Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire timeline

The Romans replaced the Seleucids and the Jews were hostile to the new regime. In 37 BC, Herod was the King of Judea, which was decided by Rome. In the Eastern part of Rome, it was a very huge Monarch due to this. Herod didn't succeed in winning the trust of the Jews. The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple was very bad for the Jews as many people became slaves. Jews and Judaism did survive the downfall and was passed on to future generations while Halakhah was the common bond for all Jews.

Jesus attracted twelve disciples who were mostly fishermen and common workers. To the Christians, he was one who was a martyr. In Rome, he was arrested for treason and was a troublemaker to the Romans. As a result, he was crucified, which was a common thing for criminals. This execution helped the Romans express hatred on Christians, but ironically, this was the start of the spread of Christianity.

Paul of Tarsus's writing emphasized celibacy and the theory of divine grace and salvation on Christianity. He went to Antioch, Turkey to convert many Gentiles to Christianity and was a big influence on Christianity. Paul wrote seven different letters to Christian churches that are still read today. He was later arrested in Jerusalem and was tried in Rome in 60 CE. Then the Roman emperor Nero decided to behead Paul of Tarsus after being arrested for 2 years. He promoted Christianity to the world.

Nero used Christians as scapegoat to hide his mistakes that he made in Rome as an emperor. It distracted the public about the real issues that happened at the time. Emperor Nero only ruled Rome for less than two decades, but threw Christians to the beasts and burned them alive. People viewed the fire as Nero's approach to rebuild Rome and make it as a glorious city. According to Tacitus, Nero returned from Antium to organize relief efforts.

Perpetua was a Christian Martyr who was daughter of a provincial family. Roman emperor Severus forbade Christianity to Judaism, which caused Perpetua to be arrested. She was consequently tried and killed in the arena. Other Christians who were her companions were fed to the beasts while Perpetua decided to die by sword. During her imprisonment, she wrote a journal "The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity" that described her experiences and fear before she died. Perpetua inspired many people.

Diocletian was always against Christians and made sure their deaths were painful and cruel. Emperor Diocletian and his tetrarches, Galerius, agreed to persecute Christians which was known as the The Great Persecution. This persecution was viewed by Christians as Diocletian's attempt to push them out of society. This was the last official "persecution of of Christianity" in Rome and no more blood was shed after that. Many thousand Christians died and were fed to beasts.

Constantine made Christianity the most important religion in Rome. He met with the Eastern emperor to issue the Edict of Milan, making Christianity legal. Constantine also sponsored the construction of new churches, put Christians to high positions in the government, and gave special rights to Christians. Furthermore, he chose Christianity to serve as his political propaganda. People referred to him as a saint and isapostolos in many different Christian churches.

Diocletian fought against Constantine the Great in which Constantine win, causing Rome to convert its main religion to Christianity. This battle was a series of battles that led to Constantine mastering the Roman empire. As Constantine took over Rome, Christianity started to become one of the biggest events in history. He had Christian symbols marked on his army's shields and thanked the gods for the victory at Milvian Bridge. He dreamed about Christ telling him to use the cross on his enemies.

Constantine, who ruled Western parts of the empire, and Linus, who ruled the east agreed to end the persecution of Christianity. As a result, they signed the Edict of Milan in February 313 AD. Constantine then started to favor Christianity and funded new churches that worshiped Christianity. Basically, the Edict of Milan stated people could practice Christianity without the fear of being persecuted, killed, or punished. This lead to Christianity being a very important religion in Rome.

Theodosius was the man who enforced orthodox Christianity and placed his power under that church. Early in his life, he already accepted Christian baptism when he suffered a serious illness. In 380, he announced himself as a Christian of the Nicene Creed. Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica, making Christianity the primary religion in Rome. Also, Theodosius was such a huge supporter of Christianity that he was a saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church.