Church History, Historical Background into which Christ and Later His Church Came

Political contributions: mainly by the Romans

A sense of unity of mankind.

Roman citizenship to non-Romans.

Peace maintained by Roman soldiers.

Roman roads were an excellent system leading to all parts of the empire. 

Roman army: These were provincials who later returned with the gospel to their homes.

Intellectual contributions: mainly from the Greeks

Universal language: Greek became the common language and remained that way even during the Roman Empire, until later when it was replaced by Latin.

Greek culture: Philosophy had failed to satisfy spiritual needs and had created a vacuum in the hungry lives of the people.

Religious contributions 

Roman religions included many things which were to be the basis for Christianity. They had no Savior or God, resurrection and blood sacrifice. This prepared the people for these basic doctrines in Christianity.

Greek philosophy had destroyed the polytheistic worship.

Jewish religion was based on monotheism, provided the channel for the Messiah, had pure ethical standards, had the Old Testament Scriptures, and nurtured Christ in His birth.