Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Jesus of Nazareth

4

As the central figure in Christianity he is also referred to as Jesus or Jesus Christ. He was a Jewish preacher and religious leader. Christians believe that he is the son of God.

Paul of Tarsus

5

At first he persecuted Christians but then on one voyage he saw the resurrected Jesus and he went blind for three days. After this encounter he would believe that Jesus is the son of God. He spread Christian gospel in the 1st century and would be later named a saint.

Roman Rule of Israel

44

The Romans occupied Israel for a while but it wasn't until 44 CE that it came under direct rule. Before that it had it's own king that would run the government, though the Romans had the true control over it.

Great Fire of Rome

64

A fire started in the shops lining the Circus Maximus. It burned for a total of nine days. Two-thirds of Rome was burned in this incident and 10/14 of the districts of Rome were destroyed. The citizens and history blame the emperor of the time Nero for the disaster but he tried to scapegoat and blame the Christians for the disaster.

Perpetua

203

She was a Christian martyr who was imprisoned in Carthage. She had a vision from God that martyrs would suffer greatly. Before her execution her father begged her to change her faith so she wouldn't get executed but her passion was too much to abandon her religion so she would become a saint.

Great Prosecution

303

Last and most severe prosecution of this time period. Emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts taking away the rights of Christians

Constantine the Great

306

He wrote the Edict of Milan and started to rebuild the government. He also created the solidus, a gold coin. But perhaps the most important thing about him was that he was the first emperor to convert to Christianity

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

This marked the beginning of Constantine's conversion to Christianity. He saw a vision to paint x and p on all of his soldiers shields before the battle because they were the first two letters of Jesus' name in Greek. Because of this vision he started believing in Christianity and eventually passed the Edict of Milan

Edict of Milan

313

Was a letter signed by emperors Constantine and Licinius to grant religious freedom especially to Christians. It stopped the persecution of Christians. In the battle of Milvian Bridge Constantine believed that the Christian God helped him which is why he made this Edict.

Emperor Theodosius

379

Established Christianity as the state's religion. He was also the last emperor of a unified Rome. He banned the Olympic games because he saw it as a celebration of Pagan Gods.