Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

By 75961
  • 63 BCE

    Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

    Roman Rule of Israel (begins)
    • They conquered Islam and burned down their temples and destroyed most of the city, but the religion and people still lasted.
    • Once they conquered Israel, this gave Romans the ability to move between continents easily.
    • They made a deal with the israel people that if they obeyed their laws and payed their taxes, they could practice their own religion.
    • The Roman empire thrived and grew until 476 CE when the german Goths took over.
  • 5 BCE

    Jesus of Nazareth

    Jesus of Nazareth
    -He was born in Bethlehem to Virgin Mary and Joseph.
    - He spread the teachings of christianity from town to town, starting in Galilee.
    - He would talk about how the new kingdom of god was taking over and it was all good. He said he was sent from God.
    - Jesus was seen as a threat to Roman society so they decided to crucify him on April 7, 30 CE. On a friday, or easter, Jesus rose from the dead.
    - Mary and the disciples spread the stories and Christianity grew.
  • 34

    Paul of Tarsus

    Paul of Tarsus
    • Before his conversion to christianity, he was very feared in the Christian community. He was prosecuted many Christians and was relentless.
    • On his way to Damascus, alight blinded him and he heard Jesus ask him why he prosecuted those who supported Chris. He was led into Damascus where he fasted and prayed for a couple days beforeJesus came and restored his sight.
    • He ordered him to get baptized to wash his sins away. and after he spread Christianity.
    • He died in 63 CE.
  • 64

    The Great Fire of Rome

    The Great Fire of Rome
    • A fire breaks out near Palatine Hill, destroying 10 of 14 districts of Rome.
    • No one quite knows the cause of this fire but many believe Nero could've caused it because he wanted to rebuild the city, but no one else supported this so the fire made it so he could. -Since christianity was hated and the fire did not burn where most of the christians lived and worshipped, Nero blamed the fire on the Christians.
    • It finally came to a stopp on July 25, 64 CE.
  • 181

    Perpetua

    Perpetua
    -Christianity had a big community in North Africa so they were trying to get it "under control" by arresting.
    -They arrested 5 people who were taking classes for baptism and Perpetual was one of them.
    -Her father begged her to just go against Christianity so she would't have to stay in prison but she refused.
    -In her trial, he dad tried to make her sacrifice her own baby but he told the judges that he was Christian so she and her friends were sent to the arena to be killed on March 7, 203 CE.
  • 303

    The Great Persecution

    The Great Persecution
    • It was the last and the heaviest of all of the Christin persecutions. -The emperors,Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius, made the first edict on this day.
    • Legal rights were removed from all christians and torture was threatened upon them.
    • This targeted senior clerics and church property.
    • It killed many Christians and was meant to be the termination of Christians until Constantine made the Edict of Milan in 313 CE.
  • 312

    Constantine the Great

    Constantine the Great
    • Before the Battle of Milvian bridge, Constantine has a vision that his army will win if he fights in the symbol of christ.
    • That same night, he has a dream about the same thing.
    • He marks there shields with the symbol, the labarum, a christian symbol.
      -The next day, they end up winning the battle and this causes Constantine to believe that Christianity should allowed. -This was one of the biggest reasons why Christianity is so big today.
    • He died on May 22, 337 CE.
  • 312

    The Battle of Milvian Bridge

    The Battle of Milvian Bridge
    • Before the battle, Constantine and his troops saw a cross in the air with the words, "In this sign conquer" in Latin.
    • The same night, he had a dream where Christ told him to use his sign and Constantine will win the battle so that is what he did.
    • Some think that the troops could have just been lying about seeing this sign in the air and were just following Constantine so they wouldn't get in trouble.
    • After the battle, a triumphal arch was dedicated to the victory and Constantine 315 CE
  • 313

    Edict of Milan

    Edict of Milan
    • This was created by the emperors, Constantine and Licinius, mostly due to the incident that occurred at the Battle of Amilvian Bridge.
    • The proclamation allowed all people to worship any religion of their choice and that Christians were to be tolerated and had legal rights.
    • Edicts that had been made before about tolerating other religions had only lasted for a short amount of time but this one was effective.
    • This was the start of Christianity taking over the Empire of Rome.
  • 379

    Emperor Theodosius

    Emperor Theodosius
    • He was the last Roman Emperor to use the Roman Empire when it was united.
    • His empire ruled until 450 and 455 throughout the east and west.
    • For Rome, he made the main religion Christianity and protected it from paganism and Arianism with success.
    • Theodosius defeated pagan forces under Arbogast and Eugenius which is considered one of his best achievements.
    • In 395 CE, he dies and his son takes over his position of power.