1 - The dawn of Christianity - The Roman Empire

The dawn of Christianity

To start telling the history of Christianity, it is necessary to get a short overview of world history. This will help put in context the time and place of the birth of Jesus Christ and Christianity.

More than 2000 years ago, at the dawn of the Christian era, the main centers of civilization and human knowledge were located in four regions of the Earth: The Mediterranean, Mesopotamia, India and China.

Source: Google - maps of first civilizations

From these regions of the ancient world, the Mediterranean Sea was the region with the greatest cultural variety. There, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and other civilizations flourished. In the Mediterranean shores, the Roman Empire developed and became the empire that left the deepest mark left by any nation in history. Within this empire is where Christianity appeared. (Colored red on the map below)

 

Civilizations in 350 A.D. Source: Wikipedia

The culture of what we call today the western world, and the culture of modern nations where Christianity is the main religion, has its origins in the Greco-Roman civilization and the Roman Empire. Over the centuries, Western civilization had the greatest thrust and expansive force, to the point that today its culture and its influence reach the entire planet. Looking back on the above facts, it might not be risky to affirm that such a place and time in the past was good to sow the seeds of a spiritual movement which in the future would forward its message to the entire planet and all mankind.


The Roman Empire
 
The city of Rome was founded, according to legend, in 753 B.C. Its inhabitants, the Romans, tried to create an efficient government. They got rid of their kings and established a republic. Rome initially was a city - state surrounded by hostile peoples. Over the centuries, thanks to its efficient military organization, the Romans extended their domination over the surrounding regions, and in the time that their city was five centuries old, they achieved the domination of the entire Italian peninsula. Rome then became a naval power and faced other great nations of the Mediterranean world, and although Rome suffered defeats, it always achieved the final victory. In the second century B.C. it was the greatest power in the Mediterranean.

In the first century B.C., Rome defeated its rivals and extended its rule to the entire Mediterranean, from the Atlantic to the Caspian Sea, under the direction of its efficient generals Pompey and Julius Caesar. In the roman domain was included Greece, whose civilization and culture was greatly admired by the Romans.
 

Source: Google - maps of the Roman Empire

Emperor Augustus

After a series of civil wars, Octavius, nephew of Julius Caesar, achieved total power after defeating all his rivals in 29 B.C. Peace finally arrived after seven centuries of civil and conquest wars. For Octavius, the republic was not the most convenient system to govern the vast expanse of land and sea that Rome dominated, so once peace reigned in the entire Empire, Octavius reorganized the government of all Roman territories focusing the reins of power in himself. However, Octavio treated the Roman Senate respectfully and, although he left it with no real power, he kept it as a consultative body and maintained the fiction of the republic. The Senate conferred to Octavius the title of "Augustus", best known in history. The army considered him the "Imperator" (commander or leader), so Augustus is considered the first of the Roman emperors.

The 45-year reign of Augustus was the golden century for the Empire. With the Mediterranean in peace and a well-managed Empire, the obstacles that blocked trade and the dissemination of ideas were eliminated. The provinces became civilized countries with a thriving economy and the roman people could dedicate more time to thinking and arts. The Romans were ardent admirers of Greek culture, which they copied and imitated. Peace allowed the expansion of Hellenic philosophy, art, and literature throughout all the provinces of the Empire. The exotic religions and cults from the eastern provinces also invaded Rome.

As we will see later, Christianity evolved under the influence of the Roman Empire, and it wouldn't have expanded and developed as it did if a vast domain had not allowed his first missionaries to travel freely in many populous provinces. Over time, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman state and even today the Catholic Church retains much of the atmosphere, the pomp and the language of the Empire.

The most prominent event during the reign of Emperor Augustus, a fact that went unnoticed at the time, was the birth of an anonymous individual in a corner of the Empire, the province of Judea...

Next Chapter: The Jews

The chapters published up to now can be consulted in the INDEX OF PUBLISHED CHAPTERS.