Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Paul of Tarsus

20

-Paul promoted the theory of divine grace and salvation
-Paul met James in Jerusalem
-helped make Christianity a universal religion
-Many of his writings are in the New testimate
-May have his name because of Roman citizenship.
-Paul was put in prison in Jerusalem and said to have been killed in prison

Jesus of Nazareth

30

-Jesus was the foundation of Christianity
-Ministry of Jesus began when he was 12 years old
-Many of his ministries were on how to live a righteous life
-Christians believed that he dies for there sins and later rose from the dead
-He was said to be the reincarnation of God

The Great Fire of Rome

64

-Nero was the ruler for two decades and wanted to rebuild Rome but was denied that.
-On July 19th fire broke out along the shops at Circus Maximus but it wasn't unusual
-The fire ended up last for 6 days before coming under control
-After smoked cleared, 10 out of 14 districts were burnt down, two-thirds of Rome had been burned down.
-History blamed Nero for the fire saying that he wanted it burn so he could rebuild, but Nero blamed the Christians for the fire

Perpetua

203

-Perpetua was a Christian martyr of the 3rd century
-when Emperor Septimius Severus came into power he wan't to cripple Christianity
-Perpetua was one of the first five to be arrested for being Christian
-She was killed after staying true to her faith
-Died in 203 after being killed, it is never know when she was born

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

-The persecution began in the reign of Diocletian & lasted for 8 years. His goal was to wipe out the christian faith.
-Along with it he burned down the churches so they had meetings in secret
-The Christians were tortured & executed if they refused to sacrifice to the Roman Gods
-Augustus continued the persecution til 311
-It ended with the a series of edicts making christian practices legal.

Constantine the Great

306

-Constantine was the first Roman emperor to profess Christianity
-He helped the spread and evolution of Christianity
-He chose to cease the persecution of Christianity which was a big turning point to help the growth of Christianity
-Laws issued called Edict of Milan helped legalize Christianity happened under his reign helping Christianity.
-He ordered the Council of Nicaea to be built and it became one of the most holy places.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

-On 10/28 312 A.C. Constantine defeated Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge.
-Maxentius was attempting to retreat by the Tiber river across the Milvian Bridge when it collapsed and troops of Maxentinus were either killed or imprisioned
-Maxentius was one of the men who died when trying to swim in the river but ended up drowning.
-The battle was won by Constantine & he took full control of Rome
-With the win Constantine was able to legalize all religions specifically Christianity

Edict of Milan

313

-It permanently established religion tolerance for Christianity
-The Edict was established in 313 A.D.
-It was issued when Constantine and Licinius were emperors
-It was issued in Milan so that it was the name it was given
-Began in a period of time when Constantine was favoring the religion instead of hating and creating crimes on it

Emperor Theodosius

400

-When in reign made Christianity the official religion of Rome
- His first goal was to secure his kingdom against the barbarians, which he ended up agreeing to co-exist w/ them.
-Civil war broke out as a fact of political and religious problems.
-Theodosius was loyal to Christianity and wanted not only for Christianity to be the main religion but also wanted to put out paganism out fully
-He won the civil battle & put out paganism and Christianity became the main religion of Rome.

Roman rule of Islam

620

-In 620s the birth of Islam arrived in Arabia
-In 628 Mohammad asked Rome to change accept Islam
-The battle of Mota of 3,000 Muslims and 10,000 Romans with the Romans taking the win
-Herod tried to take over Jerusalem and his first attempt was unsuccessful
-He was able to successfully take over by help with aid from governor of Syria