Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Israel begins

64 BCE

The Roman General Pompey conquered Syria and Jerusalem around 64 BC. This gave Rome the power of ruling Israel. Julius Caesar made Judaism a legal religion when he was in power. In 40 BCE Herod was recognized as the king of the Jews.

Jesus of Nazareth

4 BCE

Jesus was a religious leader that Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. Christians also believe that he was conceived by the holy spirit and born of a virgin Mary. He was arrested by Jewish leaders, turned to the Roman Government and Crucified. The birth of Jesus is celebrated on Christmas

Paul of Tarsus

5

Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ. He was actually dedicated to persecuting the Christians until he saw a vision on a road from Jerusalem to Damascus and then he converted. 13 of 27 books in the new testament of the bible are attributed to Paul. He changed his name from Saul to Paul after he converted to Christianity. He was born a Roman from Tarsus.

Great Fire of Rome

64

July 18, 64 AD – July 23, 64 AD
Public fire that the emperor Nero blamed on the Christians 1.Began in public store around Circus Maximus
2.It was very windy that night which helped the fire spread very fast.
3.After the fire 2/3 of Rome was destroyed
4.Nero was apparently not in Rome when it started.
5. Christians thought that this fire was the beginning of the "Last Judgement"

Perpetua

203

Perpetua was a martyr. This means she was killed for her beliefs. After being thrown in prison for being Christian, her father visited many times and begged her to renounce her faith. She would not so she was thrown to the beasts to die. She survived and was executed. She wrote an account of this and it helped convert many people because of her strong beliefs.

Great Persecution of 303

303

It was the last and greatest persecution of the Christians. The Emperor Diocletian sent out many edicts that took many of Christians rights. The Christians were forced to practice traditional roman beliefs. If they were caught, they would be imprisoned or executed. They were even forced to sacrifice things to gods they didn't believe in. 10 years later, Constantine sent out the Edict of Milan and made Christianity legal.

Constantine the Great

306

306-337AD
Constantine the Great was the Roman Emperor that legalized Christianity. He had a vision before he was about to go into battle of a cross. After the victory, he said that he won because of Christ. After winning a civil war, he founded a new capital in the east and named it Constantinople. Constantinople was a very Christian city with many churches and Christian buildings. Constantine gave Christians extra rights such as special promotions and tax exemptions.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

Battle between emperors Constantine and Maxentius. Constantine Won the battle and this catapulted him into power over all of Rome. Before the battle Constantine said he had a vision of a cross in the sky with the Chi-Rho on it, the first two letters of Jesus Christ's name in Greek. He had this sign printed on all of his soldiers shields for the battle. This probably led him to write the Edict of Milan and legalize Christianity.

Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan was a letter by emperors Constantine and Licinius. The Edict legalized Christianity in Rome. It prohibited the persecution of Christians. After this, a period began when Christians were honored. Some Christians were promoted to higher ranks and had taxes removed from them. Nobody knows the exact words today of the Edict.

Emperor Theodosius

379

Theodosius was the last Roman Emperor to rule over East and West Rome. He made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. After he did this, he let many other churches and temples be destroyed. He was born on Jan 11 347 and died on Jan 17 395. He also banned the Olympics in 393