The Roman Empire film

[ATP]

I'm watching the DVD from 1964, and I have a question. I just love these old movies.

Did Julius Caesar and the peak and fall of the Roman Empire exist before or after Jesus crucifixion? And also Julius death.

I suppose Caesar was at his peak when Matt 22:21 NIV was quoted? And Jesus was still alive so...

 

[pom2014]

The height of the empire was about 114 ce.
Its fall was around 540 ce.

All well after Jesus.

 

[HammerStone]

Julius Caesar died about 50 years (give or take a few years) prior to the Birth of Christ. Augustus would have been Emperor at the birth of Jesus, with Tiberius being ruler for the other half of Jesus' life. The Empire itself was more or less hitting it's stride at this point, although it would grow larger and peak like pom said a bit little later.

Maps can always oversimplify, but here is a look at the Roman Empire under Augustus. Wikipedia also has a handy .gif to see the growth of the Empire.

Lastly, it would have peaked under Trajan in terms of land size I think according to most scholars.

I apologize in advance for the Wikipedia link fest, but the information there is good and will provide you with an overview. There are a lot of books on the subject, and I recommend grabbing an overview book if you are a fan of history and reading. It's all very interesting and carries double emphasis when you see how God used the empire, for good and for ill, to play into the flourishing of Christianity.