Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Israel

63 BCE

Begins 63 BCE
1. The Secleucids were replaced by the Romans 2. Mattathius Antigonus tried for the final time to regain Hasmonean Dynasty glory 3. The defeat of Antigonus led to the end of the Hasmonean Dynasty 4. Titus led the Roman forces that brought down Jerusalem 5. Jerusalem and Judea were regained in 132 AD, but Rome eventually got control over the two again

Paul of Tarsus

4 BCE

Born (potentially) 4 BCE-Died 62-64 AD
1. Paul of Tarsus was originally named Saul 2. Saul was against Christianity and began persecuting them 3. One of Jesus' disciples baptized Saul and he was renamed Paul to emphasize the new life that he had gotten from Christ 4.Paul traveled around to preach about Christianity 5. He would write letters to all the churches he had met in his travelling, and his letter are included in the New Testament of the Holy Bible.

Jesus of Nazareth

36

Born between 6-4 BCE Died between 30-36 AD
1. Jesus was born in a village called Nazareth 2. Jesus started his own ministry and preached to the some of the poorest people in Judaea 3. His message was that their was a kingdom that would give people relief 4. In 33 AD Jesus went to Jerusalem for Passover, and was angry to find trade going on in the temple 5. Because of His outburst in Jerusalem, Jesus was crucified, which cause more chaos and unrest in Judaea.

Great Fire of Rome

64

July 18 A.D. to July 23 A.D.
1. A six day fire in the Circus Maximus.
2.Ten of the 14 Roman districts burned
3. Nero, the emperor at the time of the fire, blamed Christians for the fire, while some people blamed Nero.
4. In his final years, Nero secluded himself because of the rumors about him starting the fire.
5. Modern historians don't think that it was Nero who started the fire, because Ancient Rome had a lot of wooden buildings, making it easy for a fire to spread.

Perpetua

181

181 AD-203AD
1. She was a Christian martyr who wrote about her experience with being imprisoned 2. Her journal is one of the few female written document that have survived 3. Perpetua was one of six people that were tried and found guilty of being Christians 4. Perpetua and the other five people being tried with her refused to give up their religion and were sentence to death 5. Perpetua passed her writing on to another Christian in prison with her, and he continued to write in the journal

Constantine the Great

272

Born February 27, 272 AD Died May 22, 337 AD 1. Constantine's father was a military officer 2. Constantine's father was emperor before him 3.Constantine was proclaimed Augustus after his father's death 4.He defeated Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge 5. In 324 AD Constantine became the sole emperor of the Roman Empire

Great Persecution

303

303 AD-313 AD 1. While it was the last persecution of Christians, it was also the harshest persecution 2. Diocletian outlawed Christianity in an effort to return Rome to it's earlier greatness 3. Some historians believe that it was Diocletian's adviser who told him to persecute the Christians 4. In some areas of Rome Christians weren't being persecuted at all, while in other areas the challenges facing Christians was severe 5. The Roman government targeted Christian leaders to serve as examples

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

October 28 312 AD
1. The battle was between Constantine and Maxentius 2. Constantine's victory as well as a series of other victories led to Constantine's power over Rome 3. Constantine believed that it was the Christian God that he won the Battle of Milvian Bridge 4. Some historians think that the victory was actually due to the bridge collapsing under Maxentius and his men 5. An arch was dedicated to Constantine by the Senate, but it may have originally been built for Maxentius

Edict of Milan

313

1. It allowed Christians the freedom to practice whatever religion they chose to practice 2. There had been other toleration edicts but the Edict of Milan was the only one that lasted 3. A political agreement between Constantine and Licinius gave way to the Edict of Milan 4.The edict cause the the return of stolen property to Christians 5. The Edict of Milan put an end to the persecution of Christians

Emperor Theodosius

347

Born 347 AD - Died 395 AD
1. His father was a military officer, and Theodosius had a role in his father campaigns 2. After his father was sentenced to death Theodosius became emperor of the eastern provinces of Rome 3. His first goal as emperor was to protect him and his realm from the barbarians 4. Theodosius was a Christian 5. An edict was issued under Theodosius' rule against paganism