Difference between revisions of "Rome"

<p> Within a hundred years of the rise of Greek power under [[Alexander]] the Great (334-331 BC), Rome had begun to overrun colonies of the Greek [[Empire]] and form them into outlying provinces of Rome. Rome first came into prominence in the affairs of [[Palestine]] when the Roman general Pompey seized control of [[Jerusalem]] and brought [[Judea]] under Roman control (63 BC). </p> <p> '''The Roman Empire''' </p> <p> After the assassination of [[Julius]] [[Caesar]] (44 BC), Rome went through a disastrous time of civil war, political confusion and social turmoil. [[Thousands]] of people were poor and unable to find work. There was little law and order, corruption was widespread, and ambitious army commanders were constantly plotting for more power. </p> <p> Out of this instability and tension there arose a leader who was able firstly to control and then to correct the disorders. In 27 BC he took the name Caesar [[Augustus]] and became the first ruler of what became known as the Roman Empire (&nbsp;Luke 2:1). The people held him in such honour that rulers of the Roman Empire after him took his name Caesar as the title of the [[Emperor]] (&nbsp;Luke 3:1; &nbsp;Luke 20:22; &nbsp;Acts 17:7; &nbsp;Acts 25:11; &nbsp;Acts 25:25). </p>

<p> '''Rome.''' The famous capital of the ancient world, is situated on the Tiber, at a distance of about 15 miles from its mouth. The "seven hills," &nbsp;Revelation 17:9, which formed the nucleus of the ancient city, stand on the left bank. On the opposite side of the river rises the far higher side of the Janiculum. Here, from very early times, was a fortress, with a suburb beneath it, extending to the river. Modern Rome lies to the north of the ancient city, covering, with its principal portion, the plain to the north of the seven hills, once known as the Campus Martius, and on the opposite bank, extending over the low ground beneath the Vatican, to the north of the ancient Janiculum. Rome is not mentioned in the Bible except in the books of [[Maccabees]] and in three books of the New Testament, namely, the Acts, the [[Epistle]] to the Romans, and the Second Epistle to Timothy. </p> <p> '''Jewish inhabitants.''' - The conquests of Pompey seem to have given rise to the first settlement of [[Jews]] at Rome. The [[Jewish]] king, Aristobulus, and his son formed part of Pompey's triumph, and many Jewish captives and immigrants were brought to Rome at that time. A special district was assigned to them, not on the site of the modern Ghetto, between the [[Capitol]] and the island of the Tiber, but across the Tiber. Many of these Jews were made freedmen. Julius Caesar showed them some kindness; they were favored also by Augustus, and by Tiberius, during the latter part of his reign. It is chiefly in connection with St. Paul's history that Rome comes before us in the Bible. In illustration of that history, it may be useful to give some account of Rome in the time of Nero, the "Caesar" to whom St. Paul appealed, and in whose reign, he suffered martyrdom. </p> <p> '''The city in Paul's time.''' - The city at that time must be imagined as a large and irregular mass of buildings unprotected by an outer wall. It had long outgrown the old Servian wall; but the limits of the suburbs cannot be exactly defined. Neither the nature of the buildings nor the configuration of the ground was such as to give a striking appearance to the city viewed from without. "Ancient Rome had neither cupola nor camyanile," and the hills, never lofty or imposing, would present, when covered with the buildings and streets of a huge city, a confused appearance, like the hills of modern London, to which they have sometimes been compared. </p> <p> The visit of St. Paul lies between two famous epochs in the history of the city, namely, its restoration by Augustus and its restoration by Nero. The boast of Augustus is well known, "that he found the city of brick, and left it of marble." Some parts of the city, especially the Forum and Campus Martius, must have presented a magnificent appearance, of which Niebur's "Lectures on Roman History," ii. 177, will give a general idea; but many of the principal buildings which attract the attention of modern travellers in ancient Rome were not yet built. The streets were generally narrow and winding, flanked by densely crowded lodging-houses, ( '''insulae''' ), of enormous height. Augustus found it necessary to limit their height to 70 feet. </p> <p> St. Paul's first visit to Rome took place before the Neronian conflagration, but even after the restoration of the city which followed upon that event, many of the old evils continued. The population of the city has been variously estimated. Probably, Gibbon's estimate of 1,200,000 is nearest to the truth. One half of the population consisted, in all probability, of slaves. The