Rome, the capital city of the Roman Empire, was located on the Tiber River and was built on an area that has seven hills. As the empire flourished, the city expanded. By the middle of the first century C.E., Rome may have had a population of one million people, including a sizable Jewish community. The first Christians in Rome were likely Jews and proselytes who had been in Jerusalem at Pentecost 33 C.E. and had heard the apostle Peter and the other disciples preach. These new disciples would have brought the good news with them when they returned to Rome. (Ac 2:10) In his letter to the Romans, which was written about 56 C.E., the apostle Paul said that the faith of those disciples in Rome was “talked about throughout the whole world.” (Ro 1:7, 8) This video shows an artist’s rendering of some key features of Rome as they may have looked in Paul’s day.

1. Via Appia

2. Circus Maximus

3. Palatine Hill and Caesar’s Palace

4. Temple of Caesar

5. Theaters

6. Pantheon

7. Tiber River

This drawing depicts what large tenement buildings in Rome or nearby Ostia, the port city of Rome, may have looked like. Such buildings could be several stories high, were generally built around a courtyard, and were surrounded by streets on all sides. A typical tenement had ground-floor rooms that were rented out as a shop combined with living quarters; each had an entrance onto the street. On the second floor were apartments with multiple rooms, often rented by wealthier individuals. The highest floors were filled with rooms of different sizes; the smaller ones were cheaper to rent but were less desirable. Occupants of the upper rooms often had to obtain water from a public fountain and had to use a public bath. The majority of the people in Rome lived in buildings similar to those shown here. No doubt some Christians in Rome lived in such apartments.

Shown here is a photograph of the remains of a synagogue in Ostia, the port city of Rome. Though the building underwent renovation and alteration, the original structure is thought to have been built as a synagogue in the latter half of the first century C.E. The presence of the synagogue indicates that Jews lived in the vicinity of Rome for a long time. Although the Jews were expelled from the city of Rome by Emperor Claudius about the year 49 or 50 C.E., it is possible that Jewish communities remained in the area. (Ac 18:1, 2) After the death of Claudius in 54 C.E., many Jews returned to the city of Rome. When Paul wrote his letter to the Christians in Rome, about the year 56 C.E., the congregation was composed of Jews as well as Gentiles. This explains why Paul addressed matters related to both groups, helping them to see how they could live together in unity.—Ro 1:15, 16.

1. Rome

2. Ostia

The practice of grafting was common in Bible times. It normally involved joining a shoot or a twig of a tree known to produce good fruit with the stock of a tree bearing inferior fruit in order to improve the quality of the fruit produced by that tree. The apostle Paul alluded to the practice of grafting in the illustration he gave regarding an olive tree. (Ro 11:17-24) He compared spirit-anointed Gentile Christians to wild olive branches grafted into a “garden olive tree.” (Ro 11:24) A first-century C.E. Roman soldier and farmer named Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella, who wrote about a variety of agricultural subjects, specifically mentioned such a technique. For healthy olive trees that failed to produce fruit, he recommended: “It is a good plan to bore them with a Gallic auger and to put tightly into the hole a green slip taken from a wild olive-tree; the result is that the tree, being as it were impregnated with fruitful offspring, becomes more productive.” Paul’s illustration was a vivid reminder that all spirit-anointed Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles, should be united. (Ro 2:28, 29; 11:17, 18) Shown here are different grafting methods that may have been used in the first century C.E.

1. A hole is bored in the side of a branch, and a slip from another tree is inserted

2. Slits are cut into the end of a branch, and multiple slips are inserted and bound in place

3. A patch is cut out of a branch, and a slip attached to a piece of bark is bound into the opening

This farmer grafts a shoot from a wild olive tree into a cultivated, or garden, olive tree. Paul likens the cultivated olive branches to Jews and the wild olive branches to Gentiles. Many natural Jews did not put faith in Jesus, so Gentiles were grafted in to take their place as members of spiritual Israel. (Ro 11:13, 17) Paul reminds the congregation in Rome that both Jews and Gentiles must maintain their faith in Christ and appreciate God’s kindness. (Ro 10:4; 11:22) He uses the illustration of an olive tree to emphasize part of the theme of his letter to the Romans: God is impartial and holds out the possibility of salvation to “everyone having faith,” whether Jew or Gentile. Therefore, Christians must remain united, regardless of their background​—Ro 1:16, 17; 2:11; 10:12.

