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4 BCE
Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ, was a first century preacher and religious leader. He is said to be gods son and is the center of Christian religion. Jesus was crucified by the Roman government in 33 AD and was said to be resurrected and lived again and created the early church of Christians. -
5
Paul of Tarsus
Paul, previously named Saul, was born in Tarsus in 5 AD. In his early life, Paul was dedicated to persecuting Christians in Jerusalem. While Paul was on a mission to arrest certain Christians, it is said Jesus came to him in a great light, and after he received his vision back, he started to preach for Jesus and helped Christians instead of persecuting them. -
63
Roman Rule of Jerusalem
The Roman Rule of Jerusalem started in 63 BCE and ended in 313 AD. In 66 AD the first Roman/ Jewish war/revolt happened, but the Jew's rebellion was quickly put down as the Roman army outweighed them by infinite amounts. In the siege of Jerusalem, 70 AD Romans barged into the city and destroyed many temples and artifacts such as the Jewish Menorah -
64
Great Fire of Rome
The Great Fire of Rome was an urban fire in 64 AD, that caused massive amounts of destruction in the city. It lasted about six days and many different people have different theories of how it started. Some think Nero started it to blame the Christians for it, creating persecution, and some think he wasn't even there when it happened. But whatever the case, it still created massive persecution towards the Christians. -
203
Perpetua
Perpetua was a Christian noblewoman who was arrested by Emperor Septimius for taking classes preparing for baptism. Her father, a pagan, came into prison and asked her to revert back to her old religion, but Perpetua denied. Eventually, Perpetua was put in front of lions and leopards in the arena, and was quickly killed. She was still a great example for Christians of faith. -
303
The Great Persecution of 303AD
The Great Persecution, or the "Diocletianic Persecution," was the last well known mass persecution of Christians. In the year 303, multiple emperors issued the law forcing Christians to follow the regular religion. Christians had always been subject to discrimination in the empire, but no previous emperors had put law against them. Persecution greatly faded when Constantine accepted Christians. -
307
Constantine the Great
Constantine the Great, or "Constantine the First," was the Roman emperor from 307-337BCE. All around Constantine was a good leader and improved Roman society in many ways. During a war, Constantine was said to seen the cross in the sky with the words,"In this sign, conquer." he thought this as a sign that Jesus was on their side and added Christian symbols to all the shields in the army. It created publicity and acceptance for Christians. -
312
Battle of Milvian Bridge
The Battle of Milvian Bridge was a battle between rulers Constantine and Maxentius on October the 12th, 312 AD. Constantine led the Romans to victory, and this Battle marked the beginning of his change to Christianity, when, before the battle, he is said to have seen a cross in the sky, with the words, "In this sign, conquer," which made him think they fought under the protection of god and Christ. -
313
Edict of Milan
The Edict of Milan, created in February, 313 AD was the agreement throughout the Roman empire to treat Christians "benevolently." Constantine and Licinius (leader of the Balkans) meet in Milan and decided to create this policy. This policy gave Christianity legal status, but didn't make them the church of Rome. The law is written by both Constantine and Licinius, and there records have a couple of differences, but in all, The law greatly stopped persecution against Christians in Rome . -
347
Theodosius the Great
Theodosius was a Roman emperor born in 347 AD and died in 395. Early in his reign, during a period of strong illness, he accepted Christian baptism. After the years, Theodosius was given the nickname, "Emperor for Christ," as many of his actions were based on the Christian religion.
