Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Paul of Tarsus

5 BCE

-Paul Tarsus was the second most important founder of Christianity
-Paul Tarsus never met Jesus of Nazareth, but was still a strong believer of him
-Throughout Paul's life, he founded many churches in Asia Minor and Europe
-Paul is credited to being one of the many people to spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire

Jesus of Nazareth

33

-Nazareth, also known and Jesus Christ, was born in a society full of Jews, so his belief of god was not accepted their
-He was a religious figure to the Christians
-He was arrested by Jewish authorities, and turned over to the Roman Empire where he was crucified
-After his death, his fellow Christians believed that he rose from the dead, which created an early Church, consisting of the community of people that believed he rose from the dead

Great Fire of Rome

64

-The fire broke out in 64 AD, among the shops that lined the Circus Maximus stadium in Rome. The flames lasted 6 days, completely ruining Rome.
-Nero, their leader at the time, was behind all of this, planning to destroy 1/3 of Rome to rebuild the empire into his liking.
-Nero blamed the flames on the Christians, whom he indiscriminately and mercilessly crucified.
-The Christians saw the fire coming, so they had a backup plan, which is Nero pointed fingers at them and claimed they started it.

Roman rule of Israel (begins)

64

-The Jews, as a part of the Jewish Diaspora, migrated to Rome, and from the Roman Empire, to Israel
-The Roman general, Pompey conquered Jerusalem and established the Roman province of Syria
-Julius Caesar conquered Alexandria and defeated Pompey
-Under Julius Caesar, Judaism was officially recognized as a legal religion

Perpetua

203

-Perpetua was established as a Christian based off of what Historians read in her diary.
-Perpetua lived in North Africa, as a noblewoman and slave, with her husband and son.
-North Africa was the center of a Vibrant Christian community
-An emperor in Rome was determined to cripple Christianity, so he focused on that part of Africa, imprisoning many Christians, and eventually killing most, including Perpetua

Constantine the Great

272

-Constantine was the first Christian emperor and saw the empire becoming into a Christian state
-He issued an edict that protected Christians in Rome
-He was very dedicated to his religion, and that rubbed off on the people of Rome, making Christianity more popular in Rome.
-As a dedication to his religion, he painted the letters XP on his soldiers shields, to represent his devotion to the religion. He believed it would help Rome win the battle.

The Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

-This was the last and severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire
-Christians had always been discriminated in the empire, but early emperors were reluctant to issue general laws against them
-The emperors issued a series of edicts that revoked Christians rights, and forced them to follow standard religion in Rome
-Under the new laws, Christians were compelled to sacrifice to pagan gods, or face imprisonment and execution.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

-The battle started on October 28, 312, between Roman Emperors Constantine and Maxentius
-The night before the battle, Constantine painted the letters XP(the first 2 letters of Christ's name) on his warriors shields.
-Constantine won the battle and he believed the victory was fate because of the letters
-This battle ended Tetrarchy and allowed Constantine full power over Rome.

Edict of Milan

313

-The Edict of Milan was created to give Christians equal rights in the Roman Empire
-This was created shortly after Theodosius stopped the unfair treatment of Christians
-Constantine created it because of his victory,"due to fate" of the painted letters on the shields
-The edict gave Christians a legal status, but did not make the religion the State Church in the Roman Empire

Emperor Theodosius

395

-Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire
-He issued decrees that made Nicene Christianity the official state church of the Roman Empire
-Theodosius changed the course of Christian history in not one, but two ways
-He enforced Orthodox Christianity, and placed that power into a church