Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

63 BCE

1. Rome fought with Syria to get Israel in 64 BC
2. Romans let Jews keep their religious practices as long as they complied with Roman law
3. Made many Jews come to realize that their right to worship God was now a privilege
4. During the new testament era, Rome ruled most of the world
5. Rome's government was unstable and Jews didn't want that kind of environment taking over their region

Jesus of Nazareth

5 BCE

1. Jesus was born in Bethlehem between 4 and 6 BC
2. He did not earn the title of Jesus Christ until after his death
3. His parents were known as Joseph and Mary but referred to as the son of god
4. Jesus was executed but his disciples believed that he was still living
5. They lead other to believe in him and created the birth of Christianity

Paul of Tarsus

4 BCE

1. Born in Tarsus or modern day Turkey
2. He once wanted to kill Christians but he ended up one of the churches greatest saints
3. Him and his family were faithful Jews and prayed that god would send his son
4. Paul started to persecute Jesus' followers and anybody under the name of a "christian"
5. Paul was blinded by Jesus then baptized by one of his disciples and was no longer blind. He then began to teach other about Jesus
6. He was thought to have been born in 4 BCE

Great Fire of Rome

64

1. July 19th 64 CE a fire started in the Circus Maximus
2. 10 of Rome's total 14 districts were burned in the fire
3. It's thought to have been Nero's fault for the fire
4. There were two theories on how the fire started: 1. Nero wanted the fire to destroy the city so that he could build his new palace. 2. It was started by a citizen living in a slum that caught fire.
5. Most modern historians however don't blame Nero for the fire
6. The fire ended on

Perpetua

182

1. She wrote a journal about her imprisonment.
2. Perpetua was a christian
3. Most of the things she wrote about were about her dreams or visions of her entering heaven while she was in prison
4. The day before her death she gave her h]journal to another Christian to continue her writings
5. She was executed in the area on March 7th, 203.

Constantine The Great

272

1. Constantine was born in 272
2. He was an early 4th century roman emperor and he was the first emperor who saw the empire starting to become a christian state
3. He was the first emperor of source of power to submit to Christianity
4. He saw a vision of a cross from the heavens and then had the cross painted on his soldiers shields
5. He ended up founding the city of Constantinople after defeating Licinius and gaining his power

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

1. A very severe persecution of Christians in the roman empire.
2. Diocletian and Galerius were partnering against Christianity and declared that the Christians will be killed.
3. If a person had shown evidence of being christian or admitted it, he/she would be executed.
4. Emperors took away some of the Christians legal rights demanded that they comply with the traditional roman religious practices.
5. This did not end until Constantine saw his vision and turned to the christian side.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

1. Constantine the Great was a current emperor
2. Constantine was the leader of Britain and Gual while his brother-in-law Maxentius wanted war against Galerius and seized Italy and Rome
3. Galerius died in AD 311 and the very next year Constantine invaded Italy and won a couple other battles and set his sights on Rome
4. Maxentius joined the fight and lost at the Milvian Bridge
5. In AD 324 Constantine was made the ruler of the Roman Empire

Edict of Milan

313

1. A letter signed by Constantine and Licinius
2. The letter proclaimed the toleration of Christianity in the Roman Empire
3. The letter was put to use in 313 AD and ended the persecution of Christians
4. Also assured people to worship whatever religion they please
5. The letter was concluded in Milan and that is where it gets it's name

Emperor Theodosius

347

1. He was born in northwestern Spain and his fathers name was general Flavius
2. As he grew up, he became a military leader like his father and ended up defeating the Samaritans
3. When his father was sentenced to death, he returned to Spain and ended up getting married and had two kids
4. His son would grow up to be an emperor like him
5. Theodosius's main goal as emperor was to consolidate Rome’s position on the Balkan Peninsula.