larger part of the remainder consisted of pauper citizens supported, in idleness, by the miserable system of public gratuities. There appears to have been no middle class, and no free industrial population. Side by side with the wretched classes just mentioned was the comparatively small body of the wealthy nobility, of whose luxury and profligacy, we learn so much from the heathen writers of the time. </p> <p> Such was the population which St. Paul would find at Rome at the time of his visit. We learn from the Acts of the [[Apostles]] that he was detained at Rome for "two whole years," "dwelling in his own hired house with a soldier that kept him," &nbsp;Acts 28:16; &nbsp;Acts 28:30, to whom apparently, according to Roman custom, he was bound with a chain. &nbsp;Acts 28:20; &nbsp;Ephesians 6:20; &nbsp;Philemon 1:13. Here he preached to all that came to him, no man forbidding him. &nbsp;Acts 28:30-31. It is generally believed that on his "appeal to Caesar" he was acquitted, and after some time spent in freedom, was a second time imprisoned at Rome. </p> <p> Five of Paul's Epistles, namely, those to the Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, that to Philemon, and the Second Epistle to Timothy, were, in all probability, written from Rome, the latter, shortly before his death; &nbsp;2 Timothy 4:6; the others during his first imprisonment. It is universally believed that he suffered martyrdom at Rome. </p> <p> '''The localities in and about Rome''' especially connected with the life of Paul are - </p> <p> (1) The Appian Way, by which he approached Rome. &nbsp;Acts 28:15. ''See '' '''Appii Forum''' ''.'' </p> <p> (2) "The palace," or "Caesar's court." ( '''praetorium''' ). &nbsp;Philemon 1:13. This may mean either the great camp of the Praetorian guards, which Tiberius established outside the walls on the northeast of the city, or, as seems more probable, a barrack attached to the imperial residence on the Palatine. There is no sufficient proof that the word "praetorium" was ever used to designate the emperors palace, though it is used for the official residence of a Roman governor. &nbsp;John 18:28; &nbsp;Acts 23:35. The mention of "Caesar's household," &nbsp;Philippians 4:22, confirms the notion that St. Paul's residence was in the immediate neighborhood of the emperor's house on the Palatine. </p> <p> (3) The connection of other localities at home with St. Paul's name rests only on traditions of more or less probability. We may mention especially - </p> <p> (4) The Mamertine prison, of Tullianum, built by Ancus Martius near the Forum. It still exists beneath the church of St. Giuseppe dei Falegnami. It is said that St. Peter and St. Paul were fellow prisoners here for nine months. This is not the place to discuss the question whether St. Peter was ever at Rome. It may be sufficient to state that though there is no evidence of such a visit in the New Testament, unless [[Babylon]] in &nbsp;1 Peter 5:13 is a mystical name for Rome, yet early testimony and the universal belief of the early Church seems sufficient to establish the fact of his having suffered martyrdom there. ''See '' [[Peter]] ''.'' The story, however, of the imprisonment in the Mamertine prison seems inconsistent with &nbsp;2 Timothy 4:11. </p> <p> (5) The chapel on the Ostian road which marks the spot where the two apostles are said to, have separated on their way to martyrdom. </p> <p> (6)The supposed scene of St. Paul's martyrdom, namely, the church of St. Paolo alle tre fontane on the Ostian road. To these may be added - </p> <p> (7) The supposed scene of St. Peter's martyrdom, namely, the church of St. Pietro in Montorio, on the Janiculum. </p> <p> (8) The chapel Domine que Vadis, on the Aypian road; the scene of the beautiful legend of our Lord's appearance to St. Peter, as he was escaping from martyrdom. </p> <p> (9) The places where the bodies of the two apostles, after having been deposited first in the catacombs, are supposed to have been finally buried - that of St. Paul by the Ostian road, that of St. Peter beneath the dome of the famous Basilica which bears his name. We may add, as sites unquestionably connected with the Roman [[Christians]] of the apostolic age - </p> <p> (10) The gardens of [[Nero]] in the Vatican. Not far from the spot where St. Peter's now stands. Here Christians, wrapped in the skins of beasts, were torn to pieces by dogs, or, clothed in inflammable robes, were burnt to serve as torches, during the midnight games. Others were crucified. </p> <p> (11) The Catacombs. These subterranean galleries, commonly from 8 to 10 feet in height and from 4 to 6 in width, and extending for miles, especially in the neighborhood of the old Appian and Nomentan Ways, were unquestionably used as places of refuge, of worship and of burial by the early Christians. The earliest dated inscription in the