-priests in
Gaul & Britain
-claimed that
they were the
only ones
who knew the
secrets of
gods -highly
respected
-often asked
for advice
-had made
calendars -the
Romans
chased them
to their
stronghold on
the island of
Anglesey, off
the Welsh
coast & killed
all of them
written by
Tacitus: the
Druids
covered
their altars
with the
blood &
ripped-out
guts of men
for sacrifices
after
conquering
Anglesey in
AD61,
Suetonius'
men hacked
down the
religious
woods,
dedicated to
devil
worship &
foul
ceremonies
-Anglesey
was a
popular
hiding place
for
rebellious
Britons
-When the
Britons
fought, the
Druids stood
in their
ranks, their
heads
uplifted,
calling to the
gods for
help.
wiped out
Cas study 2:
the Jews
-the home
of this
religion is
Judaea
-Judaea was
not a
Roman
province
-Rome
appointed a
governor to
run Judaea
-as long as it
was
peaceful the
Roman saw
no need to
officially
make it into
a province
-until 4BC it
was ruled by
a strong
king Herod
the Great.
He was a
keen
supporter of
Rome & a
friend of
Augustus -At
this time the
Jews were
treated well:
the Jews
were
excused
service in
the army,
the Romans
turned a
blind eye to
features
that they
disagreed
with,
Augustus
who wasn't
a Jew paid
for daily
sacrifices in
the Jew's
temple in
Jerusalem
Early in the
1st century
AD most
Jewish
leaders were
pro-Roman.
When their
king started
breaking
rules they'll
appeal
directly to
Rome & the
king was
removed
Herod had
been a strong
king, but his
successors
were not.
Some Roman
officials sent
to help made
them worse.
Ex: Pontius
Pilate broke
the religious
rules of the
Jews & stir up
disagreement
between
opposing
groups of the
Jews. By
AD60 there
were some
groups
supporting
Rome but
some like
poorer
priests & the
Zealots were
the opposite
In AD66 the
Zealots
revolted.
They drove
the Romans
out of
Jerusalem &
took control
of the Temple
An army of
50,000 soldiers
were sent to
Judaea. Up to
1 million Jews
were killed.
Thousands
were
transported to
Amphitheatres
to their
deaths. The
Zealots were
burned alive &
Titus, one of
the generals,
sacrificed a pig
in the Temple,
which is a
terrible insult
The revolt was
crushed but
that was not
the end of
Zealots. In
AD73 1 group
took over the
mountain
fortress of
Masada
survived as
a
persecuted
minority
Case study 3
: the
Christians
-followers of
Jesus Christ
-in around
AD30,a new
prophet,
Jesus
appeared
-the Jews
didn't like
this &
handed him
to Pontius
Pilate, the
governor, to
be crucified
-Pilate saw
no reason to
crucify Jesus.
However, he
bowed to
pressure
-Paul, who
was a
Roman
citizen made
3 journeys
to cities in
Asia,
Macedonia
& Achaea to
teach about
Christianity.
He was
arrested &
taken to
Rome & was
probably
executed in
AD66
the
persecution
of Christians
continued
for many
years. They
suffered
extreme
punishment.
For safety,
Christians
started to
meet in
underground
caves. This
made the
government
thought that
they were
plotting
against them.
Despite this
persecution,
Christianity
continue to
grow & 250
years after
St Paul's
journey
Christianity
was the
most
popular
religion
Christianity
grew, until in
337 the
Emperor
Constantine
became a
Christian &
Christianity
became the
official
religion of
the Empire.
By AD400
Christianity
were
spreading
into
provinces &
even to
Rome itself