“Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire”

Roman Rule of Israel Begins

40 BCE

A last attempt to restore the glory of the Rome was made by Matthias Antoninus. Mattahias' defeat and death brought the Hasmonean dynasty's rule to an end

"Growth of Early Christianity"

1 CE

-Spread through Roman empire by followers of Jesus Christ
-Most early christian communities started in the east (Jerusalem, Egypt, Etc.)
-Christianity was illegal and had to be kept a secret
-Roman empire opposed Christianity and wanted to oppress it

Jesus of Nazareth

33

Jesus of Nazareth also referred to as Jesus Christ was a first century Jewish preacher and a religious leader. Jesus is the main figure of Christianity and according to the Christian Religion The messiah or the son of God.

"Why were Christians prosecuted"

64

• Rome saw Christianity as a threat to their Religion -Christians claimed there was only one God rather than many -Christians dint follow the Religions that offered protection so Romans thought Christians were putting themselves and other in danger.

"History of Prosecutions of Christianity"

64

-Nero has sporadic prosecutions for Christians
-Most emperors didn't seek out to punish Christians unless they publicly refused to to do sacrificial ceremonies
-Trajan Decius blamed problems like plague, and invasions on Christians
-Decius Claimed Romans were having problems because Christians were refusing to do sacrifices and that the God's were punishing the Romans for this
-Decius forced all citizens to do sacrifices and all without proof of sacrificing were killed

"Reasons For Christianities Growth"

64

-The belief of Eternal life and forgiveness was very appealing
-Christians were very generous to the poor and sick gaining them a lot of support especially from the poor
-Since Christians were so confident in there belief they often took the prosecution willingly knowing they would live eternally in the after life

Great Fire of Rome

64

The great fire of Rome was a fire that devastated Rome that caused widespread devastation. The Great fire of Rome did lead to the rebuilding of Rome. It also lead to the prosecution of Christians due to Nero blaming Christians for the fire since their part of the city was not burned. Nero used the Christians as "Scapegoats"

Paul of Tarsus

67

Paul of Tarsus also known as Paul the Apostle was a follower of Jesus Christ. He is The "Second Founder of Christ"
he spent part of his early career rooting out Jewish Christian communities and prosecuting them before being converted to Christianity

Perpetua

203

The Passion of Saint Perpetua, Saint Felicitas, and their Companions is one of the oldest and most notable early Christian texts. It was a prison diary about survival and persecution.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

The Battle of the Milvilan Bridge was a war between the Roman Emperors Constantine I and Maxentius. Its called the Battle of Milvian Bridge,because it took place on an important bridge over the Tiber. Constantine won the battle and became the ruler of the Roman Empire. Maxentius drowned in the Tiber during the battle. They later took his body and cut his head off, and his head was paraded through the streets of Rome on the day following the battle.

"Constantine and Christianity"

313

-When Constantine is in the civil war he has a vision that shows him how to win the war and that he needs to put a cross and a P on his soldiers shields and Constantine wins the war
-Constantine decides to allow freedom of religion and Honors all religions
Constantine then issues the Edict of Milan and legalizes Christianity entirely
-In honor of Christianity he Builds an enormous capitol city called Constantinople and fills it with churches an dedicates it to Christianity

Constantine the great

313

Constantine the great had many accomplishments. Constantine's reign began when he won the civil war. Due to a vision Constantine had he claims it helped him with the war. Constantine had a lot of Honor for Christians and he created the edict of Milan legalizing Christianity. One of Constantine's greatest achievements was the construction of Constantinople a city built in Honor of Christianity. Constantine filled Constantinople with churches.

Edict of Milan

313

The edict of Milan was a proclamation that granted free choice of religion and toleration of Christianity

Emperor Theodosius

379

Emperor Theodosius was the last emperor of East and West Rome. Theodosius established Christianity as the state religion and he defended it against paganism and Arianism