catacombs is A.D. 71. </p> <p> Nothing is known of the first founder of the Christian Church at Rome. [[Christianity]] may, perhaps, have been introduced into the city not long after the outpouring of the [[Holy]] Spirit on the '''Day of Pentecost''' , by the "strangers of Rome, who were then at Jerusalem, &nbsp;Acts 2:10. It is clear that there were many Christians at Rome before St. Paul visited the city. &nbsp;Romans 1:8; &nbsp;Romans 1:13; &nbsp;Romans 1:15; &nbsp;Romans 15:20. The names of twenty-four Christians at Rome are given in the salutations at the end of the Epistle to the Romans. Linus, who is mentioned &nbsp;2 Timothy 4:21, and Clement, &nbsp;Philippians 4:3, are supposed to have succeeded St. Peter as bishops of Rome. </p>

<p> The church in Rome, to which Paul wrote the Roman letter from Corinth, was not founded by Paul. He had not yet been to Rome, but hoped to visit the city soon and with that church's help go on to preach in Spain (&nbsp;Romans 15:22-24 ). </p> <p> The church in Rome was probably founded by early converts, "visitors from Rome, " who had been converted on the Day of [[Pentecost]] (&nbsp;Acts 2:10 ). It seems to have been composed of both Jews (&nbsp;Romans 7:1,4 ) and [[Gentiles]] (11:13) when Paul wrote his letter. The letter addresses problems between the two groups. </p> <p> Rome was typical of the urban metropolises of the day, filled with arches, streets, and aqueducts, crowded with buildings, and, unlike some others, punctuated with imported [[Egyptian]] obelisks. Its population is estimated to have been between six hundred thousand and one million in the first century. Rome was built on seven hills along the east bank of the Tiber River, twenty-two miles from its mouth. The heart of the city was the area between the Palatine and Esquiline Hills, occupied by the Roman Forum and the Imperial Fora. Adjacent to this area on the south was the Colosseum and to the west, between the Palatine and Aventine Hills, stood the Circus Maximus. Not a few ancient Christians lost their lives in this circus. Many impressive buildings, such as temples and bathhouses, were built surrounding this central area. These included the still beautifully preserved Pantheon. </p> <p> During the period of the Republic, prior to first century b.c., many ancient buildings were restored or rebuilt and the Appian Way, the major road from Rome to points south culminating in Brindisium, was lined with tombs. Paul traveled a part of this road from [[Capua]] to Rome as he passed through Three [[Taverns]] and the Forum of [[Appius]] (&nbsp;Acts 28:15 ). At the close of this period, Julius Caesar reconstructed the Roman Forum. It has been suggested that Paul probably heard his death sentence in the Basilica [[Julia]] at the western end of this forum. </p> <p> In the period of the empire, the city was greatly expanded, beginning with the work of Augustus, in whose reign Christ was born. The [[Mausoleum]] of Augustus was erected in the Campus Martius on the east bank of the Tiber River as was the Pantheon, which was a temple dedicated to all the gods by Augustus's architect Agrippa, between 27,25 b.c. </p> <p> After the fire of Rome in a.d. 64, which the first-century Roman historian Tacitus insisted was caused by Nero, this depraved emperor rebuilt a considerable portion of the city, including his two hundred-acre imperial palace, the [[Golden]] House, which contained a 120 feet high gilded bronze statue of himself as the Sun. </p> <p> Vespasian began work in 72 on the Colosseum, which his son Titus completed as emperor in 80. It still stands as a landmark in Rome. The beautifully preserved Arch of Titus, giving access to the Forum Romanum from the south, was erected by [[Domitian]] and the Senate in honor of Titus in a.d. 81, just after his death. Faced with Pentelic marble, it contained one arch with depictions on the inside. Among other things these include the spoils of Jerusalem's temple being carried away—the minora, the table of showbread, the sacred trumpets, and tablets fastened on sticks. </p> <p> Paul spent two years under house arrest in Rome (&nbsp;Acts 28:16-30 ) and years later was imprisoned again, awaiting execution (&nbsp;2 Timothy 4:6-8 ). It is possible that Paul was incarcerated in the Mammertine Prison, located at the foot of the Capitoline Hill. Since the sixteenth century it has been called <i> San Pietro in Carcere, </i> preserving a tradition that Peter was imprisoned here as well. </p> <p> Four churches in Rome were possibly directly connected with the New Testament. The Church of St. Peter in the Vatican, on the west side of the Tiber River, has marked the spot where tradition dating to the second century places the burial of Simon Peter. Excavations have produced no conclusive evidence of the bones of Peter as some have claimed. </p> <p> The Church of