Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Israel Begins

63 BCE

The Romans were in control of Israel from 63 BCE - 313 CE When the Romans took the Seleucids spot as the ruler in Israel, they granted the Hasmonean king, Hyrcanus II, limited power under the Roman ruler Damascus. A last attempt from the Jews to restore the former glory of their land was made by Mattathias Antigonus, whose death and defeat brought Hasmonean rule to an end in 40 BCE. The land then became a province of the Roman Empire.

Jesus of Nazareth

1 CE

The center of the Christian religion, believed to be the Son of God. After His death, His disciples preached the Gospel, but were eventually all killed, leading to the persecution of the Christian people.

Paul of Tarsus

34

Paul the Apostle, or Saint-Paul was the disciple of Christ that taught His gospel to the Earth after Jesus' death and resurrection.

The Great Fire of Rome

64

A fire, speculated to have been started by Nero, burned in Rome, destroying about 60% of the city. Emperor Nero used the Christians as a scapegoat for this disaster.

Perpetua

203

A 22 year old woman who was martyerd for being a faithful christian follower. She and her slave Felicity were both young mothers at the time of their deaths.

The Great Persecution

303

The Emperor Nero was the first one to start Christian persecution because of his scapegoat towards them during the Great Fire of Rome. However, many other emperors such as Diocletian, Galerius, and Decius persucuted thousands of other Christians during times of trial. Rough economic, political, and war struggles lead to the rulers blaming much of the distress on the Christian people.

Battle of Milivan Bridge

312

The Battle of Milivan Bridge was the battle that Constantine reigned victorious over Maxentius after putting Christ's initials on the shields of his soldiers.

Constantine the Great

313

Constantine was the Emperor of Rome from 306-337 CE. Constantine was having a war with Maxentius, fighting the battle of Milivan Bridge when he saw a cross of light in the clouds. Later, he had a vision that told him to put an overlapping XP on the shields of his soldiers. Constantine did what his vision told, and gave his credit to Christianity. This led to him meeting with Licinius to form the Edict of Milan, giving freedom of religion to the citizens of Rome.

Edict of Milan

313

A letter signed by the emperors Constantine and Licinius, it proclaimed freedom of religion in the Roman Empire. The letter was issued shortly after the emperor Diocletian and stopped the persecution of Christians.

Emperor Theodosius

379

Theodusius the Great was the Emperor of Rome who made Christianity the dominant religion in the empire, and stopped all persecution.