Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Isreal

64 BCE

The Romans, led by the famed general Pompey, took over Syria in 64 BC. In 63 BC the Romans had conquered Jerusalem. This had a major impact on Israel because of Christianity. The religion of Christianity spread quickly into a very religious populated area, so many people joined. The final dispute in Israel was when Julius Ceaser and Pompey battled it off after the first Triumvirate on who would get the majority of the power. Ceaser would en up victorious.

Jesus of Nazareth

4 BCE

Also known as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth was the central figure of Christianity. He was a Jewish preacher and religious leader. He has the part Nazareth in his name because he was thought to have grown up there. Many belief he is the son of God, and his mother is Messiah.

Paul of Tarsus

30

Also known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, he was an important figure by spreading the word of Christ. He tried to spread the word to Jews and the roman audiences to try and enlarge the religion. Paul of Tarsus is actually his Jewish name. Thirteen of of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament are named or attributed to Paul because of his contribution towards Christ.

Great Fire of Rome

64

The great fire began near the merchant shops around Rome's entertainment center, Circus Maximus. It would burn though the entire city of Rome causing mass destruction. It was thought that Nero, the current ruler at the time, started the fire so that he could blame it on the Christians. After burning for six days, the fire was finally extinguished,10 of the 14 districts were burnt. According to Tacitus (a Roman historian), it was a very windy night which caused the flames to spread rapidly.

Perpetua

203

Perpetua wrote her diary called the Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity. It's a journal recounting her life of being an Christian and being persecuted. It talked about her trial, her imprisonment, and all the way to her death because she was part of a feast in the arena. It's so important to the Christians because it's one of the rare document written by a women in the ancient times, and she was known to have lived in Carthage.

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

The last and most worst persecution of Christians happened when the emperors Diocletan, Maximian, Galerius,and Constantius issued edicts that were primarily targeting the Christians.The four emperors wanted to restore Roman glory, which the Christians were not following. These edicts would remove Christians legal rights and they would need to obey the traditional religious practices. Because of the edicts, many would be murdered for not following, and over 3000 Christians were killed.

Constantine the Great

306

Constantine was a Roman emperor who ruled between 306-337 AD. He was the first Roman Emperor to convert and practice Christianity and promote the religion throughout the city of Rome. One of his biggest accomplishments was making Christianity legal in the city of Rome through the Edict of Milan. He would eventually build a large city, naming it Constantinople, and officially declared it the capital of the Roman empire. While in power, he created Solidus, a currency used for thousands of years.

Battle of the Milvian Bridge

312

The battle of Milvian bridge was between the two emperors at the time, Constantine and Maxentius.The bridge itself, was a route over the Tiber. The controversy started when Constantine started converting over to the Christian religion and Maxentius was not for it. The two would battle but Constantine would come out victorious and Maxentius would end up drowning in the waters of the Tiber. Constantine would be declared the soul ruler of Rome, and the head of Maxentius was paraded around Rome.

Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan was a letter signed that made religious practice legal in Rome. A very important aspect to the edict is it made Christianity legal and that you could no longer be persecuted for being a Christian. It was signed by the two Roman emperors Constantine and Licnius. The reason they signed the edict in Milan was because they were celebrating the marriage of Constantine's sister.

Emperor Theodosius

379

Emperor Theodosius was a roman emperor and was the last roman emperor to rule both the western and the eastern halves of Rome. He is most famously known for solving the Gothic threat. Instead of pushing them out of the native land and using them as subjects, he allied with them and allowed them to live on Roman soil and gave responsible roles to the leaders. Another very important thing that he did was sign the Edict of Thessalonica which made Christianity the official religion of Rome.