Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Israel

64 BCE

Roman conquered Israel in 64, by beating Syria and taking the land. The Israel people were given freedom to practice any religion they wanted to. A lot of Jews lived in Israel until they were invited back to their holy land by the only emperor to reject Christianity after Constantine, Julian.

Jesus of Nazareth

1 CE

Jesus was the son of God and a religious leader. He was born into Jewish religion but founded Christianity because the Jews didn't like that he worshiped differently. He was killed by being hanged on a cross for a long time and his followers believe that he rose from the dead. Jesus founded Christianity and his birth started a new way of counting years.

The Great Fire of Rome

64

The Great Fire of Rome destroyed around 65% of Rome and burned for 6 days. Emperor Nero was said to have either started the fire or ordered others to do it for him. In most stories, Emperor Nero was said to have been playing lyre while the fire started. Nero blammed the Christians for the fire and started persecuting them. This is the first time Christians were persectuted by the empire.

Paul of Tarsus

68

Paul of Tarsus was an important figure in the creating of Christianity. He was a follower of Jesus and built off of what he left behind. Paul spread and enforced Christianity taking certain parts of Judaism and incorporating it into Christianity to make it more legal. He did not like homeosexual people and refused them from Christianity.

Perpetua

203

Perpetua was a Christian woman who was murdered at the Carthage. She was a noblewoman who was baptized and put in prison. Before her martyrism, she gave her child to her family. She killed herself for her faith in the Carthage

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

The Great Persecution was the final and most severe of the series of persecutions. It started with edicts restricting the legal rights of Christians and demanding sacrifices to the gods. Christians were persecuted and it continued until the rule of Constantine. It is sometimes referred to as the Diocletianic Persecution and it lasted for 10 years.

Constantine the Great

312

Constantine the Great was an emperor of Rome, ruling from 306 to 337. He was the son of Ceaser and a great general. On his deathbed, he turned to the Christian faith after being a pagan for most of his life. He heavily promoted the Church and was referred to as the First Christian Emperor.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

The Battle of Milvian was the battle that made Constantine turn to Christianity. The stories say Constantine saw a vision and a dream from God telling him to win the battle in his name. Constantine won the battle and gave the credit to God after parading the decapitated head of the enemy's leader around Rome.

Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan was an agreement signed by both emperors in 313. The Edict of Milan told people to treat the Christians nonviolently and let Christianity be practiced freely in Rome. Constantine pushed for the agreement after the Battle of Milvain, where he had a vision of God.

Emperor Theodosius

379

Emperor Theodosius came into power in 379 to 395 and fought in many battles for Rome. He made a form of Christianity the official church of the Roman empire and did nothing to help the fall of other religions in Rome. He disbanned the Olymmpics and was the last emperor to rule both sides of Rome.