Christianity And The Roman Empire The Jewish Diaspora

Christianity And The Roman Empire

The Jewish Diaspora • • In 70 CE the Roman Empire decided to end the Jewish rebellions once and for all. The Roman Army entered Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple. Fleeing for their lives Jews and Jewish-Christians fled the city and moved to different parts of the Roman Empire. This Diaspora helped spread the Christian message to new parts of the empire.

Why Was Christianity So Attractive? • The message of Christianity with Greek philosophy made the religion more attractive. • Its message of equality appealed to many of the lower classes and women. • As times became worse for the Roman Empire, Christianity offered comfort in those troubling times.

How Did Christianity Become The Religion of The Late Roman Empire? • The classical ideals that had held the Roman Empire together were beginning to weaken. • Roman citizenship did not have the status it once had under Augustus and the “good emperors”. • Constantine, if he was to hold the empire together, needed something to unify the empire once again.

Constantine • Constantine was a general who later became ruler of all of the Roman Empire • He moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium

How did Rome become Christian? • Constantine mentioned that he had a vision of a cross that would lead him to victory • Constantine later stopped persecutions of Christians