Rise of Christianity in The Roman Empire

Roman Rule of Israel

37 BCE

Herold, a son-in-law of Hyrcanus II was made king of Judea by the Romans. He became one of the most powerful monarchs in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. He loved Greco-Roman architecture, he made a construction program that made one of the most beautiful temples ever. Sadly he failed to get the trust of the Jewish subjects. Ten years after his death, Judea came under direct Roman control. People revolted due to suppression of culture but lost in the end.

Jesus of Nazareth

6 BCE

He was and is the central figure for Christianity. He was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. Jesus was arrested and tried by the Sanhedrin, and then finally crucified by the Romans. During the Great Persecution of Christianity, many records and places of worship were destroyed. Even as a child Jesus was recognized as an enemy of the state, and he was sentenced to death by the King's predecessor. Jesus of Nazareth was the son of Mary.

Paul of Tarsus (St. Paul)

4 BCE

St. Paul is widely considered to be one of the most important people after Jesus in the history of Christianity. His letters have helped us understand more about Christian theology. It had a big impact on what we understand about the relationship between God and Jesus, and the relationship between humanity and the divine. St. Paul was killed by decapitation, and it happened shortly after the Great Fire of Rome. This could have been the work of emperor Nero and his blaming of the Fire of Rome.

The Great Fire of Rome 64 CE

64

Historians have blamed Rome's emperor Nero for the starting of it. The infamous Great Fire of Rome had lasted 6 days. The Great Fire of Rome was started in the Circus Maximus of Rome, burned down 10 of the 14 Districts in Rome. Gangs of thugs prevented citizens from fighting the fire with threats of torture during the fire. Nero would during gladiator matches feed Christians to lions and do many intolerable things to them to blame the Fire of Rome on them.

Perpetua

203

Perpetua was a young noblewoman, one of five Christians sent to death in the arena during the Great Persecution of Christianity. One of the people she was sent to death with was a slave named Felicitas who was eight months pregnant and had given birth. People back then were relentless about destroying Christianity and all who stood in their way. It wasn't until 313 CE when the Edict of Milan was implemented, stopping the unnecessary bloodshed.

The Great Persecution of 303 CE

303

During this time period,Diocletian persecuted Christianity, burning scriptures, forbidding the warship of Christianity.Diocletian also enforced the destruction of Christian places of warship around the empire. As many of 3-3.5K Christians were executed during the Persecution under Edicts. The Great Persecution of 303 lasted from 303 to 311 CE, so it had lasted 8 years.The root of the Persecution started when an emperor tried to predict the future and saw someone doing the sign of the cross.

Constantine the Great 306-337 CE

306

Constantine and Licinius made the Edict of Milan, which made Christianity ok in the Roman Empire. Constantine the Great also became christian, which changed the Roman view on Christianity. In early years as emperor of the eastern portion of the Roman Empire, Constantine the Great reinforced cities in Britain, Gaul, and Spain.He expanded the eastern part of the empire by conquering local kings with an army. Constantine also made his own gold coin that would be used around 700 yrs after his death

Battle of Milvian Bridge

312

Constantine saw a cross in the sky and words in Latin saying under this sign you shall conquer. Before the battle Constantine's forces painted crossed on their shields and actually won. After this battle, Constantine had abolished all laws against Christianity and joined it himself.Christianity spiked in Rome and it became one of if not the biggest religion in the Roman Empire. During the battle, Constantine was outnumbered and didn't think he could win but gave the credit to god Christianity.

Edict of Milan

313

The Edict of Milan was a set of laws that abolished the Extreme Persecution of Christianity. For a long time, Christianity had been Persecuted known as the Great Persecution of Christianity until the Edict of Milan had been implemented by Constantine after him winning the battle of Milvian Bridge and convincing to Rome that Christianity wasn't that bad. It was signed in February of 313 between Constantine and Licinius, the two current emperors.

Emperor Theodosius

347

Emperor Theodosius was born in Spain, not Italy. His father became the general Flavius Theodosius, and his grandparents, like his parents were already Christians. Theodosius was raised in Spain, but he didn't get a huge education, instead, he was open-minded and interested in history. While he was with his father, he helped with campaigns against the Picts, Scots, Gauls, Samertins, and Balkans. When his father was executed by the court, he went back to spain and got married, having a child.