St. [[Clement]] located in the district of the Caelian Hill, east of the Colosseum, is built over a first-century house that is thought to have belonged to Clement of Rome, who was the probable author of a letter (1Clement) around a.d. 90 from the church in Rome to the church in Corinth. </p> <p> This may be the person who is referred to by Paul in his letter from Rome to the Philippians (4:3). Irenaeus, in the late second century, wrote that Peter and Paul founded the church in Rome and were succeeded by Linus, Anacletus, and <i> Clement </i> . [[Jerome]] seems to have known this church. </p> <p> The Church of Santa Pudenziana, located on the Via Urbana, between the Viminal and the Esquiline hills, may stand over the site of the house of Pudens, a person referred to by Paul in his last letter, written from Rome (&nbsp;2 Timothy 4:21 ). He was a Roman Christian who sent greetings to Timothy via Paul's letter. A tradition suggests that he may have been a senator in whose home Christians met and that the church may preserve the name of his daughter. </p> <p> The largest church in Rome after St. Peter's is the Church of St. Paul Outside the Walls, located about a mile from the Gate of St. Paul, on the Via Ostiense. No real excavation has been done here, but the site is thought to be the location of the church built by [[Constantine]] to replace an oratory that had been built over the place where Lucina, a Roman matron, had buried Paul in her vineyard. </p> <p> John McRay </p> <p> <i> Bibliography </i> . M. Cary, <i> A History of Rome Down to the [[Reign]] of Constantine </i> ; S. A. Cook, et al., eds., <i> The [[Cambridge]] Ancient History, </i> Vol. 10, <i> The Augustan Empire 44 B.C.-A.D. 70 </i> ; J. Finegan, <i> The [[Archaeology]] of the New Testament: The [[Mediterranean]] World of the Early Christian Apostles </i> ; J. McRay, <i> Archaeology and the New [[Testament]] </i> . </p>

<p> <strong> ROME </strong> . The beginnings of Rome are shrouded in obscurity. The city was situated on the left bank of the Tiber, about 18 miles from its mouth. The original Rome was built on one hill only, the Palatine, but the neighbouring hills were successively included, and about the middle of the sixth century b.c., according to tradition, a wall was built to enclose the enlarged city. The whole circuit of this wall was about 5 miles, and it was pierced by nineteen gates. Within these was a large area of vacant spaces, which were gradually built on later, and at the beginning of the Empire (roughly middle of 1st cent. b.c.) not only was the city congested with buildings, but large areas without the wall were also covered with houses. The Roman Forum, an open space measuring over 300 ft. in length, and about 150 ft. in breadth, was the centre of political, legal, and commercial life. At one end was the <em> rostra </em> or platform, from which speeches were delivered to the public; at the other end were shops. It was flanked by the senate-house and law-courts. On the top of the Capitoline Hill was the <em> [[Capitolium]] </em> , or great temple dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, and on the Palatine Hill the principal residence of the Emperor, and the Temple of Apollo, containing the public libraries, Greek and Latin. In the Imperial period four additional <em> fora </em> were built, devoted entirely to legal, literary, and religious purposes the <em> Forum Iulium </em> begun by Julius Cæsar, the <em> Forum Augustum </em> built by Augustus, the <em> Forum Transitorium </em> completed by Nerva, and the <em> Forum Traiani </em> built by Trajan the most splendid work of Imperial times. Various estimates of the population of Rome in the time of Christ have been given: 2,000,000 seems not unlikely. All nationalities in the Empire were represented among them many Jews, who were expelled by [[Claudius]] in a.d. 50, but returned at his death four years later. The slave population was very large. </p> <p> The Romans began as one of the members of the Latin league, of which, having become presidents, they eventually became masters. After conquering Latium they were inevitably brought into conflict with the other races of Italy, over most of which they were sovereign about the middle of the 3rd cent. b.c. The extension of Roman territory steadily continued until, in the time of Christ, it included, roughly, Europe (except the British Isles, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and Russia), the whole of Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and the north-west of Africa. </p> <p> The Roman State was at first ruled by kings, but these gave place to two rulers, known later as <em> consuls </em> . Their powers were gradually circumscribed by the devolution of some of their duties on other magistrates. The period of steady accession of territory was coincident with a bitter struggle