“Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire”

Jesus of Nazareth

4 BCE

-the central figure of Christianity they believe he is the incarnation of God the Son
-Jesus born into a family from a village called Nazareth, near the Sea of Galilee.As he was growing up, Judaea was collapsing into chaos.
-Christianity teaches that Jesus is the Messiah told in the old Testament and the Son of God.
-Christians believe that through his death and resurrection, humans are promise eternal life.
- Jesus grew up in Nazareth from some point in his childhood.

Great Fire Of Rome

64

• People believe that Nero began the fire and used the Christians as scapegoats.
• Nero had some Christians thrown to the beast and burned alive
• the fire started in the enormous Circus Maximus stadium -When the fire was finally extinguished six days later, 10 of Rome's 14 districts were burned. -Nero wanted to completely destroy the city so he could build a new palace. -Nero blamed the Christians for this tragedy
  

Paul of Tarsus

64

-He taught the gospel of Christianity to the first century world.
-He took advantage of his status as both a Jew and a Roman citizen minister to both Jewish and Roman audiences.
-had enormous influence on Christian theology, especially on the relationship between God the Father and Jesus
- he traveled tens of thousands of miles around the Mediterranean spreading the word of Jesus
- Paul was dedicated to persecuting the early disciples of Jesus in the area of Jerusalem prior to his conversion

Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

66

-first Jewish
-Roman war
-The battle was put down by the Roman Emperors Vespasian and Titus
- In the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Romans destroyed much of the Temple in Jerusalem
- plundered artifacts from the Temple, such as the Menorah.

Perpetua

181

-was a young woman of noble birth. She was twenty-two, a wife, a mother of a young son and a Christian
- Perpetua was one of five Christians condemned to death in the arena.
-helped strengthen and grow the numbers in the church.
-She died in March 7, 203 AD
-Christian martyrs of the 3rd century.

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

-Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.
-the Emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights and demanding that they comply with traditional religious practices.
-3,000−3,500 Christians were executed under the authority of Imperial edicts.
-Diocletian started the Great persecution
-The great persecution lasted two years.
- The great persecution ended in April 30, 311

Constantine the Great

306

-Constantine was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity.
-He played a very important role in the proclamation of the Edict of Milan in 313, which declared religious tolerance for Christianity in the Roman empire.
-Constantine the Great died from a terminal illness
-His birth name was Flavius Valerius Constantinus.
- He died in May 22, 337, Ancyrona, near Nicomedia, Bithynia

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

• took place between the Roman Emperors Constantine I and Maxentius -outside Rome was a crucial moment in a civil war that ended with Constantine -The Roman Empire and Christianity established as the empire's official religion.
• an important route over the Tiber. -Maxentius came out to fight and was destroyed at the Milvian Bridge, which carried the Via Flaminia over the Tiber into the city.
• Eusebius of Caesarea recounts that Constantine and his soldiers had a vision sent by a Christian God.

Edict of Milan

313

-The Edict of Milan was a letter signed by the Roman emperors Constantine and Licinius
-proclaimed religious toleration in the Roman Empire.
- stopped the persecution of Christians.
-Constantine and Licinius declaring the practice of Christianity legal in the Roman empire Emperor Constantine's tolerance
- allowed acceptance for Christianity paved the way for its rapid spread throughout the Roman empire and Europe.
-Constantine became a Christian after he won the war.

Emperor Theodosius

379

-He reunited the Eastern and Western Roman Empire, but was the last emperor of both parts of the empire.
-After his death, the two parts split permanently.
- Made emperor because of his military abilities, he settled the long-standing Gothic problem by allowing the Goths to settle South of the Danube as allies of Rome.
-emperor Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica, which made Christianity, the official religion of the Roman Empire.
-He died on Jan. 17, 395