Rise of Cristianity in the Roman Empire

Jesus of Nazareth

4 BCE

-Jewish preacher and religious leader, he is the central figure of Christianity. Most Christians believe that he is the Son of God,
-he walked around teaching Christianity to large and small groups
-he taught about God and his reign, he taught prayers and the word of God. He told stories and taught people how to pray to God.
- He was the reason for the spread of Christianity.

Paul of Tarsus

50

-Paul was the first to use 'the gospel' in connection with the teaching of Christ- Paul was trained as a Pharisaic scribe when he was young.-Paul was on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus to continue his mission when he experienced a vision of Jesus,( a blast of light from the heavens which blinded him and he fell to the ground.)- he spent three days in Damascus fasting and praying, when he got his sight back he became a missionary-he ended up writing part of the testament and the seven letters

The Great Fire of Rome

64

-the Circus Maximus caught fire
- The fire burned for 6 days
-10/14 of Romes districts were in ruins
-Nero was blamed for the fire
-Nero blamed the Christians and punished them.

Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

66

-Rome took Israel because of its strategic location-In order to keep Israel happy, they could continue to practice their monotheistic religion so long as they obeyed Roman rule,paid their taxes,and kept peace-Rome had a big influence on Israel, many of the Jews turned to Christianity-They excused the Jews from attending courts on Sundays and from joining the military-However, it was not all peace between the Romans and the Jews,in the beginning,the Jews fought back and did not accept Roman rule

Perpetua

203

-Perpetua was a Christian in the African city of Carthage.
-Perpetua and her friends were imprisoned to await trial, they were arrested right before their baptism.-she was baptized in the prison and welcomed into the Christian community -While in prison she saw God -After some time she was brought to 'trial' she said she was a Christian and her father was beaten in front of her. She was set to be put in an arena with the beasts on the emperors' birthday.-she died before that could happen.

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

-The last and most severe persecution of Christians
-multiple emperors issued a series of edicts that repealed the legal rights of Christians and stated that they had to comply with traditional religious practices.
-they forced Christians out of society, then punished them.
-they targeted churches
- they started to get rid of the scrips that the Christians used.

Constantine the Great

312

• The first Christian Emperor
• western emperor in 312, -He reorganized his army, which made it stronger. -he issued an edict that protected Christians in the empire -once he became Cristian he never changed back.

Battle of Milvian Bridge 1

312

-Constantine's brother in law started a war, seizing Italy and Rome in 306.
-however, in 311 Galrarius (Constantine's brother in law) died. Early the next year Constantine took back Italy and marched on Rome.
-Maxentius came to fight but, was destroyed at the Milvian Bridge by Constantine.
- this battle was one of many victories that (in AD 324) made Constantine the ruler of the entire Roman Empire.
-Constantine was a pagan monotheist, he worshiped the sun god.

Battle of Milvian Bridge 2

312

-he saw a cross of light in the sky, above the sun with words in Greek. In hoc signo vinces (‘In this sign conquer’).
- That same night, Constantine had a dream. in that dream, Christ told him he should use the sign of the cross against his enemies.
- he did that and when he one he said it was because of the Christian god.
-his story was written by Eusebius of Caesarea.

Edict of Milan 1

313

-The Edict of Milan was a positive step in securing the rights of Christians throughout the Roman Empire
.-In 311 CE, the Roman Emperor Galerius issued a decree saying that Christians must be tolerated. this act eliminated the persecution of Christians
- But he left out the return of property and the restoration of rights, people never gave Christians more then they had too.
-In 313, the Western emperor, Constantine, met Licinius, in the city of Milan , they issued a joint statement,

Edict of Milan 2

313

later known as the Edict of Milan.taly. They protected the full rights of Christian citizens and, restored their property, and releasing them from prisons.
-over time the person who deserves most of the credit never got it. Persecutions in the past had been canceled, but the Edict of Milan (in 313) went further, by directly protecting the religious rights of Romans. That and the support of a strongly pro-Christian leader (Constantine) made an official end to the Roman oppression of Christians.

Emperor Theodosius

347

• he was born on January 11, 347 CE, and died on January 17, 395. Was the Roman emperor of the East Rome (379–392) and then the emperor of both East and West Rome (392–395) -he tried to co-exist with the barbarians peacefully -he was Christian. -when the civil war broke out it was not just a war about politics, it was also about religion. -Theodosius took measures to suppress paganism in the Roman Empire. And the Olympic games were canceled