between the patrician and the plebeian classes, both of which comprised free citizens. The contest between the orders lasted for about two centuries, and at the end of that period all the offices of State were equally open to both. This was not, however, the establishment of a real democracy, but the beginning of a struggle between the governing class and the mass of the people, which eventually brought the Republic to an end. The civil wars, which during the last century of its existence had almost destroyed it, had shown clearly that peace could be reached only under the rule of one man. The need of the time was satisfied by Augustus, who ruled as autocrat under constitutional forms: the appearance of a republic was retained, but the reality was gone, and the appearance itself gradually disappeared also. For the city of Rome the Empire was a time of luxury and idleness, but the provinces entered upon an era of progressive prosperity. The Emperor was responsible for the government of all provinces where an army was necessary (for instance, Syria), and governed these by paid deputies of his own. The older and more settled provinces were governed by officials appointed by the senate, but the Emperor had his financial interests attended to by procurators of his own even in these. Under the Empire the provinces were much more protected against the rapacity and cruelty of governors than in Republican times. The Emperors themselves stood for just as well as efficient administration, and most of them gave a noble example by strenuous devotion to administrative business. </p> <p> The resident Romans in any province consisted of (1) the officials connected with the Government, who were generally changed annually; (2) members of the great financial companies and lesser business men, whose interests kept them there; (3) citizens of <em> coloniœ </em> (or military settlements), which were really parts of Rome itself set down in the provinces; (4) soldiers of the garrison and their officers; (5) distinguished natives of the province, who, for services rendered to the Roman State, were individually gifted with the <strong> citizenship </strong> . Such must have been one of the ancestors of St. Paul. The honour was not conferred on all the inhabitants of the Empire till 212 a.d., and in NT times those who possessed it constituted the aristocracy of the communities in which they lived. </p> <p> The Romans have left a great legacy to the world. As administrators, lawyers, soldiers, engineers, architects, and builders they have never been surpassed. In literature they depended mainly on the Greeks, as in sculpture, music, painting, and medicine. In the arts they never attained more than a respectable standard. </p> <p> A. Souter. </p>

<p> Paul's first visit was between the restoration by Augustus, whose boast was "he had found the city of brick and left it of marble" (Suet., Aug. 28), and that by Nero after its conflagration. His residence was near the "barrack" ( '''''Praetorium''''' ) attached to the imperial palace on the Palatine (&nbsp;Philippians 1:13). (See [[Palace]] .) Modern Rome lies N. of ancient Rome, covering the '''''Campus Μartius''''' , or "plain" to the N. of the seven hills; the latter (&nbsp;Revelation 17:9), the nucleus of the old city, stand on the left bank. On the opposite side of the Tiber is the higher ridge, '''''Janiculum''''' , also the Vatican. The Mamertine prison where legend makes Peter and Paul to have been fellow prisoners for nine months is still under the church of '''''Giuseppe Dei Falegnani''''' ; but see &nbsp;2 Timothy 4:11. (See [[Peter]] .) </p> <p> The chapel on the Ostian road marks the legendary site of the two parting for martyrdom. The church of '''''Ρaolo Alle Τre Fontane''''' on the Ostian road is the alleged site of Paul's martyrdom. The church of '''''Ρietro In Μontorio''''' on the [[Janiculum]] is that of Peter's martyrdom. The chapel " '''''Domine Quo Vadis?''''' " on the Appian road marks where Peter in the legend met the Lord, as he was fleeing from martyrdom. (See [[Peter]] .) The bodies of the two apostles first lay in the '''''Catacombs''''' ''("Cemeteries" Or [[Sleeping]] Places: Eusebius, H. E. Ii. 25)'' ; then Paul's body was buried by the Ostian road, Peter's beneath the dome of the famous '''''Basilica''''' called after him (Caius, in Eusebius, H. E. ii. 25). All this is mere tradition. </p> <p> [[Real]] sites are the Colosseum and Nero's gardens in the [[Vatican]] near to Peter's; in them Christians wrapped in beasts' skins were torn by dogs, or clothed in inflammable stuffs were burnt as torches during the midnight games! Others were crucified (Tacitus, Annals xv. 44). The '''''Catacombs''''' , "subterranean galleries" ''(Whether [[Sand]] Pits Or Excavations Originally Is Uncertain)'' , from eight to ten feet, high, and four to six wide extending for miles, near the Appian and Nomentane ways, were used by the early Christians as places of refuge, worship, and burial. The oldest inscription is A.D. 71; thence to A.D. 300 less than thirty Christian inscriptions are known bearing dates, 4,000 undated are considered anterior to Constantine. </p>

