Ancient Rome: The

Rise of Christianity

World History

Entering a Time of Peace

Under Julius Caesar, Rome became an empire.

Octavian Augustus was the first emperor of

Rome.

Rome became too powerful to be challenged

and entered a time of peace in the empire,

known as the Pax Romana or “Roman Peace.”

Allowed ideas to spread across the world.

How Powerful Was Rome?

3 million square

miles

80 million

people

1 million

residents in city

of Rome.

The Rise of a New Religion

In 63 BC, Rome took over Judea, the home of the Jewish religion.

Judea was controlled by King Herod, a Jewish governor for Rome.

After Herod’s death, fighting broke out among his sons.

Rome sent troops to create peace in Judea.

The Birth of Christianity Judaism was tolerated by the Romans at first.

First Monotheistic Religion: Only one

supreme god.

Jesus of Nazareth was born under the rule of

Octavian (Caesar Augustus)

Grew up preaching the idea of one true god

Spread a message of peace, love, forgiveness.

Many Jews believed that Jesus was the Messiah or Savior, from the Romans.

Jesus was called Christ which means “savior” in Greek.

How do We Know About Jesus?

Followers of Jesus wrote about the

teachings and experiences that

occurred during his life.

These writings were called Gospels,

meaning ‘good news’

Can be found in the New Testament of

the Christian Bible.

The Old Testament is used by the Jewish

faith which does not believe Jesus was

the true Messiah.

The Pros and Cons of Christianity

Why did Christianity appeal to people?

Embraced All people

Promised life after death for

ALL people.

Appealed to poorer people

who were not wealthy like Romans.

Because of the Pax Romana, these ideas of Christianity

were able to spread quickly through the empire.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

The popularity of Jesus with the poor angered

the Romans and the Jews.

Jesus was called the “Son of God” and a “King”

Jews feared Jesus’s preaching would anger the

Romans

Jewish leaders turned Jesus over to the Roman

governor of Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate to be

Crucified.

“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to

God.”

Golgotha- “Place of the Skull”

After the Apostles

*Followers of Jesus became known as Christians.

Much of what is known about Jesus comes from

the writings of his Apostles.

*Apostle means “One who

travels”.

Apostles traveled, spread Christian teachings,

and wrote the Gospels of the Bible.

Peter and Paul were two very influential

Apostles.

The 12 Apostles

Roman Persecution of Jews and

Christians

Why did the Romans hate Christianity/Judaism?

Monotheism vs. Polytheism

Christians/Jews didn’t recognize the emperors as

Gods.

Blamed for any problems in Roman society.

Emperors such as Nero crucified and tortured

Christians and Jews as traitors.

Many Jews fled their homeland to escape- Known as

the Jewish Diaspora- or “spreading out”

Christians and Jews became Martyrs: Dying for their

beliefs.

The Jews Strike Back

66 AD- Jews rebel against the Romans.

70 AD- Romans stormed Jerusalem and destroy

their temple, leaving only the Western Wall a.k.a

the “wailing wall”.

73 AD- Jews and Romans fight at the Battle of

Masada. Over 500,000 Jews died in this battle,

mostly of suicide.

Today- The Western Wall is Jerusalem’s holiest

shrine.

The Victory Arch of Emperor

Titus over the Jews in Jerusalem

Hilltop Fortress at Masada

Jerusalem’s Western Wall

The Martyrdom of Peter

Peter the Apostle traveled to Rome

and was crucified upside down by

Nero.

Believed to be the first “Bishop” or

Pope of the Christian Church.

Today, all Popes are believed to be

descendants of St. Peter.

We now call this the “Catholic” church

which means “Universal”.

St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City

The Vatican

The Tomb of Saint Peter

Christianity Under Constantine

In 312 AD, Constantine became

Emperor of Rome.

During Battle, he saw an image of a cross

and won.

313 AD- Constantine issues the Edict of

Milan making Christianity a legal religion

in Rome.

To strengthen the religion he called the

Council of Nicaea to establish the core

beliefs of Christianity, leading to the

Nicene Creed.

Finally Official

In 380 AD, Emperor Theodosius declared

Christianity the Offical Religion of the Roman

Empire.