Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Roman Role of Israel

63 BCE

In 37 BCE, Herod was selected to be the King of Judea by the Romans
developing frustration within Jewish people increased Roman suppression of Jewish life resulted in violence which grew into a major revolt in 66 CE
The temple had been destroyed and Jerusalem burned to the ground, the Jews and Judaism survived the meeting with Rome.
Cultures began to clash in the time before the Christian Era.
Under some Romans’ rule, Judaism was recognized as a legal religion.

Jesus of Nazareth

4 BCE

While this is sometimes debated Jesus’ birth was in 4 B.C. or before.
Jesus is considered the incarnation of God and his ideals are followed as a symbol of living a spiritual life
It is trusted that he started his ministry at 30 years old when he was baptized, then declared the son of god
Jesus was taken to the court where he was beaten and convicted for claiming to be the Son of God.
Christians believe he died for the mistakes of all people and later rose from the dead.

Paul of Tarsus

10

It was Paul, who promoted the theory of divine grace and salvation
Paul met James, the brother of Jesus, in Jerusalem
Paul, a name he may have had thanks to his Roman citizenship, was born 10 AD
Paul came from a family of artisans. He was a Roman citizen, and Jewish, and he was a member of an accepted ethnicity in the Roman empire.
Paul was put in prison in Jerusalem. Later, Paul was to be sent to Jerusalem for trial, but instead, he was sent to Rome, where he arrived in 60 CE.

Great Fire of Rome

64

Nero was the leader for two decades and yearned to rebuild Rome but that didn’t occur.
On July 19th fire started around the stores by Circus Maximus but it was a regular occurrence
The fire sustained for 6 days before it was controlled
After smoked cleared, around two-thirds of Rome had been burned down.
History blamed Nero for the fire saying that he wanted to burn Rome so he could rebuild, but Nero accused Christians of starting the fire

Perpetua

181

Perpetua was a Christian martyr of the 3rd century.
Born 181 AD
Perpetua was the daughter of a fortuitous local family.
After 201, the Roman emperor outlawed Christianity or Judaism, and in 203 Hilarian enforced this.
refused to forget their faith, and were put to death in an arena.
Most of her texts involve her dreams in prison including visions of her entry into heaven

Constantine the Great

272

Constantine was the 1st Emporer who affirmed Christian practices
With his help, Christianity evolved and grew
He decided to end the persecution of Christianity which helped grow the religion
The Edict of Milan aided in legalizing Christianity Constine’s reign helped grew Christianity.
He arranged for the Council of Nicaea to be constructed and it became one of the holiest places.

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

The persecution started during the reign of Diocletian & it carried on for 8 years. His goal was to exterminate the Christian faith.
He also burned down churches so Christians had gatherings in secret
Christians were persecuted when they did not sacrifice to the Roman Gods
Augustus’ persecutions lingered until 311
The persecutions ended with a series of mandates legalizing Christianity.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

On oct. 28 312 A.C. Constantine bested Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge.
Maxentius tried to retreat to the Tiber river across the Milvian Bridge but it collapsed and his troops were either killed or imprisoned
Maxentius was a man who drowned trying to swim when the bridge collapsed
After winning the battle he took full control of Rome
After his victory Christianity developed into the major religion it is

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
Essentially a footnote to Constantine’s regime, the end of an impressive rule

Emperor Theodosius

347

Designated Christianity as main Roman Religion
His first goal was to secure his kingdom against outsiders, primarily the barbarians, later an agreement was arranged in which they’d co-exist
Due to political and religious issues a civil war commenced.
Theodosius wanted Christianity to be the sole religion in Rome
He was victorious in battle and Christianity became the main religion in Rome