<p> [[Rome]] ( ''Rôme'' ). In the New Testament times Rome was the capital of the empire in its greatest prosperity. Among its inhabitants were many Jews. &nbsp;Acts 28:17. They had received the liberty of worship and other privileges from Cæsar, and lived in the district across the Tiber. We know that as early as a.d. 64, eight or ten years after a church was established there and addressed by Paul, &nbsp;Romans 1:8; &nbsp;Romans 16:19, the emperor Nero commenced a furious persecution against its members, which the emperor Domitian renewed a.d. 81, and the emperor Trajan carried out with implacable malice, a.d. 97-117. [[Seasons]] of suffering and repose succeeded each other alternately until the reign of Constantine, a.d. 325, when Christianity was established as the religion of the empire. Within the gardens of Nero in the Neronian persecution, a.d. 64, after the great conflagration, Christians, wrapped in skins of beasts, were torn by dogs, or, clothed in inflammable stuffs, were burnt as torches during the midnight games; others were crucified. In the colosseum, a vast theatre, games of various sorts and gladiatorial shows were held, and within its arena many Christians, during the ages of persecution, fought with wild beasts, and many were slain tor their faith. The catacombs are vast subterranean galleries (whether originally sand-pits or excavations is uncertain). Their usual height is from eight to ten feet, and their width from four to six feet, and they extend for miles, especially in the region of the Appian and Nomentane Ways. The catacombs were early used by the Christians as places of refuge, worship, and burial. More than four thousand inscriptions have been found in these subterranean passages, which are considered as belonging to the period between the reign of Tiberius and that of the emperor Constantine. Among the oldest of the inscriptions in the catacombs is one dated a.d. 71. Rome, as a persecuting power, is referred to by the "seven heads" and "seven mountains" in &nbsp;Revelation 17:9, and is probably described under the name of "Babylon" elsewhere in the same hook. &nbsp;Revelation 14:8; &nbsp;Revelation 16:19; &nbsp;Revelation 17:5; &nbsp;Revelation 18:2; &nbsp;Revelation 18:21. </p>

<p> On the day of Pentecost there were in Jerusalem "strangers from Rome," who doubtless carried with them back to Rome tidings of that great day, and were instrumental in founding the church there. Paul was brought to this city a prisoner, where he remained for two years (&nbsp;Acts 28:30,31 ) "in his own hired house." While here, Paul wrote his epistles to the Philippians, to the Ephesians, to the Colossians, to Philemon, and probably also to the Hebrews. He had during these years for companions Luke and [[Aristarchus]] (&nbsp;Acts 27:2 ), Timothy (&nbsp;Philippians 1:1; &nbsp;Colossians 1:1 ), [[Tychicus]] (&nbsp;Ephesians 6 :: &nbsp;21 ), [[Epaphroditus]] (&nbsp;Philippians 4:18 ), and John Mark (&nbsp;Colossians 4:10 ). (See [[Paul]] .) </p> <p> Beneath this city are extensive galleries, called "catacombs," which were used from about the time of the apostles (one of the inscriptions found in them bears the date A.D. 71) for some three hundred years as places of refuge in the time of persecution, and also of worship and burial. About four thousand inscriptions have been found in the catacombs. These give an interesting insight into the history of the church at Rome down to the time of Constantine. </p>

<p> The well-known capital of Italy and the metropolis of the Roman empire. There were 'strangers' from Rome at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, where they would doubtless hear the gospel, some may have been converted, and carried the gospel back with them. &nbsp;Acts 2:10 . Paul wrote his epistle to the saints at Rome about A.D. 58. He was a prisoner there in his own hired house for two years, about A.D. 61,62, being, as was usual, chained to a soldier. But the gospel spread thereby, and entered Caesar's household. &nbsp;Philippians 1:13; &nbsp;Philippians 4:22 . </p> <p> [[Papal Rome]] is clearly spoken of, and its doom announced in &nbsp;Revelation 17 and &nbsp; Revelation 18 : "the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth." See under [[Revelation]] </p>

