Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire Timeline

Roman Rule of Israel Begins

63 BCE

After the Roman empire conquered Syria in 64 BCE it only took them a year to conquer Jerusalem and Israel. By this time Rome had conquered most of the known world under General Pompey. This means by the time of Jesus's birth Israel had been under Roman rule for decades and Jesus was born under the Roman empire. Until the year 313 Israel was under Roman rule and Jews faced several struggles as Rome was polytheistic while they believed in only one God.

Jesus of Nazareth

1 BCE

Jesus of Nazareth is the central figure of the Christian religion and is often referred to as Jesus Christ. In the Christian religion he is the son of God born fully man and fully God. He was persecuted on the cross and rose from his tomb three days later. This is significant to Christianity because he was deemed the ultimate sacrifice and in doing so demonstrated forgiveness and eternal life. His followers spread his teachings to Jews and non-Jews and developed the idea of Christianity.

The Great Fire of Rome

64

In the year 64 AD Rome suffered from a fire lasting six days that spread all throughout the city. During the fire those who would try to put it out would be stopped and told to let it keep burning. Many at first blamed the current Emperor Nero for the fire but instead Nero looked to the Christians as an easy scapegoat and blamed them for the incident. In doing so Nero began the first persecutions of Christians in order to keep his power and put the cause of Rome's problems elsewhere.

Paul of Tarsus

65

Paul the Apostle who was formerly know as Saul spent his early life Jewish. When he was young he was sent to Jerusalem to study Jewish law. When he returned he heard of the followers of Jesus and was upset that people believed in such. He persecuted Christians until one day he was blinded by light and heard the voice of Jesus ask, "why are you persecuting me?" He was then baptized and regained vision. He spent the rest of his life preaching Christianity and was killed in the year 65 under Nero.

Perpetua

203

Perpetua was a Christian noblewoman who was arrested by Emperor Septimius Severus when he began to arrest Christians in North Africa. When her father came to the prison he tried to deny that she was Christian but she refused to be anything other than Christian. At her hearing her father ran out with her baby saying to have mercy on her son and perform the sacrifice. She denied and was put to death by the emperor. It was unknown of her age as her birth was not recorded but died in the year 203.

The Great Prosecution of 303 CE

303

In the year 303 the great prosecution began under Diocletian when he believed that Rome would be united when everyone believed in the gods. He started by destroying church buildings within Rome which had not been done before because of the Christians widespread meeting places. Christians were tortured, put to death and thrown in dungeons. This caused many to fall away. In 311 the last persecution of Christians came to an end 6 years after Diocletian stepped down from power.

Battle of Milan Bridge

312

In the year 305 when Diocletian renounced his throne the battle for power was up for grabs between the east and the west. The Civil war continued until 312 during the battle of Milan bridge. During this battle Constantine painted the Christian symbol of into his soldier's shields. When his army charged it collapsed the bridge and Maxentius's army was drowned. Constantine was victorious and became the ruler of Rome. He credited his victory to the Christian God.

Edict of Milan

313

In 313 the emperors, Constantine and Licinius signed the Edict of Milan that allowed anyone in Rome to practice any religion they believe. This set a course of religious freedom that still remains today in our first amendment. For the edict to be signed the two emperors of the east and west, Constantine and Licinius had a degree of peace. By this time, Churches in Rome had begun to rebuild and stabilize after the Great Persecution only ten years prior

Constantine the Great

337

At the beginning of the fourth century Constantine battled for power in a Roman civil war. He had a vision he will conquer by putting the Christian symbol on his soldier's shield. He triumphed. He gave the credit to the God of the Christians. In 313 he created the Edict of Milan that allowed anyone to practice any religion they pleased. In 330 he founded the city of Constantinople and further pursued Christianity in Rome. Constantine considered himself as "emperor of the christian people.

Emperor Theodosius

395

Born ten years after Constantine, Theodosius was the emperor of the East. He was known as Theodosius the Great for his devout Christianity. With his power he enforced Orthodox Christianity in Rome but most importantly placed his power under the church which was an example to the world for centuries. At the end of Theodosius's reign he defeated political power in the west and ruled Rome individually until he died in 395 from swelling.