Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

63 BCE

Roman forces under Pompey conquered Judea. The Jews had to pay tribute to the Romans. However, they refused to abandon their religion, so Roman leaders allowed them to practice their religion as long as they were obeying the Roman laws. This rule over Israel ended in 313.

Jesus of Nazareth

1 BCE

Jesus Christ was a spiritual leader who was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth. Jesus preached a message of redemption, salvation, forgiveness, eternal life and warning. He had many followers, or disciples, that believed in him. He performed many miracles of healing and was eventually crucified around 34 A.D.

Paul of Tarsus

5

Paul, formerly known as Saul, was originally against the teachings that Jesus was the Messiah. However, during a trip to Damascus, he had an experience that led to his conversion to Christianity. Paul believed that God had sent him to convert non-Jews. He helped make Christianity extend thoughout eastern Mediterranean and emphasized new doctrines that helped distinguish Christianity from Judaism. He was condemed to death by Emperor Nero around 64 A.D.

Great Fire of Rome

64

It is thought that Emperor Nero set fire to Rome because he wasn't mentally stable and wanted to rebuild the city the way he planned. The fire burned more than 2/3 of the city during a 6 day period. He used the Christians as a scapegoat and blamed them for all the destruction.

Perpetua

203

Perpetua was a Roman noblewoman who was arrested for being a Christian. She wrote an account of her imprisonment including visions and dreams. She was arrested with her slave, Felicity who was also a nursing mother. The last section had to be written by someone else because both Perpetua and Felicity were thrown to the beasts. When the beasts failed to kill the two women, soldiers came and finished the job. Perpetua was described as a courageous and faithful young woman who inspired many people.

The Great Persecution

303

Emperor Diocletian created a tetrarchy to bring stability to the empire. He and another tetrarch named Galerius decided to persecute Christians because they believed reuniting the empire included the same belief of the old gods. Several thousand Christians were killed, including many Christian leaders. The Great Persecution is known as one of the last and the harshest persecution of Christians and ended in 311.

Constantine the Great

306

Constantine tried to bring control to Rome and fought Maxentius, another emperor. Before one of the biggest battles against Maxentius, Constantine claimed he saw a vision of a cross in the sky with a message that translated to "In this sign, you will conquer" and a dream to put the labarum on the shields of his soldiers. He eventually won the Battle of Milvian Bridge. He then compromised with a man named Licinius and created the Edict of Milan. He also founded the city Constantinople in 330 AD.

The Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

The Battle of Milvian Bridge was a battle between Constantine and Maxentius, two of the tetrarchs of Rome. It was shortly before this battle that Constantine had a vision that would help him win the battle. He took the vision as a sign from the Christian God and honored him by creating the Edict of Milan. Other results of this battle included the ending of the tetrarchy and Constantine becoming the only ruler of the Roman Empire.

Edict of Milan

313

After his success at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, Constantine gave permission to the Christians to practice their beliefs. The Edict of Milan is the result of a compromise that happened in Milan between Emperors Constantine and Licinius. This edict helped Christianity spread rapidly and by 500 BC, a large majority of the Roman Empire was Christian.

Emperor Theodosius

379

Emperor Theodosius ruled from approximately 379 to 395 and was the Roman Emperor who outlawed all the public non-Christian sacrifices and ceremonies in 391. He withdrew the state's support from all the other religions and is mainly responsible for the disappearance of polytheism throughout the empire.