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| Literally, "father's power"; the legal power a Roman father possessed over the children and slaves in his family, including owning all their property and having the right to punish them, even with death. |
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| Literally, "the people's matter" or "the public business"; the Romans' name for their republic and the source of our word republic. |
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| The first written Roman law code, enacted between 451 and 449 |
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| Rome's most famous orator and author of the doctrine of "humanitas". |
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| The Roman orator cicero's ideal of "humaneness," meaning generous and honest treatment of others based on natural law. |
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| the Roman political faction supporting the common people; established during the late republic. |
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| The Roman political faction supporting the "best," or highest, social class; established during the late republic. |
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| The coalition formed in 60 B.C. by Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar. |
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Roman political system invented by
Augustus as a disguised monarchy with the princeps ("first man")as emperor. |
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| Literally 'Roman Peace"; the two centuries of relative peace and prosperity in the Roman Empire under the early principate begun by Augustus. |
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| The honorary name meaning "divinely favored" that the Roman Senate bestowed on Octavian; it became shorthand for 'Roman imperial ruler." |
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| The spread of Roman law and culture in the provinces of the Roman Empire. |
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| Greek for "anointed one," in Hebrew Mashiach or in English Messiah; in apocalyptic thought, god's agent sent to conquer the forces of evil. |
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| Greek for "witness," the term for someone who dies for his or her religious beliefs. |
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| The principle by which Christian bishops traced their authority back to the apostles of Jesus. |
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| true doctrine; specifically, the beliefs defined for Christians by councils of bishops. |
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| False doctrine; specifically, the beliefs banned for Christians by councils of bishops. |
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| Plotinus's spiritual philosophy, based mainly on Plato's ideas, which was very influential for Christian intellectuals. |
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| The "rule by four," consisting of two co-emperors and two assistant emperors/designated successors, initiated by Diocletian to subdivide the ruling of the Roman Empire into four regions. |
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| The violent program initiated by Diocletian in 303 to make Christians convert to traditional religion or risk confiscation of their property and even death. |
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| The proclamation of Roman co-emperors Constantine and Licinius decreeing free choice of religion in the empire. |
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| The Roman emperor who made Christianity the state religion by ending public sacrifices in the traditional cults and closing their temples. In 395 he also divided the empire into western and eastern halves to be ruled by his sons. |
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| Bishop in North Africa whose writings defining religious orthodoxy made him the most influential theologian in western civilization. |
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| The Christian doctrine named after Arius, who argued that Jesus was "begotten" by God and did not have an identical nature with God the Father. |
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| The doctrine agreed on by the council of bishops convened by Constantine at Nicaea in 325 to defend orthodoxy against Arianism. It declared that God the Father and Jesus were homoousion ("of one substance"). |
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| The name given to the barbarians whom Alaric united and led on a military campaign into the western Roman empire to establish a new kingdom; they sacked Rome in 410. |
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| Sixth-century emperor and empress of the eastern Roman Empire, famous for waging costly wars to reunite the empire. |
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| literally, "icon breaking"; referring to the destruction of icons, or images of holy people. Byzatine emperors banned icons from 726 to 787; a modified ban was revived in 815 and lasted until 843. |
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| The royal dynasty that ruled Gaul from about 486 to 751. |
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| The pope who sent missionaries to Anglo-Saxon England, wrote influential books, tried to reform the church, and had contact with the major ruling families of Europe and Byzantium. |
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