Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Jesus of Nazareth

4

The leader of the Christian religion, born in Bethlehem and lived his life in Nazareth. He changed water into wine and led 12 apostles and taught them. He also raised Lazarus from the dead and was crucified for claiming to be the son of God, then rose from the dead 3 days following.

Paul of Tarsus

4

He was an Apostle of Jesus, said to be the most important person after Jesus in Christian history. Paul had an enormous influence on Christianity and spread the word of Jesus around the Mediterranean area. He turned Christianity from a small religion to something over 2 billion people worship today.

Great Fire of Rome

64

The Great Fire of Rome was an urban fire that burned for about 9 days. It first began in the Circus Maximus. After 6 days it was brought under control, but then it reignited and burned for another 3 days. Afterward, most of Rome had been destroyed but there were only 6 verified deaths. Emperor Nero was blamed for the fire so that he could redesign Rome.

Roman Rule of Israel (begins)

66

The Jewish-Roman war began in 66 AD and Nero was the emperor while this occurred. The war escalated when Jews protested against taxes but it was ended 4 years later. The Roman Army was led by future emperor Titus.

Perpetua

203

Perpetua was a 22 year old married woman and she was a mother. She was killed because she was Christian and Christians were asked to be sacrificed to the Roman gods. They were killed in an arena if they refused to be sacrificed.

Constantine the Great

272

He was the first emperor to being the conversion to Christianity, and to do so he created the Edict of Milan in 313 which allowed Christians to freely practice their religion, and all other religions. He was the first Christian emperor, and last of the 5 good emperors.

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

Between 3,000 and 3,500 Christians were killed by Emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius and Constantius. Christians were demanded to follow traditional Roman religion, giving them no freedom of religion at all. Christians were killed in all different ways, some torn apart by dogs while others were set on fire. Most were killed because they wouldn't worship the Roman religion and Roman gods.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

A battle fought on Milvian Bridge over the Tiber River, Constantine led his army to win the battle. This helped Constantine become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire and it was fought between Constantine and Maxentius. This battle made Constantine end the Tetrarchy.

Edict of Milan

313

Put into order by Constantine and Licinius and it made Christianity legal to practice. This was put into order shortly after the Great persecution in 303 and ultimately stopped the Persecutions of Christians. The Edict of Milan also helped rapidly spread Christianity throughout the Empire.

Emperor Theodosius

347

Issued the Edict of Thessalonica and made Christianity the main religion of the Roman Empire. He was the last emperor to rule both the east and west sides of Rome collectively. He completely prohibited paganism and abolished the Olympics while prohibiting paganism because they were founded in the place Zeus was worshiped.