Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire - Brooklyn Banks

Roman Rule of Israel

64 BCE

The romans took rule of Israel where Jesus was born. The leader was Herod at the time. There were strong Christian beliefs there. Most of the citizens were Jewish. From here is were Christianity branched out.

Jesus of Nazareth

1 CE

Birth of Christianity. The holiday Christmas is dedicated to Jesus's birth. Spread the religion & the word of god. He was declared god by Many different types of Christianity. He was born in Bethlehem.

Paul of Tarsus

5

Paul was one of the first preachers of Christianity. He taught about Jesus to many people. He was said to have become a saint. He died in 67. He was decapitated.

Great fire of rome

64

The fire began in July, and it lasted for 6 days. It affected lots of Rome but not a lot of the parts that Christians resided. The emperor blamed the Christians. Some theorize that Nero started the fire. Blaming the Christians helped move the great Persecution along.

Perpetua

203

Perpetua was a Christian women, and for that she was sentenced to death. She and her slave were both supposed to die. Yet, Perpetua survived and when a man came to kill her, she helped him. She was a martyr. Her death led many people convert.

Great Persecution

303

Ended 313 CE. Christians were brutally sacrificed. Was the last Persecution against Christians. Some were killed in stadiums for entertainment. Were killed only if they refused to worship the Greek gods. Thousands of Christians were killed at this time.

Constantine the Great

306

Constantine ruled from 306-337 AD. He led the Battle of Milvian Bridge. He was a great figure in Christianity. He created a city named after him. He allowed Christians to freely worship.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

Emperor Constantine won a battle. The night before the battle he had a dream of god telling him how to win. He fought under the sign of god. When he won the battle he officially converted to Christianity. This was what pushed him to create the edict of Milan.

Edict of Milan

313

This Edict allowed any religion to be practiced in Rome. It helped promote Christianity. Emperor Constantine issued this Edict. While it didn't make Christianity the state religion, it helped get rid of discrimination. Emperor Licinius also signed this too.

Emperor Theodosius

379

Emperor T's reign ended at 395 AD. He died due to a riding accident. During his life, he made Christianity the State religion. Of course this spread Christianity a lot more. He also banned Pagan religion.