Timeline of key events in the Roman Empire

The Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians
In time the Israelites grew in number and Egyptians were afraid of so many foreigners living among them. They felt that the Israelites were a threat to their internal security so they enslaved them. Pharaoh also ordered the midwives to kill all male children but they disobeyed.

The Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt
God appeared to Moses in a burning bush. He told Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.

Spies sent into Canaan
God told Moses to send spies to explore Canaan. Two of them, Joshua and Caleb were convinced they could capture the land. However 10 spies reported that the Canaanites were much too strong to be conquered. The people did not believe that with God on their side they could do it. Instead they rebelled and refused to invade Canaan.

Saul became king
Until then the Israelites were divided into twelve tribes. However the people demanded a king to rule over them. So Samuel anointed Saul as the first king of Israel. Saul first defeated the Ammonites (a people who lived Northeast of the Dead Sea). He also fought a series of wars against the Philistines.

Ahab ruled the kingdom of Israel
Ahab was a wicked man. He married an evil woman from Sidon (in modern day Lebanon) called Jezebel. Ahab also worshiped Baal the weather god and built a temple for him. Furthermore Jezebel killed many of God's prophets.

Jehu ruled Israel
He killed all of Ahab's family. He also killed the priests of Baal and the destroyed the priests of Baal. However Jehu was not a truly good man and he served God half-heartedly.

The Assyrians became a threat to Israel
The Assyrians came from northern Iraq. After 900 BC they began building a great empire. The Assyrians were formidable soldiers but they were also infamous for their cruelty.

After a 3 year siege the Assyrians captured Samaria, the capital of Israel
The Assyrians deported many of the Israelites from Samaria to other parts of their empire. Only the poorest Israelites were left behind.

Sennacherib the ruler of the Assyrians besieged Jerusalem
The Assyrians boasted that no god had ever been able to save his people from their army. However during the night God killed many thousands of the Assyrian soldiers camped outside Jerusalem, saving the city.

At this time Zephaniah prophesied that God would judge the surrounding nations
The prophet Zephaniah prophesied that the Assyrians, the Philistines, Moabites and Ammonites would all be judged. (Later they were destroyed by the Babylonians)

Josiah was king of Israel
Josiah was a good man who ordered men to repair God's temple in Jerusalem. By accident they found part of the Old Testament there and Josiah tried to enforce all of its requirements. Josiah tried to rid his kingdom of idols. Unfortunately after his death the people went back to worshiping idols.

The Assyrians were destroyed
The Babylonians and a people called the Medes from what is now Iran destroyed Nineveh the capital of the Assyrian Empire. So the Assyrian Empire came to an end.

The Babylonians conquered Jerusalem
This time they took the king of Judah, Jehoiachin, prisoner and they placed Zedekiah on the throne as a puppet king. However Zedekiah rebelled and appealed to the Egyptians for help.

The Babylonians captured Jerusalem again
Zedekiah was blinded and led away in chains. However this time the Babylonians deported all but the poorest people in Judah to other parts of the Babylonian Empire. They also plundered the temple in Jerusalem.

The Persians captured Babylon bringing the Babylonian Empire to an end
However the Persians conquered the people previously ruled by the Babylonians and they created their own empire to replace the Babylonian Empire. The Persians were a tolerant people and they allowed each part of their empire a certain amount of independence.

Rebuilding the temple began
However the Samaritans offered to help. Zerubbabel the leader of the Israelites refused. However work soon stopped because of opposition from the Samaritans who were angry at being excluded from the work.

Alexander the Great invaded the Persian Empire
Alexander quickly conquered what is now Israel. Later he completely destroyed the Persian Empire. However Alexander died in 323 without an heir. His empire was then divided among his generals. A Greek general called Ptolemy took Egypt and Israel.

Romans defeated Carthaginians from North Africa
The Romans defeated the Carthaginians (from North Africa) at the battle of Zama. Hannibal, the Carthaginian general later committed suicide. The Romans became the dominant power in the Mediterranean.

The Seleucids captured Israel
After Alexander's death a general called Seleucus took Syria and Iraq. His descendants, the Seleucids later took Israel.

A Seleucid named Antiochus Epiphanes (175-163) defiled the temple
He sacrificed to Zeus in the temple and tried to ban the Jewish religion. As a result the Jews rose in rebellion.

