Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Jesus of Nazareth

4

-He was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader.He is the central figure of Christianity
-Most Christians believe he is the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited Messiah (the Christ) prophesied in the Old Testament.
-Jesus was the main leader of the whole religion named "Christianity". And he helped lead the group of people to be free and to believe what they thought.
-Jesus was born on 25th December
-Jesus was the biggest impact on the whole religion.

Paul of Tarsus

45

-He traveled tens of thousands of miles around the Mediterranean spreading the word of Jesus.
-Paul was the one who turned Christianity from a small sect of Judaism into a worldwide faith that was open to all.
-Paul was like a representative who went to all of the places he knew and represented his religion.
-This was a really important thing for Christianity's growth because now people started to know what Christianity was.

Roman Rule of Israel

63

-He remodeled the Temple into one of the most magnificent buildings of its time
- However, Herod failed to win the trust and support of his Jewish subjects
- In the end, the king gave a lot to the community, but however, he did not personally help the people, and he did not go deep and understood their problems

- In a way, Christianity was rising in that part of the world

The Great Fire of Rome

64

-This happened in Circus Maximus
-The flames raged for six days before coming under control; then the fire reignited and burned for another three
- While all this was happening Nero himself was miles away in the cooler coastal resort of Antium.
- History has blamed Nero for the disaster, implying that he started the fire so that he could bypass the senate and rebuild Rome to his liking.
- Nero himself blamed the fire on Christians, whom he indiscriminately and mercilessly crucified.

Perpetua

203

-Vibia Perpetua was a young woman of noble birth. She was twenty-two, a wife, a mother of a young son and a Christian.
- In the city of Carthage, on March 7 of the year 203, she was put to death for her religious convictions.
- Even though Christianity was legal in Rome, however, it was still illegal and hated things in Carthage.
- The death of her was a really big disappointment to the Christians because it still meant that Christianity is not accepted religiously.

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

-The Christians in the Roman Empire were tortured and executed because they would refuse to sacrifice to the Roman gods.
-The emperors started a series of edicts were Christians' legal rights and demanding that they comply with traditional religious practices.
-About 3,000−3,500 Christians were executed under the authority of Imperial edicts
- In the end, it was really hard for Christians to practice their religion because mostly all of Rome was targetting and keeping a watch on them.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

-Constantine won the war and he thought it happened because of Christianity.
-He also sent his mother Helena to the Holy Land where she found pieces of the cross that Jesus was crucified on.
-Now he started believing the religion of Christianity and started supporting it.
-This was good for Christianity because they were getting what they wanted "freedom and support to go on".

Edict of Milan

313

-This Edict of Milan was made on February 313
-Edict of Milan established religious toleration for Christianity within the Roman Empire.
- It was the outcome of a political agreement concluded in Mediolanum (modern Milan) between the Roman emperors Constantine I and Licinius in February 313.
-This was a win for Christianity because at least now it was tolerated in the city and so no one could attack them.
-This also allowed Christians to practice their religion freely

Constantine the Great

324

-Constantine had a dream of winning a war. He saw a cross in the sky and so he thought this was because of Christianity.
- He started believing Christians and so he let them be free and not get targeted because of their religion.
-He also really liked the religion and converted Rome to Christianity.
-This impacted Christianity in a good way because now it was getting more popular and was followed by more people.
- Before he got the dream his mother was exposing him to Christianity.

Emperor Theodosius

380

-He made it the official religion of the Roman Empire
- He also helped stop the persecution and he allowed followers of the religion to relocate.
- He neither prevented nor punished the destruction of prominent Hellenistic temples of classical antiquity. But he really liked the idea of Christianity and so he sort- of protected them and helped them grow.
- In the end, he really impacted Christianity by letting it get social and free.