HIST 111 Lecture : 1 Imperial Christianity.docx
17 Mar 2014
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Middle/ dark ages (500ad- 1500) fall between roman empire and italian renaissance. Dark ages- little intellectual activity, ignorance, poverty. Significant jewish and islamic presence, pagan religions, unorthodox forms of xtianity. Use primary sources (commentaries, religious texts, illuminated documents) Language- language of gov was latin (roman"s language: eastern provinces often spoke greek, but everyone spoke latin allowed uniform understanding when cultural diverse. Imperial gov functioned ind: impersonal power- authority isn"t rooted in that of single person, (power doesn"t depend on individual, presidency changes every 4 years, personal power- authority does depend on authority of single individual (kim. Jong il died and didn"t know what was going to happen b/c all depended on him) Augustus caesar (first roman emperor) in role of high priest. Was emperor job to make sure gods were honored properly to allow prosperity worship others) Jesus executed on charges of treason by romans b/c claimed to be king of the jews.
