Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Jesus of Nazareth

4 BCE

Jesus of Nazareth was a Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the basis of the Christian religion. He is seen as the long awaited Messiah that was prophesied in the old testament. He is also believed to have been the incarnation of the son of god. The switch from BCE to CE was approximated to the approximate birth of Jesus. Jesus died and was said to have been resurrected on the year 33.

Roman Rule of Israel Begins

63

Israel was placed under Roman rule as a last attempt to restore the former glory of the Hasmonean Dynasty. The Hasmonean Dynasty was a time when Israel was ruled by Mattathias Antigonus, it was brought to and end upon the death of Mattathias Antigonus. The time that followed was when Christianity started spreading to throughout the Roman Empire, since the now Roman province of Israel was the hub of Christianity at the time.

The Great Fire of Rome

64

The Great Fire of Rome was a terrible occurrence where much of Rome burned to the ground for the duration of 6 days. It is said that 3 of the 14 sectors completely burned down, and that only 4 were left untouched. There are many rumors about what happened, and most of them talk about Nero causing it for his own gain. It is also said that Nero blamed the already unpopular Christians, which led to many of the terrible hardship that Christians had to face in the years to come.

Paul of Tarsus

64

Paul of Tarsus was one of the most important figures of the Apostolic age. Paul of Tarsus was one of the twelve apostles, who taught the gospel of Christ to the world. In the bible 13 of the 27 books of the new testament were attributed to Paul. Paul was charged with arresting and bringing the early disciples of Jesus back to Jerusalem. Then the resurrected Jesus appeared to him, and blinded him. 3 days later his sight returned and he started to preach that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah.

Perpetua

203

Vibia Perpetua was a Married noblewomen that was christian. She was martyred together with a slave, Felicity in 203. Felicity was pregnant, and Perpetua was caring for an infant. The two were killed as a show against Christianity by Romans. She is now a saint together with her companion, Felicity.The other people that were martyredat the time are, 2 slaves, Revocatus and Felicitas, 2 free men, Saturninus and Secundulus, and Saturus, who went to the magistrate and proclaimed himself a christian.

The Great Persecution

303

The great persecution during which the Christians were harassed and killed by the masses. The emperors at the time were Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius, they issued laws that limited the legal rights of the Christians, which was the first step towards prosecution. This was the last, but also greatest time of persecution of Christians. The end of The Great Persecution came with the Edict of Milan in 313.

Constantine the Great

306

Constantine the Great was the first ever Christian Emperor. With his rise came the end of most of the persecution. One day during a campaign just before The Battle of Milvian Bridge Emperor Constantine was said to have seen a vision of god. because of it he painted the Christian symbol on the shields of his troops and fought in gods name. After his great victory he said that success was because of god. He then gave all Christians equal rights to non Christians.

The Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

The Battle of Milvian Bridge was a great victory for emperor Constantine during his campaign. Constantine and his troops saw a vision in the sky, that stated they would be victorious if they painted the symbol of Christianity on their shields. So they did, and were extremely victorious. Because of this battle Constantine began to favor Christianity and organized the Edict of Milan to be signed to give equality to all religions, including Christianity.

Edict of Milan

313

The two Emperors, Constantine I and Licinius met in Milan in 313 to sign an agreement about the freedoms of Christians. The Edict of Milan States that there should be equality for all religions, however mostly it meant the equality of Christianity. The Edict of Milan also completely ended the Great Persecution.

Emperor Theodosius

392

Emperor Theodosius, or Theodosius the Great was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire. Theodosius was known for having issued decrees to make Nicene Christianity the state church of the Roman Empire. He is the emperor that officially converted all of Rome to Christianity. He also led many campaigns against the Goths and Barbarians that had invaded Rome. Yet, he did not have the resources to completely drive them out, so he signed treaties instead.