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64 BCE
Roman Rule of Israel (begins)
When Rome took over Israel, they allowed people to worship one god, as long as they followed roman rule and kept peace. Israel was important to Rome because it connected their empire. It allowed Rome to move freely between continents. While Rome was in control of Israel, religion, like Christianity, began to spread throughout the Roman empire. -
6 BCE
Jesus of Nazareth
A central figure in Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth was considered God himself. He was born in 6 BC. He is called Jesus of Nazareth, because that was "his point of origin." He is also called Jesus son of Joseph, because that is his father's name. -
4 BCE
Paul of Tarsus
This apostle, commonly known as Saint Paul, taught the gospel of Christ to people of ancient times. He was born in Tarsus, Turkey, but died in Rome, where he spread Christianity. -
64
The Great Fire of Rome
This raging fire lasted for 6 days (it ended on July 23, 64), and resulted in around 65-70% of the area being burned to the ground. It is thought that Nero, the emperor of the time hired gangs to start the fire so he could rebuild the city. Nero used Christians as a scapegoat, because their "area" was not affected by the fire. Many Christians were persecuted, because they were widely distrusted by much of society. -
203
Perpetua
On this day, Perpetua died. Perpetua was a Christian Martyr. She was arrested when she was preparing for baptism, and condemned for death in the arena. She died because she was unwilling to give up Christianity. This affected many people in ancient Rome. -
303
The Great Persecution of 303 CE
Diocletian, the Roman Emperor at the time, blamed Christians for all the problems at the time. They were also ridiculed for their refusal to sacrifice to the gods. This led to a Persecution of many Christians. Christianity struggled to survive during this time. They were persecuted in the Colosseum, and many deaths happened there. -
312
Constantine the Great
On this day, Constantine, a pagan monotheist, was preparing for battle with his troops. He had a vision of a cross in the sky. Later that day, he also had a dream message from the Christian god. It told him to put the Christian sign on the soldiers shield's, and the battle would result in victory for them. Constantine's troops won, and attributed it to the Christian god. Constantine converted to Christianity, and built a capital, meant for worship of the Christian god. -
312
Battle of Milvian Bridge
On this date, Constantine and his army were preparing for battle, they saw a vision of the Christian cross, along with the words, "In this sign conquer." Constantine also had a dream that night, that in order to win, he should mark the sign of Christ on the shields of his troops. Being highly impressed, Constantine did so, and attributed his victory to the Christian god. -
313
Edict of Milan
Constantine helped progress the adoption of Christianity when he passes the Edict of Milan. This Edict gave Romans the freedom of religion, especially Christians. It basically told everyone to leave Christians alone, because everyone has the authority to choose their religion. -
380
Emperor Theodosius
Theodosius encouraged different religions, and (on this date) issued an edict that "defined" Catholicism specifically. Only people who believed in the Father, Son, and Holy spirit, were designated as Catholic Christians.
