Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Jesus of Nazareth

33

Jesus was born in Nazareth, he traveled to take his message to homes the to the country's poorest people. His message was popular but the claim that Jesus was the son of God offended many people. Jesus was arrested on treason and was crucified. To the Romans Jesus was a troublemaker.

Roman Rule of Israel

63

Jews had been banished from Rome during the reign of Claudius, they where allowed to return and continue their lives under the Roman law. The Roman general Pompey in his eastern campaign established the Roman province of Syria. Roman general Pompey conquered Jerusalem and made the Jewish kingdom a client state of Rome.

Great Fire of Rome

64

People believed that Nero started the fire so he could build Rome the way that he wanted. The fire burned for 6 days and destroyed more than 65% of the city. Gangs and thugs stopped people from putting out the fire. Nero blamed the timeline on the Christians

Paul of Tarsus

64

Paul of Tarsus was one of the leaders of the first generation of Christians. He traveled tens of thousands of miles around the Mediterranean spreading the word of Jesus. he taught the Gospel o Christ to the first-century world.

Perpetua

203

Perpetua was a young Roman Noblewoman who wrote down her account for her arrest and imprisonment. She had dreams of battling the devil and winning a crown from God, and a vision of her deceased brother in heaven. Her display of contempt and her expectation of eternal reward affected people and was spread in written form.

Great Persecution

303

Diocletian and Galerius decided to persecute the Christians. They did this because part of their project of reunifying the empire involved uniting all Romans behind a shared belief in the old gods. Many Christians and Christian leaders where killed. Christianity still survived through this persecution.

Constantine the Great

312

Constantine helped Christianity find imperial support, and was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity. Constantine met with Licinius, and they created an Edict of Milan. Constantine defeated Licinius. He built a new city in the east called Constantinople with churches. He sponsored the construction of new churches. Eventually he worshiped only Christianity and got a stricter view that there is only one god.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

At the end of the battle of Milvian Bridge Christianity was established as the empires official religion. The end of this battle ended with Constantine as the sole ruler of Rome.Constantine had a dream he saw the sun, the object of his own worship, covered by the figure of a cross. Under it was the simple message in hoc signo vinces, which is "In this sign, prevail." The next morning he told his men to paint crosses on their shields. They then marched into war as Christian soldiers.

Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan made Christianity legal and took away all restriction on Christian worship. But Licinius reneged on the Edict of Milan as a conflict began with Constantine over who got control of the empire, Constantine defeated Licinius.

Emperor Theodosius

379

Emperor Theodosius made Christianity and official religion. He was a convert, and stopped the persecution of the Christians. He defended Christianity against Paganism and Arianism. He was named Emperor in 379