The olive tree (Olea europaea) was widely cultivated throughout the lands where first-century Christians lived. It can flourish even in poor or rocky soil. (De 8:8) It has an immense root system that gathers water in the dry climate. Olive trees grow slowly and can live for over one thousand years. The olives turn from green to purple or black as they ripen, and then harvesters beat the branches to shake off the mature olives. In Bible times, olive trees were highly valued as the main source of edible oil. Olive oil was also used for skin care, medicine, and fuel for lamps.​—Le 24:2; Lu 10:34.

Shown here is a sales-tax receipt from the first century C.E. It records a tax payment made to an official bank in the Roman province of Egypt on the sale of a property. The Roman Empire levied several taxes, and provinces exacted local taxes. Findings like this illustrate how some tax payments were recorded. Paul’s counsel encouraging Roman Christians to pay taxes follows the pattern set by Jesus, who told his followers: “Pay back . . . Caesar’s things to Caesar.”—Mt 22:21; Ro 13:6, 7.

The book of Acts records many of Paul’s earlier travels, including three missionary tours and his journey to Rome from Caesarea. However, Paul’s letters provide clues about his travels after his first imprisonment in Rome (that is, after c. 61 C.E.), information not recorded in Acts. For example, Paul wrote about his plans to “journey to Spain,” though it is not clear whether he was able to fulfill this desire before his second imprisonment (c. 65 C.E.). (Ro 15:24) During his first confinement in Rome, Paul wrote that he wanted to return to Philippi and also to visit Colossae. (Php 2:24; Phm 22; compare Col 4:9.) In letters to Titus and to Timothy, written after Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome, Paul provides other details about his travels. He could have been in Ephesus with Timothy during this period. (1Ti 1:3) Tit 3:12 shows that Paul decided to spend the winter in Nicopolis. This map shows some of the locations that Paul may have visited.

1. Spain—Ro 15:24 (after c. 61 C.E.)

2. Crete—Tit 1:5 (c. 61-64 C.E.)

3. Miletus—2Ti 4:20 (before c. 65 C.E.)

4. Colossae—Phm 22 (Compare Col 4:9 with Phm 10-12.) (after 61 C.E.)

5. Ephesus—1Ti 1:3 (c. 61-64 C.E.)

6. Troas—2Ti 4:13 (before c. 65 C.E.)

7. Philippi—Php 2:24 (after 61 C.E.)

8. Macedonia—1Ti 1:3 (c. 61-64 C.E.)

9. Nicopolis—Tit 3:12 (Paul was possibly arrested in Nicopolis c. 64 or 65 C.E.)

10. Rome—2Ti 1:17 (Paul’s second imprisonment, likely 65 C.E.)

Years in parentheses mean sometime during this period

These artifacts show some of the writing materials available in the first century C.E. Writers may have used a pen that was cut from the type of reed that grew along the Nile River. They normally used inexpensive black ink that was held in an inkwell. They wrote on a variety of surfaces, such as wooden tablets, clay fragments, parchment, or papyrus. A writer could compose a long letter on a scroll of papyrus and trim off the extra length for later use. For a short letter, the writer could purchase one sheet, which the vendor would cut off a roll. Most letters were brief. For example, Paul’s letter to Philemon would be considered of average length. The majority of the books in the Christian Greek Scriptures are letters, written by Jesus’ disciples under inspiration.

Shown here is a paving stone found in a plaza near the theater in Corinth. The inscription refers to an official by the name of Erastus, who is said to have laid the pavement at his own expense. In his letter to the Christians in Rome, written from Corinth, Paul included greetings from “Erastus, the city treasurer.” (Ro 16:23) The pavement with the inscription is believed to have existed in the first century C.E., so some scholars suggest that the Erastus in the inscription is the same person referred to by Paul.