Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Jesus Nazareth

30

Jesus Nazareth was the central figure of Christianity. Jesus Nazareth, or Jesus Christ, was a Jewish preacher who spread his religious message to follow God. While he gained many followers, there were many people that were against his teachings. He was turned over to the Roman government and killed. Many people believed that he rose from the dead.

Paul of Tarsus

33

Paul of Tarsus, also known as saint Paul, was an apostle who taught the gospel of Christ. He founded many churches and spread his teachings to Jews and Romans. At first, Paul of Tarsus wanted to persecute Christians and was determined to persecute the early disciples of Jesus. After being visited by the resurrected Jesus, Paul of Tarsus began to believe in Jesus and that he was the son of God.

Great Fire of Rome

64

On July 19th in Rome, the Great Fire of Rome started. This spread across the city for six days and caused a lot of damage.It was finally under control on July 23rd. Although many people blamed the emperor at the time, Nero, Nero blamed the Christian community. Emperor Nero was against Christianity and wanted a group of people that he could blame for this travesty. This caused hatred of Christianity and the first persecutions.

Roman Rule of Israel

66

Many Jews migrated to Rome after having economical trouble in Israel. The Roman general Pompey began to take over places like Jerusalem and Syria. The tensions between Jewish people and Romans turned into wars. This resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem.

Perpetua

203

Perpetua was a Christian Martyr. Perpetua was persecuted for her beliefs along with another women named Felicity. Tragically, Perpetua was the mother of an infant and only 22 when she died, and Felicity was pregnant. These two women along with many others were killed at the Carthage in the Roman province of Africa.

Great Persecution

303

Many different emperors such as Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius took away Christian's rights and forced them to participate in religious practices different than their own. Christians who refused to participate in religious practices to the pagan gods were persecuted. Sometimes Christians would be sent to be beasts to die or other times they would be burnt alive.

Constantine the Great

312

Constantine the Great was a Roman Emperor. Unlike most emperors before him, Constantine was in support of Christianity. Constantine excepted Christianity when he had a vision on the way to one of his battles. Supposedly, he saw the Christian symbol and the words, "In this sign, conquer". He credited the victory to the Christian God. After this Constantine was in support of Christianity and ended the persecutions of Christians and allowed Christians to worship freely.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

This was a battle between the Roman emperors between Constantine and Maxentius. The battle took place on October 28th on the Milvian Bridge over the Tiber. Constantine ended up winning this battle and became the emperor of Rome, while Maxentius drowned in the Tiber. This battle was the start of Constantine's conversion to Christianity. On his way to the battle he supposedly had a vision sent by God. He credited the vision for his victory.

Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan was a letter that allowed tolerance for any religion, especially Christianity, in the Roman Empire. The letter was signed by the Roman emperors Constantine and Licnius. Christians were to be left alone and no persecutions were allowed.

Emperor Theodosius

325

Emperor Theodosius wanted to end all persecutions and make Christianity the dominant religion of Rome. He made Nicene Christianity the official state church of Rome.