Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire - Audrey Haselby Period 111

Roman Rule of Israel

63 BCE

In 63 BC Jerusalem was concord by Julius Ceaser/Pompey. Earlier that year Pompey left of an eastern campaign to help expand the Roman Empire. Jerusalem and Israel and itself were major places to have power in. Mainly for religious purposes . Israel dealt with both the Christian and Jewish religion. So when the Romans took over Israel they had a higher power in Religion.

Jesus of Nazareth

4 BCE

Jesus of Nazareth, or just Jesus in most cases, was born to Mary and Joseph. Jesus was firstly a Jewish preacher/Religious figure. He was believed to be the incarnation of God and was therefore the focus point of the Christian religion. One day Jesus was given to Roman officials by the Jewish officials. He reportedly died around 30-33 AD. However what he left behind created the predominate Christian religion

Paul of Tarsus

5

Paul of Tarsus had several different names such as Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul, and Saul of Tarsus. He helped teach the word of Christ to the first-century world. He is one of the highest valued figures in the Apostle age. He also used his background to further spread his beliefs . He is also greatly mentioned in the book, Acts of the Apostles, part of the New Testament. However Paul eventually died between 64-67 AD.

Great Fire of Rome

64

This event started the night of July 18th, 64 AD. The fire first set to the local merchant shops and the Circus Maximus. The fire was put out in a time span of six days. However the fire reignited and burned for another three days. After the fire two thirds of Rome had been destroyed. The fire had been blamed on the Christian community by Emperor Nero. The fire ended on July 23, 64 AD.

Perpetua

181

Perpetua is one of the few early female writers who's book lasted to tell the tale. She wrote her most famous work, The passions of Saints Perpetua and Felecity, while locked away in a prision. The book mainly consisted of the various dreams she had while at prison. However she was eventually was killed in March of 203 AD in the Arena.

Constantine the Great

272

Constantine the Great was born on February 27th, 272 AD. He was also known as Constantine the First. Constantine was born in Naissus. His father was emperor Caesar. His father died in 306 AD raising Constantine to the rank of Augustus. Constantine was then a Roman emperor between 306-337 AD. He helped created a very strong army that would defeat several empires. Constantine mainly helped Rome with Fiance, Military, social, and administrative problems. He died May 22, 337 AD.

Great Persecution of 303 AD

303

The Great Persecution was the last persecution in the Roman Empire, however it was also the largest. Christians were largely discriminated against in Rome. The reasons Christians were prosecuted was because they wouldn't sacrifice to the Roman Gods. They were also blamed for several of Romes disasters. One example of this was the great fire of Rome. The prosecutions ended in 311 with the help of Constantine and the Edict of Milan.

Battle of the Milvian Bridge

312

The Battle of Milvian Bridge was started by the Roman Emperors Constantine and Maxentius on October 28th, 312 AD. During the battle Constantine supposedly had a vision from the Christian God himself. Constantine eventually won the war with Maxentius being drowned in the Tiger river. The battle ended the same day it started. Constantine winning became the soul power of the Roman Empire. This helped Romes conversion to Christianity. Also this marked the end of the Christian Persecutions.

Edict of Milan

313

This Edict was an action to stop the persecution of Christians in Rome. Constantine the first and Licinius were two emperors in Rome who created The Edict of Milan. The two emperors met when Licinius married Constantine's sister in Milan. There they signed the Edict and put a stop to all Christian prosecutions and created Christian tolerance.

Emperor Theodosius

347

Theodosius the First is also commonly known as Theodosius the Great. He was the last Roman Emperor to rule over both the eastern and western halves. He ruled from 379 to 395. He created a treaty which helped end the Gothic war. He also gained Rome several Allies. He was involved in 2 of Romes Civil Wars. He had two sons that ruled after his passing on January 17, 365.