 BC the Etruscans from central Italy invaded the territory of Rome and became its rulers. They constructed numerous works, including the forum, which became the social, commercial, and political center for the city, and a temple for Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. Rome was now linked by roads to the Etruscans in the north, to the Greek trading cities in the south, to the sea to the west, and to the inland highlands to the east.

The Roman Republic

When Rome’s kings became autocratic, the Latin population rebelled. In 509 BC, Rome established a “republic,” an oligarchy of the powerful families who controlled the Senate. The small city-state steadily gained control of the region, expanding their influence across the Mediterranean. In 273 BC they made a treaty with the Ptolemies of Egypt. They expanded into North Africa, defeating the rival city-state Carthage in the course of the three Punic Wars (264–146 BC), and pressed on into Spain. Rome’s many conquests brought enormous wealth.

With geographical expansion came social changes in Italy. Between 200 and 100 BC, rich landowners bought out small independent farmers, who subsequently drifted into Rome, landless and unemployed. Huge, overcrowded slums appeared alongside the vast wealth and magnificent buildings. The foundations of the republic were cracking under the strain of popular discontent.

The Beginning of the Empire: Julius and Octavian

During this time of social and political upheaval, Julius Caesar pursued an ambitious and tumultuous career which sought to centralize power in his own person. Senators who favored the old republic assassinated him in 44 BC, but their action ultimately backfired: Julius’s grandnephew and heir, Octavian, became a senator, consul, and the commander-in-chief in 43 BC with the support of the Senate. The Senate also deified Julius in 42 BC. After Octavian defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BC and took control of Egypt, the Senate gave him the titles Augustus (“illustrious”) and Princeps (“first citizen”) in 27 BC, and Octavian began to call himself “son of a god” because of Julius’s divine status. The form of a republic survived, but the reality of a divine emperor had arrived.

Jesus and the Birth of the Church

“When the right time came, God sent his Son” (Gal 4:4). The change into an empire brought peace and stability, a pax Romana (“Roman peace”) that lasted well into the 100s AD. Many observers have noted that Roman rule during the first century AD provided the ideal setting for the spread of Christianity. The borders were secure and the roads were good, making travel relatively trouble-free. Roman laws and customs protected the rights of its citizens (see, e.g., Acts 16:35-40; 22:24-29). Judaism was protected, and the Romans viewed Christianity as a sect within Judaism (see, e.g., Acts 25:13-19). As a result, the Romans largely rejected complaints against Christians on religious grounds (see, e.g., Acts 19:23-41). Christians were free to proclaim the Good News about Jesus, and many people of all nationalities became followers of Christ.

The Changing Status of Christianity

This favorable situation began to change in the time of Nero. Nero blamed Christians for the fire that destroyed a good part of Rome in AD 64, and he proceeded with the first large-scale persecution of Christians. The overt persecution ceased in AD 66, but Christianity was no longer viewed as a sect of Judaism and lost its protected status. It later became imperial policy to require people to burn incense to the emperor—those who refused were usually either Jews (who were protected) or Christians (who were not). As a result, from the time of Domitian (AD 81–96) to Galerius (AD 305–311), Christianity was officially illegal, punishable by death, and persecuted to varying extents depending on the zeal of those in power. Thus for over two hundred years Rome drank “the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus” (Rev 17:6).

Passages for Further Study

Acts 2:10; 18:2; 19:21; 23:11; 28:14, 16; Rom 1:1-7, 15; 2 Tim 1:17