Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

63 BCE

• Rome ruled over Israel from 63 BCE until 313 CE
• Taking control of Israel meant that Rome could freely move between continents
• Most people in Israel were practicing Judaism at the time
• Roman leaders said that Israel could continue to practice their religion as long as they obeyed the Roman rule

Jesus of Nazareth

4 BCE

• He was a Jewish preacher and religious leader
• He is regarded to most Christians as the incarnation of God
• It is believed that he was crucified and then rose from the dead to later ascend into heaven
• Jesus' life and death propelled the Christian church into what it is today and half of the bible is based on his existence

Paul of Tersus

33

• Paul was originally a man who persecuted Christians
• When Jesus came to him in a vision and said he would be baptized, Paul had a major change of heart
• He began teaching other people about Jesus and the Christian faith
• He was one of the most important people when it came to growing the Christian church

Great Fire of Rome

64

• Lasted 6 days (July 18 - July 23), came under control, then reignited
• Two-thirds of Rome was destroyed in the fire
• Some people today believe Nero started the fire to bypass the Senate and build Rome to his liking
• Nero blamed the fire on the Christians that he had already been persecuting
• There was a prophecy at the time that predicted there would be a fire in Rome and some believe the fire was started by Christians who wanted the prophecy to be true.

Perpetua

203

• Perpetua was a Christian woman who was arrested for taking classes to prepare for baptism
• She was sentenced to death in the gladiator arena
• Perpetua was killed by a sword
• She was one of the first martyrs to die for the Christian church

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

• It was the last but most severe persecution of Christians in Rome
• The emperors at the time issued a series of edicts that took away Christian's rights and demanded they follow traditional religions
• Many Christians were killed - being burnt alive, being beaten to death, and mutilation were popular ways to kill Christians
• Lasted for roughly 10 years
• Constantine's Edict of Milan marked the official end of the Great Persecution

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

• The battle was fought between Constantine and Maxentius
• Constantine and Maxentius had been in a five-year dispute over the control of the western part of Rome
• On Oct. 28th, they engaged in conflict and Constantine began to push Maxentius' army toward the Tiber River where Constantine overtook Maxentius' army.
• Constantine won the battle and became the sole ruler of the Roman Empire.
• He established Christianity as the empire's official religion.

Constantine the Great

313

• He was emperor of Rome from 306-337
• He was the first emperor to adopt Christianity in 313
• It is said Constantine saw a vision of a cross in the sky and then later had a dream about God
• He had his soldiers put the sign of the Christian God on their shields when going into battle and they ended up winning
• He later issued the Edict of Milan which allowed freedom of religion throughout Rome and granted legality to the Christian religion.

Edict of Milan

313

• The Edict of Milan was established in 313
• It provided permanent religious toleration for Christians and other religions within Rome
• Constantine ordered it to be made after adopting Christianity himself
• The edict itself was written by Constantine and Licinius

Emperor Theodosius

392

• He was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of Rome
• He got sick early in his reign and got baptized within the church
• He established Christianity as the Roman religion