<p> Rome, the famous capital of the Western World, and the present residence of the Pope, stands on the River Tiber, about fifteen miles from, its mouth, in the plain of what is now called the Campagna, in lat. 41° 54′ N., long. 12° 28′ E. The country around the city is not a plain, but a sort of undulating table-land, crossed by hills, while it sinks towards the south-west to the marshes of Maremma, which coast the Mediterranean. In ancient geography the country, in the midst of which Rome lay, was termed Latium, which, in the earliest times, comprised within a space of about four geographical square miles the country lying between the Tiber and the Numicius, extending from the Alban [[Hills]] to the sea, having for its chief city Laurentum. Here, on the Palatine Hill, was the city of Rome founded, but it was extended, by degrees, so as to take in six other hills, at the foot of which ran deep valleys that, in early times, were in part overflowed with water, while the hill sides were covered with trees. The site occupied by modern Rome is not precisely the same as that which was at any period covered by the ancient city: the change of locality being towards the north-west, the city has partially retired from the celebrated hills. About two-thirds of the area within the walls (traced by Aurelian) are now desolate, consisting of ruins, gardens, and fields, with some churches, convents, and other scattered habitations. Originally the city was a square mile in circumference. The ground on which the modern city is built covers about one thousand acres, or one mile and a half square; its walls form a circuit of fifteen miles, and embrace an area of three thousand acres. Three of the seven hills are covered with buildings, but are only thinly inhabited. The greatest part of the population is now comprised within the limits of the Campus Martius. The ancient city, however, was more than treble the size of the modern, for it had very extensive suburbs beyond the walls. The population in 1836 consisted of 153,078, exclusive of Jews, who amount to 3700. </p> <p> The connection of the Romans with Palestine caused Jews to settle at Rome in considerable numbers. On one occasion, in the reign of Tiberius, when the Jews were banished from the city by the emperor, for the misconduct of some members of their body, not fewer than four thousand enlisted in the Roman army which was then stationed in Sardinia. From [[Philo]] also it appears that the Jews in Rome were allowed the free use of their national worship, and generally the observance of their ancestral customs. Then, as now, the Jews lived in a part of the city appropriated to themselves, where with a zeal for which the nation had been sometime distinguished, they applied themselves with success to proselytizing. They appear, however, to have been a restless colony; for when, after their expulsion under Tiberius, numbers had returned to Rome, they were again expelled from the city by Claudius. It is probable that the Christians, as well as the Jews, properly so called, were included in this expulsion. </p> <p> The question, Who founded the church at Rome? is one of some interest as between [[Catholic]] and Protestant. The former assigns the honor to Peter, and on this grounds an argument in favor of the claims of the papacy. There is, however, no sufficient reason for believing that Peter was ever even so much as within the walls of Rome. </p>

<p> Since 1871 capital of the modern kingdom of [[Italy]] ( <i> q. v </i> .), on the Tiber, 16 m. from its entrance into the Tyrrhenian Sea; legend ascribes its foundation to Romulus in 753 B.C., and the story of its progress, first as the chief city of a little Italian kingdom, then of a powerful and expanding republic (510 B.C. to 30 B.C.), and finally of a vast empire, together with its decline and fall in the 5th century (476 A.D.), before the advancing barbarian hordes, forms the most impressive chapter in the history of nations; as the mother-city of [[Christendom]] in the Middle Ages, and the later capital of the [[Papal States]] ( <i> q. v </i> .) and seat of the Popes, it acquired fresh glory; it remains the most interesting city in the world; is filled with the sublime ruins and monuments of its pagan greatness and the priceless art-treasures of its mediæval period; of ruined buildings the most imposing are the Colosseum (a vast amphitheatre for gladiatorial shows) and the [[Baths]] of [[Caracalla]] (accommodated 1600 bathers); the great aqueducts of its Pre-Christian period still supply the city with water from the Apennines and the Alban Hills; the Aurelian Wall (12 m.) still surrounds the city, enclosing the "seven hills," the Palatine, Capitoline, Aventine, &c., but suburbs have spread beyond; St. Peter's is yet the finest church in the world; the Popes have their residence in the Vatican; its manufactures are inconsiderable, and consist chiefly of small mosaics, bronze and plaster casts, prints, trinkets, &c.; depends for its prosperity chiefly on the large influx of visitors, and the court expenditure of the Quirinal and Vatican, and of the civil and military officials. </p>