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4 BCE
Jesus of Nazareth
- Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary, and was the son of Joseph whom Mary was engaged too
- In Jesus's life, he taught of things like how God was everywhere, or about the Reign of God -On what is now known as good Friday, Jesus was crucified
- On Easter Sunday Jesus rose from the dead -Now Jesus is one of the most prominent figures in the Christian religion
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10
Paul of Tarsus
- Also known as St. Paul
- Was one of main historical figures who helped establish modern Christianity
- His writings emphasized celibacy and the theory of divine grace
- Was the first to use the term "the gospel" in relation to the teachings of Christ
- Many of his writings are in the New Testament of the Bible
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64
Great Fire of Rome
- Started in the Circus Maximus stadium
- Many people blame the emperor at the time, Emperor Nero, but Nero himself blamed the Christians.
- burned for 6 days
- 10 of Rome's 14 districts burned
- Historians today don't blame Nero, but rather poorly constructed wooden buildings in the poorer parts of the city, which a fire could quickly engulf.
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66
Roman Rule of Israel
- Was strategic since Israel laid between Asia, Africa, and Europe, it meant that Rome could move between continents with ease -Rome allowed Israel to continue its Jewish practice if they obeyed Roman laws and payed taxes
- They also knew though that this was a right that could be taken away, so they obeyed.
- Were exempted from serving in the Roman military
- Also didn't have to appear in court over Sabbeth
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181
Perpetua
- Perpetua was a Christian martyr who wrote the The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity
- This was her journal about her trial and imprisonment and eventually her death in the arena
- After an edict was issued banning the conversion to Christianity, Perpetua was on her way to being prosecuted
- Throughout her trials she refused to disown her religion
- Her journal of her bravery throughout her journey continued to be read for centuries to follow.
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303
Great Persecution of 303 CE
- Was instigated by the emperor at the time, Emperor Diocletian.
- Diocletian wanted to reunite the Roman emperor by having a common worship of the Roman Pagan gods
- Since the Christians refused, they were persecuted -Many were tortured and burned at the stake
- Thousands of Christians were killed during the worst persecution of Christians in Roman history.
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306
Constantine the Great
- Was the first Christian Emperor
- Helped create Edict of Milan which ended Christian Persecution
- Founded the city of Constantinople
- Was one the Western Ruler of Rome until their was a civil war, which he evidently won.
- Was sole Emperor of Rome in 324
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312
Battle of Milvian Bridge
- Constantine invaded Italy, he marched on to take Rome as well. -He fought his brother in law, Maxentius, for Rome.
- Constantine won
- It is said that before the battle, Constantine who's a pagan monotheistic had a vision from the Christian God to fight under his symbol -Constantine had the Christian God's symbol painted on all the shields -This is said to be one of the turning points in Christianity in Rome, because later Constantinople (created by Constantine) was a largely Christian city.
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313
Edict of Milan
- Was created by Constantine and Licinius.
- Allowed all religious freedom
- Ended the Christian persecutions in the Roman Empire
- Assured Christian legal rights
- Many historians describe this as one of the turning points in the growth of Christianity
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379
Emperor Theodosius
- Was emperor of the Eastern half of Rome in 379, and in 392 became the sole emperor of Rome
- Made a treaty to co-exist peacefully with the barbarians -He made Nicene Christianity the state religion
- One of his goals was to suppress paganism in Rome
- He issued an edict against paganism
- Finally, he ended the Olympic games as they were regarded as pagan practice
