Rise of Christianity in the Rome Empire

Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

64 BCE

1. General Pompey was leading the Roman army and made Israel a province.
2. Julius Caesar defeated him in Civil War and took over Israel, making Judaism legal there.
3. Later on, a war was happening between 66-135 AD in Jerusalem between the Romans and the Jews.
4. The Romans took taxes from the Jews to build temples, angering them even more.
5. The Romans called Jerusalem "Aelia Capitolina", representing the Emperor that invaded it and the God Jupiter.

Jesus of Nazareth (crucifixion date)

33

1. Central figure of Christianity.
2. According to the Bible, he was crucified and resurrected on the third day.
3. Because of his resurrection, this showed people that life after death is possible and also showed God's existence.
4. People that followed Christianity were initially Jews that believed in his resurrection and that he is the savior (Messiah).
5. Name of Christianity comes from Christ- another name for him, because he was crucified.

Great Fire of Rome

64

1. This fire started in the Circus Maximus.
2. Back then,people blamed their Emperor Neo for it since this could help him rebuild the city as he wanted.
3. On the other hand, Emperor Neo blamed it on the Christians.
4. 10 of Rome's 14 districts were burned.
5. Modern historians do not blame Neo for it and rather think that the reason for why it happened was because of the easy to burn material that Roman houses were made of. It ended 6 days later, the 23rd.

Paul of Tarsus (Death)

67

1. He was one of Jesus' 70 disciples.
2. His letters are a major part of Christianity and is used to teach a lot of important life lessons.
3. He was the one that stopped circumcision from being a requirement in Christians (even though it is still very common in the U.S., much more than in Europe).
4. Paul's letters were also a major part of the New Testament, the part of the Bible that talks about Jesus.
5. He changed his name from Saul to Paul, meaning small, when converted to Christianity.

Perpetua (death)

203

1.Christian women that was killed because she was Christian.
2.When her father told her to lie about her religion to leave prison, she refused.
3.Her journal is combined into a book that tells her story called:The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity.
4.Her journal is important, because shows how people lived back in the Roman times but also how did it feel to be a Christian being prosecuted.
5.She lived in Carthage, an ancient city in Tunisia,that was know for having a lot of Christians.

Great Persecution from 303 CE to 311 CE

303

1.Last,most brutal major persecution of Christians in the Empire.
2.Emperor Diocletian was the one that started it and commended it, he aimed church leaders the most and tried to reconvert them to paganism- Roman religion.
3. Edict of 303 of Diocletian prohibited Christian gatherings, books and churches.
4.3000-3500 estimate of Christians killed by imperial orders.
5.Part of this anger for Christians was because they didn't turn to the Emperor as the "ultimate ruler" but rather God.

Constantine the Great (Started Ruling)

306

1. Western Roman emperor.
2. Had a vision of a cross in the clouds before a big battle, and then he won the battle.
3. He also had a dream where he needed to put the first two letters of Christ's name in Greek on his warrior's shields. He did it and won the battle of Milvian Bridge
4. First openly christian emperor.
5. Because of that, he made the edict of Milan, making Christianity legal and stopped its prosecution.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

1.When planning this battle, Emperor Constantine saw a cross and words in the sky saying that he will win.
2.Constantine had a dream before this battle that said that he had to put God's first 2 letters in Greek on the shields of his soldiers.
3.After he won this battle, he officially became Christian and made it legal with the Edict of Milan.
4.These events fairly drop the prosecution of Christians in the Empire.
5.This is considered by most historians as the dawn of the Rise of Christianity.

Edict of Milan

313

1. Signed by Constantine the Great -- Emperor of the West, and Emperor Licinus -- Emperor of the East.
2. This Edict made Christianity legal in the Roman Empire.
3. This Edict was initiated by Emperor Constantine after he had a vision before the battle of the Milvian Bridge and won and thought that it was because of that Christian sign.
4. This stopped a major part of Christian prosecutions.
5. This lead to the end of the Great Persecution, where thousands of Christians were killed.

Emperor Theodosius (start ruling)

379

1. Made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire with the Edict of Thessalonica.
2. This event made polytheism progressively disappear.
3. He is considered as a saint by the orthodox church.
4. He settled problems between the Goths, making an alliance with them.
5. Instead of being assassinated like a lot emperors he, as a show of his unconcern of power and Christianity, resigned.