Rise of Christianity in Roman Empire

Jesus of Nazareth

4 BCE

1. Jesus is born in 4 BCE and will become the head of the Christian religion.
2. Jesus had 12 disciples called prophets that learn and spread the word about Christianity
3. Jesus was proclaimed as "God's Son" and was able to perform miracles and heal others.
4. Jesus was said to be crucified on a cross by Roman soldiers after the Last Supper.
5. Shortly after death, Jesus rises out of his tomb and ascends into heaven.

Roman Rule of Israel

37

1. Roman expanded into Asia minor and the Mediterranean where Judaism was present.
2. Judea was a civilization until Rome took it over and Judea rebelled.
3. The Roman punished the Jews by breaking their precious treasures.
4. Jews were given certain rights in the Roman Empire.
5. Israel was a prime spot for Rome because the coudl be connected to Asia and Africa.
   

The Great Fire of Rome

64

1.The fire develops on the Palatine Hill and spread North towards the city.
2. Nero, the Emperor at the time, was allegedly the one who started the fire.
3. Nero was thought to be restarting Rome, because he thought that it needed to be redone or made better.
4. A few hundred people were left dead and thousands more were left injured.
5. Nero blames the fire on the Christians who were constantly thrown under the bus and tortured.

Paul of Tarsus

64

1. Paul was a Roman Citizen and a Jew.
2. Paul experienced a vision of Jesus speaking to him, he later started fasting and praying.
3. He became a missionary for Christianity and started writing.
4. He was in Jerusalem and was arrested, he was later killed by Nero in Rome in 64.
5. He was one of Jesus' apostles and taught the Gospel, and became a Saint.

Perpetua

203

1. Perpetua was a noblewoman who was put in prison for practicing Christianity
2. She refused to give up he religion and, so her friends and her were placed into a stadium with gladiators and beasts.
3. She did end up getting killed in the stadium by a sword in 203 CE.
4. Her diary was found and Augustine studied her last days.
   
5. For their bravery, Perpetua and Felicitas became Saints in the Christian community.

Constantine the Great

272

Born in 272
1.After his father's death in 312, Constantine becomes the emperor of the West.
2. He was an army general and fought all around Europe against different civilizations, including Maxentius.
3. In battle, looking up at the sky and saw a Christian symbol that helped to guide them.

4.Constantine created the Edict of Milan which made Christianity legal and everyone was allowed to have choice of worship.
5.Constantine helped to spread Christianity across Rome when he was the Emperor.

The Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

1. Diocletian made laws that banned Christian Churches and books.
2. With these laws came a lot of death, destruction, and torture of Christians.
3. Citizens were punished for no sacrificing towards the Roman gods or the Emperor
4. After Diocletian retired from Emperor, the later emperors had no interest in persecution of Christians.
   
5. Constantine the Great came in after a few years and set everything right with the Edict of Milan.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

1. Diocletian was the emperor and he persecuted the Christians in the early stages of Christianity.
2. Constantine later became the emperor of Rome and was also the general.
3. In 312 CE, Maxentius looks for revenge against Constantine and they battle.
4. The Milvian Bridge was built of the Tiber river, Constantine was outnumbered by 30,000 troops.
5. Constantine said that they looked up in the sky and saw the Christian cross, which helped to lead them to victory

Edict of MIlan

313

1. Christians were frowned upon for many years during the early Roman days.
2. Diocletian made the "Great Persecution", which allows for torture and killing of Christians
   
3. Constantine during the Battle at Milvian Bridge saw a vision of the cross, which lead them to victory.
4. Constantine adopted the idea of Christianity and made it legal in the Edict of Milan, along with freedom of religion.
5. Christianity was quickly picked up by many of the Roman citizens and it continued to grow.
   

Emperor Theodosius

378

1. Theodosius was born and grew up in present day Spain.
2. His father Flavius, was a general and Theodosius often came along during battles.
3. In 378 CE Theodosius becomes the emperoor of Rome after Valentinian and Valens dies.
   
4. Rome needed better soldiers, so he found barbarians in a small settlement in Rome.
5. The Pagan faith was created by Eugenius and Theodosius battled him, Theodosius prevailed and was the only Emperor of both East and West Roman Empire.