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63 BCE
Roman Rule of Israel (starting)
- Lasted from 63 BC to 313 CE.
- Land became a province of Rome
- Romans suppressed Jewish beliefs, angering the Jews, so they revolted, but it failed (66 CE)
- Remaining Jewish outposts were overtaken, and Jerusalem was destroyed
- Jews were devastated at the loss of Jerusalem, and the ones living there were sold into slavery
- In 132 CE, Jews revolted again and retook Jerusalem and Judea
- 3 years later, they were retaken by Romans
- Jewish religion survived despite their constant struggles
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1 CE
Jesus of Nazareth
- Born in Bethlehem
- Conceived by Mary, the heavenly mother
- Descended from Heaven to help humans
- He was the messiah and savior
- Offered salvation and knowledge
- Purified and saved humans from sin with his love
- Made death powerless
- Died on the Cross to express his love and the prospect of eternal life
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2
Paul of Tarsus
- Born in 2 CE, was an influential figure in Christianity
- Unified and outlined the direction that the church was going, set up christian principles
- He emphasized and believed in the idea that salvation is a matter of faith, not religious traditions and rituals
- Was Jewish, and persecuted Christians along with the rest of the Romans
- Received a vision of Christ and became a faithful devotee
- Vision : Christ asking Paul why he was persecuting the Christians. This led to Paul's faithfulness
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64
The Great Fire of Rome
- Started in the Circus Maximus
- Lasted six days
- 70% of Rome was destroyed
- 10 out of the 14 districts burned
- Nero blamed the fire on Christians (but it is possible that Nero started it)
- Citizens believed that Christians started the fire, giving them a bad reputation
- Certain people possibly empathized with the Christians from this event for being misunderstood
- People didn't want to become Christian
- Christians met secretly to avoid punishment
- Not much spread in the religion
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202
Perpetua
- A girl martyred in Carthage
- Was young, married, healthy, and had a infant child
- Arrested for being Christian
- Her family attempted to disconnect her from the faith, but she refused
- Had a vision of a ladder leading up to heaven, filled with traps and dangers, but she made it
- Lost hope in her mortal life and was killed by a beast in prison
- She left her child to her family
- She imagined that her fight with the beast would be, in reality, against the devil, and that she would win
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272
Constantine the Great
- Lived from February 27, 272 - May 22 337
- Emperor of Rome
- Led in the Battle of Milvian Bridge
- Before the battle, he had a vision of the cross presenting that he will be victorious if he follows the sign
- Constantine placed crosses on his men's shields
- Claimed his victory was because of the power of God and Christians
- Supported Christianity
- Legalized the religion(Edict of Milan)
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303
Great Persecution of 303 CE
- 19th year of Diocletian's reign
- Order to raze churches and burn Scriptures
- If Christians professed their faith, they would lose their freedom
- An attempt to destroy the Christian religion, but they persevered and Christianity eventually spread
- The religion was kept underground and secret for many years
- After 80 years of persecution, Christians were finally able to rebuild their churches
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312
Battle of Milvian Bridge
- Constantine (40,000 men ) vs Maxentius(100,000 men)
- A civil war between emperor canidates
- Maxentius aimed to fight of Constantine's seige, but were defeated
- They tried to escape across the Milvian Bridge, but it was crushed under the weight of his troops
- Before the battle, Constantine ordered his troops to bear the sign of Christ on their weapons, and they ended up victorious
- Led to Constantine's rise to power and him supporting Christianity and allowing it to spread
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313
Edict of Milan
- Agreed between Licinius Augustus and Constantine
- Christianity became a legal practice
- Christians received unrestricted religious worship without punishments
- Allowed to worship publicly and without restraint
- Aimed to give rights of dignity and religion to all religions to better Rome (to not anger whatever deities that possibly exist)
- Spread the Christian religion, as the religion didn't need to stay underground and secret anymore, and there were no repercussions to the practice.
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346
Emperor Theodosius
- Born at Cauca, Spain in 246 CE
- Ruler of Rome
- Persistent in making Nicene Christianity the primary religion of most Christians in the middle ages
- Made Christianity the religion of the state, destroying paganism and spreading Christianity
- He put his personal and family interests before the interests of the rest of the Roman populace, so two civil wars ensued, which were the beginning of the fall of Rome.
