Rise of Christianity of the Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

64 BCE

The Roman general Pompey established the Roman province of Syria and conquered Jerusalem. The Roman-ruled most of the known world. It is said that in 63 BCE the Romans started to invade. Jerusalum was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Jesus of Nazareth

6 BCE

This is another meaning of Christ. This is when he became the central religious leader. Nazareth, a town in Lower Galilee, was the childhood home of Jesus. He was crusefied to save his followers. In some religions he is God.

Paul of Tarsus

5

He never met Jesus, and he was a contemporary of him. He spent a lot of his young career hunting Christians and prosecuting them. One of the leaders of the first generation of Christians. He traveled ten of thousands of miles to spread the word of God. Died in 64 or 67 AD.

Great Fire of Rome

64

The Great fire lasted around six days. The fire finally ended on Jul 23, 64 AD. Christians were an easy target for others, they were the scapegoats. Christians were a threat to the religious system because they were disobeying the system and the Romans were fearful that their religion would take over the already existing religion. The Christians were seen as dishonest and untrustworthy. They were also suspected for treason because the didn't worship the emperor.

Perpetua

182

Noblewomen, and died at age 22. Put to death along with others at Carthage in Roman province of Africa. She was a Christian martyr. Put to death for being a Christian. Her being sent to death for being a Christian, it sparked a lot problems with everyone, and it helped start the uprise of Christianity.

Great persecution of 303 CE

303

This was one of the worst times for Christianity. The Christians were seen as a threat to the religious system. Decius tried to "stamp out" Christianity by ciizens needing a certificate to show you were not Christian, if you were you would be persecuted. Christians were the scapegoat for the fire. The Roman empire was in a crisis period, so there was more Christians tha were persecuted.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

The Battle of Milvian Bridge was a battle between Constantine and Maxentius. It was an important route over the Tiber. Constantine won the battle. Constantine's soldiers had the symbol of Christ on their shield because of Constantine's dream. Constantine had a vision of the cross and God confirmed that he would fight under God and succeed. It helped Constantine become the emperor of Rome.

Constantine the Great

312

Constantine had a vision the day before the Battle of Milvian Bridge. The vision instructed him to fight in the name of Christ. He also had a dream that told him to put the symbol of Christ on his soldier's shields. The symbols were chi (X) and rho (P). Constantine made a capital city filled with churches, it was dedicated to God and it was named Constantinople. He was one of the first emperors to be Christian. He was what started the rise of Christianity.

Edict of Milan

313

It was a letter signed by the Roman empires saying to stop Christian executions. It also said religious toleration. It was shortly after Diocletian stopped the Christian execution. Made by Constantine the Great and co-emperor Licinius meet at a conference. It was made in Mediolanum (Modern Milan).

Emperor Theodosius

379

He was an emperor from 379 AD to 395 AD. His full name was Flavius Theodosius Augustus. He was the last emperor to rule over the eastern and western parts of Rome.Made Christianity the official religion of Rome. He also stopped the persecutions of Christians.