Ptolemy, a Roman general captured Jerusalem
From this time Israel was ruled by the Romans. It was divided into three parts, Galilee in the north, Samaria in the middle and Judea in the south

Romans allowed Herod the Great to reign as a puppet king in Judea
Herod was a cruel man but he tried to please the Jews by beginning to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. After his death one of Herod's sons, called Herod Archelaus ruled Judea. However he was so bad that in 6 AD the Romans removed him and replaced him with a Roman governor or procurator.

Octavian is Roman Emperor
From 27 BC onwards he called himself Augustus Caesar.

Paul was arrested and spent two years in prison
Paul appealed to Caesar and was sent to Rome by ship (on the way he was shipwrecked at Malta)

Domitian is Roman Emperor
He unleashed a wave of persecution against Christians

Persecution of the Christians
Persecution of the Christians and the suppression of the early Church under the Roman emperors which began in the first century, ended with the coming into power of Constantine the Great at the Milvian Bridge with the very famous 'Edict of Milan' decree, 313 CE

Jesus Christ co-equal to Father
It was during the reign of Constantine that the idea of Jesus Christ as co-equal to God, the Father began to gain momentum. Yet, Trinity was not an established doctrine at the time.

Triune god stirs controversy
The idea of a triune god stirred great controversy within the Church as still many clergy and laymen did not accept the position of Christ as God. This disagreement reached the level of confrontation between Bishop Alexander of Alexandria, Egypt and his presbyter Arius. Bishop Alexander taught that Jesus was equal to God but not Arius. A synod held at Alexandria in 321 CE, Arius was deposed and excommunicated.

Arius: Jesus Christ is not God
Arius, thought in institutional disfavor, still had much support outside Egypt. Many of the important bishops, such as the learned historian Eusebius of Palestinian Caesarea and his powerful namesake, Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia, theologically agree with Arius: Jesus Christ is not God.

Nicene Creed
The sustained controversy disturbed Constantine and in order to legitimatize his position, he invited all bishops of the Christian Church to Nicaea (which is now in Asia Minor) in May 20th, 325 C.E. Thus, the Council of Nicaea began to settle the dispute concerning the relationship between God and His son. Constantine, who was in charge of the proceedings, exercised his political power to bring to bear the bishops to accept his theological position. The creed signed by 218 bishops was clearly anti-Arian. In other words, the Creed of Nicaea endorsed the Son as co-equal to God. Two hundred eighteen of the bishops signed this creed, although it was actually the work of a minority.

Constantine sides with Arius
Constantine sides with Arius and exiles Athanasius to Trier.

Eastern bishops meet at Constantinople
Eastern bishops meet at Constantinople with the emperor in attendance. This was the fourth council since Arius' return from exile to pronounce his theology orthodox.

Emperor Constantius orders the return of Athanasius
The new Emperor Constantius orders the return of Athanasius to Alexandria.

Athanasius flees Alexandria
Athanasius flees Alexandria having learned he is about to be expelled as a heretic.

Two councils held in Antioch
Two councils are held in Antioch this year. During the First, Second and Third Arian Confessions are written in an attempt to produce a formal doctrine of faith to oppose the Nicene Creed.

Council of Sardica
At the Council of Sardica, eastern bishops demand the removal of Athanasius.

Athanasius returns
Athanasius is restored to Alexandria.

Anti-Nicene council
A second anti-Nicene council is held in Sirmium.

Anti-Athanasius council
A council is held at Aries during autumn that is directed against Athanasius.

Council condemns Athanasius
A council is held in Milan which again condemns Athanasius.

Athanasius is deposed
Athanasius is deposed on February 8th and begins his third exile.

Third Council of Sirmium
The Third Council of Sirmium is convened where it is agreed that the Father is greater than His Subordinate Son. (For those interested, the technical terms expressing these ideas, homo-ousios and homoi-ousios, which denote 'made of the same stuff' and 'made of like stuff', were avoided as being unbiblical terms).

Christ is 'like the Father'
The council of Seleucia affirms that Christ is 'like the Father', but does not specify how the Son is like the Father.

Council on Arius
A council is held in Antioch to affirm Arius' position.

Christianity, official state religion
Emperor Theodosius the Great declares Christianity the official state religion of the Empire.

First Council of Constantinople reviews controversy
The First Council of Constantinople reviews the controversy since Nicea. Emperor Theodosius the Great establishes the creed of Nicea as the standard for his realm. The Nicene Creed is re-evaluated against Apollinarius (Christ is divine Logos but not human spirit). Holy Spirit officially become 3rd in Godhead member of Trinity. Nicene Creed reaffirmed.