Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Jesus of Nazareth

4 BCE

Believe it or not the religion Christianity was around before Christ, he only gave it a boost in spreading the faith. Jesus was believed to be the son of God. Many believe that through his crucifixion and subsequent resurrection, God gave humans salvation and eternal life. To the Romans he only caused trouble, but to Christians he was so much more. Christianity caused many problems to Rome but ended up being one of the causes for the fall of the empire.

Paul of Tarsus

33

Paul of Tarsus is considered the most important person in the history of Christianity after Jesus. His letters have had a big influence on Christian theology.According to legends, before Paul became a christian he persecuted them. Then one day he saw Jesus in a bright green light which blinded him for three days, and when he got his vision back he converted to Christianity to spread faith. He took advantage of his status as both a Jew and a Roman citizen to tend to both audiences.

The Great Fire of Rome

64

The Great Fire of Rome was an urban fire accruing from July 18, 0064 to July 23, 0064, destroying two thirds of Rome. Many people have blamed Nero for the fire, saying that he started the fire so that he could bypass the senate and rebuild Rome how he wanted. The fire destroyed as many as 60,000 buildings, (around 90% of homes in the city) but luckily the number of deaths were low with only six (confirmed) deaths.

Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

64

Even though the Roman Empire did not exist yet, Roman influence began in Israel because of two brothers from the "Hasmonean dynasty", who took over after the Greeks. They were called by Rome to help settle the argument. They made a final alliance and no now one could rebel against the Romans. When Augustus took over in 37 BC he named Herod "King of the Jews". Under Romans, Jews were happy because they were free to practice their religion.

Perpetua

203

Perpetua was a mother who got decapitated because of her religious beliefs. Others believe that she got stabbed by a gladiator. She took her own life instead of bleeding to death. We think that she was 22 years old when she died and was mother of an infant she was nursing. She had dreams before of her dying, so she thought she mine as well do it in the name of her faith. Everyone saw her death as persecution and began to see the dark truth(people getting killed for their beliefs).

The Great Persecution

303

The Great Persecution was a last resource and most severe killing of Christians in the Roman Empire. Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius made a number of laws rescinding Christian's legal rights and demanding that they follow and obey traditional religious practices rather then their own.

Constantine the Great

312

Constantine the Great is best known for being the first Christian Roman Emperor. He is also known for signing the Edict of Milan in 313, to gain religious toleration in the Roman Empire(not only for Christianity, but for all religions). He converted to Christianity after seeing a cross in the sky with his entire army. After his vision, they won the battle of Milivian Bridge with the shield with the cross of labarums.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

Thanks to Constantine's vision and dreams, his army fought with the sign of the cross of labarums on shields. After they won, he gave the cred of the win to Christian faith. Constantine was now a big believer in Christianity and began to spread the faith because of his power and win. He built the city of Constantinople which was the capitol after western Rome had fallen. They put churches and dedicated it to God and faith. The battle was fought October 28th, 312AD.

Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan was a letter signed by the roman emperors Constantine and Licinius. The letter declared a "religious toleration" in the roman empire. The agreement was to treat Christians kindly as long as you were within the roman empire.

Emperor Theodosius

379

Theodosius The Great was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and western halves of the roman empire. He was sometimes called "The Great" because of his fix to the Goth and barbarians problem and fusing of the empire. He issued the Edict of Thessalonica, which made (Nicene) Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. He was the emperor who made sure Rome was truly Christian.