Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Jesus of Nazareth

6 BCE

1. He was born in 6-4 BC.
   
2. The Christians who believed in him got in trouble because they needed to believe in the Roman gods.
   
3. He was the leader of the Christian religion and now the most popular one.
4. He died by being put up onto a cross for believing in something else.
   
5. Jesus was only 34 when he died in his tragic death.

Paul of Tarsus

4 BCE

1. He was born somewhere around 4 BCE and was born as a Roman civilian and changed to a Christian.
2. He was a Christian and he was one of the most important people in Rome.
3. He traveled around the Mediterranean sea and was telling people about Christianity and Jesus so the religion could be bigger.
4. He was the second most important person after Jesus because he was spreading the word and making it good.
5. When people found out what he did, Paul died of being decapitated in 64 CE.
   

The Great Fire of Rome

64

1. The fire started July 18th and went to July 23rd so it lasted 5 days.
2. Nero was blamed for the fire because he wanted to "rebuild Rome to his liking."
3. The fire destroyed 60,000 buildings and only had 6 deaths.
4. That night one of the chariot shops around the Circus Maximus caught on fire, the fire spread very quickly to the Circus Maxims then to the other buildings.
5. This was when Nero started to blame things on the Christians, so he would not get in trouble for something he did.

Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

66

1. Israel for a while was under the rules of Rome and had to do whatever the Romans wanted them to.
2. The ruler for Israel decided that they wanted to leave Rome and create their own rules and own city.
3. Rome controlled Israel because they had a battle and Rome destroyed Israel in that battle.
4. Rome conquered many places because they won all of the battles against the cities.
5. When Rome took control of Israel, it was during the CE then they kept if for a long time.
   

Perpetua

181

1. She had a husband and a young son who were all Christian. When they found out she was killed with a sword.
2. When the people would be asked for a sacrifice and they say no then they go into a pit with wild animals.
3. If they did not worship the Roman gods they would be executed by wild animals.
4. She had a journal that she would write in and about getting in trouble for being a Christian.
   
5. She died on March 7, 203 AD, she only lived for 22 years.

Constantine the Great

272

1. He was born of February 27th in the city Naissus.
   
2. He is known as the best Christian ruler in the history of Rome and which he changed greatly.
   
3. He ruled Rome between 306 and 337 AD.
   
4. He was the Christians hero because he stopped the persecution and made it fair for them.
   
5. On May 22, 337 AD Constantine the Great dies for a terminal illness.
   

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

1. The Great Persecution was for the Christians, it was the most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.
2. There were about 3,000 to 3,500 Christians killed.
3. When Constantine was the ruler his favorite religion was the Christians, he was their favorite ruler.
4. The Christians were persecuted because they would not worship the Roman gods, they would only worship one god.
5. The Romans wanted to have the same beliefs and the Christians did not want that so they were persecuted.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

1. The battle was between two Roman emperors, Constantine and Maxentius.
2. Constantine and Maxentius fought on the Milvian Bridge to fight their battle.
3. Constantine made his troops draw crosses of their shields for the Christians while they fought
4. Constantine won the battle and he said it was because of the crosses on the shields and and the cross he saw in the sky.
5. Shortly after Constantine won the battle Maxentuis died of drowning by the Milvian Bridge where they fought the battle.

Edict of Milan

313

1. The Edict of Milan was a letter signed by Constantine and Licinius that was for religious toleration in the Roman empire.
2. This letter was a big deal because it was permanently there to tolerate Christians in Rome.
3. The leaders decided to let the Christians talk and after that Christianity spread through Rome quickly.
4. They had the emperors sign it so there would be no more persecutions of Christians.
5. It was a final rule in February of 313. After Christianity spread all over Rome.

Emperor Theodosius

347

1. He was born on January 1, 347 AD in Coca, Segovia Spain.
2. He was the last emperor to rule before Rome was split into West and East.
   
3. The people of Rome wanted him because he had the best military skills out of anybody.
4. Theodosius was a good ruler because he stopped the persecution of Christians and made Christianity a real religion.
   
5. Theodosius died on January 17, 395 AD from natural causes.