Christianity in the Roman Empire

The Roman Rule of Israel

63 BCE

Throughout the book of Acts, Israel was under Roman rule, which had been the case since Rome wrested the region from Syria in 64 BC. During the New Testament era, the Roman Empire ruled most of the known world. The first kings managed to expand Rome by conjuring neighboring territories. Eventually, a king named Tarquinius Superbus came into power and drove the people to revolt. After this uprising, Rome became a republic which gave their citizens a voice in political and national affairs.

Jesus of Nazareth

30

Jesus is the religious leader revered in Christianity. His mother was supposedly a virgin, and it was thought that she was pregnant with the child from the Holy Spirit. He became a healer and a preacher after he was baptized in his mid 30's. Sometime between 29 and 33 AD in Jerusalem for Passover, he was deemed a threat and was arrested, tried, and executed. His disciples were convinced he was still living and appeared to them. They converted others to believe in him which led to a new religion

Paul of Tarsus

33

Saint Paul was an apostle who taught the gospel of Christ to the first-century world. Paul was dedicated to persecuting the early disciples of Jesus around Jerusalem. Paul was traveling on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus on a mission to "arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem" when Jesus appeared to him. He was struck blind, but after three days his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus and Paul began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah and the Son of God.

The Great Fire of Rome

64

The emperor Nero was blamed for this fire. He wanted to destroy a third of Rome so that he could build many palaces that would be known as Neropolis but everyone objected to it. Then the night of July 19th 64 A.D. a fire broke out among Rome's mammoth chariot stadium and spread. The fire went on for 6 days, burnt out, and then ignited again for another 3. He ended up blaming the Christians because their secret area of Rome was untouched by the fire and they were the minority.

Perpetua

203

Perpetua and Felicity were Christian martyrs who had to choose between execution or turning their backs on the lord. Perpetua was a well-educated 22 year old married mother with a nursing infant. Felicity was her servant and 7 months pregnant as well. Together they were imprisoned and later ended up being put to death along with others at Carthage in the Roman province of Africa.

The Great Persecution of 303 AD

303

The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and worst persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. Christians were subject to local discrimination and In 303, the Emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius came up with many edicts that demanded Christians to practice traditional religions. Christians were to sacrifice to pagan gods or face imprisonment and execution.

Constantine the Great

312

Constantine was the first emperor to follow Christianity. He came into contact with christianity when he had a vision that told him to paint a Christian symbol onto his soldiers shields for a battle he was going to fight. He later won that battle. After winning this battle he became the Western Roman emperor in 312. He then used his power to address the status of Christians, issuing the Edict of Milan in 313. Then In 324 Constantine defeated Licinius and took control of a reunited empire.

The Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

This battle was a crucial moment in a civil war that ended with Constantine I as sole ruler of the Roman Empire and with Christianity as the empires official religion. Constantine believes that the reason he won this battle was because of a vision he had the night before having to do with a cross on his soldiers shields. This victory had to do with skill as well. Maxentius, Constantine's enemy, had placed his troops too close to the river which allowed Constantine's troops to trap them.

The Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan was the outcome of a political agreement concluded in Milan between the Roman emperors Constantine I and Licinius. This granted everybody freedom to practice christianity and whatever religion they pleased without consequences. Edicts that were published before hand did not last long but the Edict of Milan established religious toleration.

Emperor Theodosius

379

After being crowned emperor in the East Theodosius continued to battle German tribes in the north, but finally worked out an arrangement with them. For exchange of land and provisions, their soldiers would serve for the Roman banner when needed. Also early in his reign, while he was battling an illness, Theodosius had accepted Christian baptism. He ended his reign by defeating political enemies in the West. Then by late 349 he stood alone as emperor of a once-more united empire.