Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire

Romal Rule of Isreal

63 BCE

In 63 BC, Rome began rule of Isreal. Rome ruled Isreal from 63 BC to 313 BCE. They started ruling because everybody in Isreal was Jewish and Romes main religion was Christianity. In 66 CE, the jewish people revolted against the Romans.

Paul of Tarsus

4 BCE

Paul of Tarsus was born in 4 BCE and died in 62 CE. He was one of the leaders of the first generation of Christianity. Some people consider him to be one of the most important person after jesus in the history of christianity. He travelled thousands of miles just to spread the word of Jesus which meant tons to the christians. He converted to Christianity on the Road of Damascus which is also why he is so popular.

Jesus of Nazareth

27

Jesus of Nazareth, also known as Jesus, started his ministry around 27-29 AD and ended it around 36 AD. He was called Jesus of Nazareth because he was born in a village called Nazareth. He was a religious leader that revered into Christianity, but was born Jewish and his family was Jewish too. In AD 27, he was baptized in the Jordan River. Jesus was also known as a peacemaker of yokes and ploughs. He moved back to Nazareth when he was 12 after going on a trip with his parents.

Great Fire of Rome

64

The fire started among shops lining the Circus Maximus in Rome. The fire took six days to put out and then it reignited and burned for another 3 days. Nero was miles away in a resort in Antium & people are saying he knew about this fire. Many people blamed Nero for the start of this fire because they stated that he wanted a reason to rebuild Rome the way he wanted. The fire was finally put out on July 23, 64 AD and it burned 10 of the Roman districts.

Perpetua

181

Perpetua was born in 181 AD and died at the age of 22 in 203 AD. She was a Christian martyr who wrote in a journal about her time imprisoned in Rome. Her journal is one of the oldest written work by a christian woman. Perpetua is also one of the most revered saints in the history of church. Her journal was used in masses for centuries because of how important it is to Christianity. Her death was caused by getting stabbed by a gladiator because her getting trampled by an animal didn't kill her.

Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

On February 24 of 303 CE, the roman emperor Diocletian ordered the start of the Christian persecution. This lasted til 311 CE and was known as the Roman Empire's,"last, largest, and bloodiest official persecution of Christianity. During the persecution there were as many as 3,500 Christians killed. Christians were brought and killed by animals or people in the Colosseum as people watched and cheered on. People destroyed the churches, tortured, and killed the Christians during this time.

Constantine the Great

306

Constantine the great ruled from 306-337 AD and was one of the longest rulers. He legalized Christianity with the "Edict of Milan" in Rome and Christianity became one of the most know religions because of it. The city Constantinople was built by Constantine to honor the Roman Gods. He contributed to many things including promoting church growth within Rome and also built roads and cities. Constantine was a great influence on Rome and is known as one of the best rulers.

Battle of the Milvian bridge

312

On October 28, 312 the Battle of Milvian Bridge started. The night before, Constantine had a dream with the sun with a cross on it and said it was his sign to defeat. He made his soldiers paint crosses on their shields and they entered the battle as christian soldiers. Many soldiers died trying to cross the Tiber river by drowning during the battle. Maxentius had a much bigger army than Constantine with a ratio of 10-1. Constantine still used his skill and defeated them even with less men.

Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan was a letter signed by Constantine and Lucidius in February of 313 AD. It was signed after the Great Persecution of Christians. They signed it so anyone in Rome could be able to practice whatever religion they wanted to. This increased Romes population rapidly because people came there to freely worship their religions. This was one of the reasons why Constantine was a good emperor. They wanted people to freely worship in Rome which increased population

Emperor Theodosius

379

Theodosius was the last Roman emperor to rule. He ruled from 379-395 AD until his death. He is known for making Christianity the official religion in the Roman Empire. Theodosius banned the Olympics because there were animal sacrifices and he didn't want that in Rome under his rule. He became emperor because of his military abilities, and defeated many people. He also stopped the persecution and allowed followers of Christianity to relocate.