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There were many other Christian martyrs, such as a Christian named "Valentine".  In A.D. 269, the Roman Emperor Claudius II ("Claudius the Cruel") banned marriages because he was having difficulty raising an army.  Valentine defied the order and performed Christian marriages in secret.  Inevitably Valentine was discovered, and he was sentenced to be beaten to death with clubs and beheaded.  The jailor's daughter visited him during his imprisonment and just before his death on February 14th, Valentine wrote her a sweet letter that he signed, "From your Valentine."

There were many other Christian martyrs, such as a Christian named "Valentine".  In A.D. 269, the Roman Emperor Claudius II ("Claudius the Cruel") banned marriages because he was having difficulty raising an army.  Valentine defied the order and performed Christian marriages in secret.  Inevitably Valentine was discovered, and he was sentenced to be beaten to death with clubs and beheaded.  The jailor's daughter visited him during his imprisonment and just before his death on February 14th, Valentine wrote her a sweet letter that he signed, "From your Valentine."

The inspiration of the Christian martyrs ultimately prevailed over the mighty Roman empire.  Official persecution of Christians continued only until the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313, issued by the emperor Constantine.  This edict established Christianity as an acceptable religion to be practiced in Rome.  In A.D. 391, emperor Theodosius declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman empire and the worship of Roman gods was outlawed.  The only legal religions in the Roman empire were then Christianity and Judaism.  All the Roman emperors after Constantine were Christian, with one exception (Julian "the Apostate").

The inspiration of the Christian martyrs ultimately prevailed over the mighty Roman empire.  '''Official persecution of Christians in the Roman empire ended with the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313, issued by the emperor Constantine'''.  This edict established Christianity as an acceptable religion to be practiced in Rome.  In A.D. 391, emperor Theodosius declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman empire and the worship of Roman gods was outlawed.  The only legal religions in the Roman empire were then Christianity and Judaism.  '''All the Roman emperors after Constantine were Christian, with one exception (Julian "the Apostate")'''.

Constantine built a new Christian capital in the East for the Roman empire that would be safe from the German invaders, and he called it Constantinople.  The city was located to benefit from the expanding trade with the East.  He built the beautiful Church of Holy Wisdom there, now known as the "Cathedral of the Hagia Sophia."  This city survived and thrived for another 1000 years, as '''the eastern portion of the Roman Empire did not decline and fall as the western portion did'''.  The architecture of this city, now known as Istanbul, Turkey, is a mixture of Christianity and Hellenistic classicism.  It is located on the Bosporus Strait at the point where Europe meets Asia, and was the wealthiest city in Europe throughout the Middle Ages.  Half the city is in Europe and the other half is in Asia.  It was sometimes called the "Queen of Cities."

Constantine built a new Christian capital in the East for the Roman empire that would be safe from the German invaders, and he called it Constantinople.  The city was located to benefit from the expanding trade with the East.  He built the beautiful Church of Holy Wisdom there, now known as the "Cathedral of the Hagia Sophia."  This city survived and thrived for another 1000 years, as '''the eastern portion of the Roman Empire did not decline and fall as the western portion did'''.  The architecture of this city, now known as Istanbul, Turkey, is a mixture of Christianity and Hellenistic classicism.  It is located on the Bosporus Strait at the point where Europe meets Asia, and was the wealthiest city in Europe throughout the Middle Ages.  Half the city is in Europe and the other half is in Asia.  It was sometimes called the "Queen of Cities."

   

   

Meanwhile, Christianity was hindered by internal conflicts over doctrine, otherwise known as heresies.  The biggest heresy was "Arianism", based on teachings of a Libyan priest in Alexandria, Egypt, who declared that Jesus was an exceptional man but was not divine (God).  To address this heresy, Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea, in A.D. 325 in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), and he presided over it.  This was the first of several important ecumenical councils held by Christians, as one was held every 50 or 100 years.  The 300 Christian leaders declared that Jesus was a human who was also fully and eternally divine, and they excommunicated and banished Arian (i.e., the emperor Constantine forced him into exile).  This issue did not generate as much of a division amongst the bishops as some modern authors suggest, and only two of over 300 bishops dissented when the nature of Jesus's divinity was voted upon.   

Meanwhile, Christianity was hindered by heresies (false doctrines).  The biggest heresy was "Arianism", based on teachings of a Libyan priest in Alexandria, Egypt, who declared that Jesus was an exceptional man but was not divine (God).  To address this heresy, Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea, in A.D. 325 in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), and he presided over it.  This was the first of several important ecumenical councils held by Christians, as one was held every 50 or 100 years.  The 300 Christian leaders declared that Jesus was a human who was also fully and eternally divine, and they excommunicated and banished Arian (i.e., the emperor Constantine forced him into exile).  This issue did not generate as much of a division amongst the bishops as some modern authors suggest, and only two of over 300 bishops dissented when the nature of Jesus's divinity was voted upon.   

The Christian leaders issued the Nicene Creed, which confirms the divine Trinity of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  Virtually all Christians of almost any denomination today, Protestant and Catholic, adhere to the Nicene Creed, and many Christians recite it daily or weekly.  As to Arianism, it was simpler than Christianity and gained popularity among Germanic invaders of the Roman Empire, but lost influence after the 8th century.

The Christian leaders issued the Nicene Creed, which confirms the divine Trinity of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  Virtually all Christians of almost any denomination today, Protestant and Catholic, adhere to the Nicene Creed, and many Christians recite it daily or weekly.  Arianism was simpler than Christianity and gained popularity for a while among Germanic invaders of the Roman Empire, but lost influence after the 8th century A.D.

Another Christian heresy was "Gnosticism", based on the Greek work for knowledge ("gnosis").  The Gnostics claimed to rely entirely on knowledge or reason, and later the word "agnostic" was coined to describe people who claim that recognition of God is impossible because it is somehow beyond human reasoning.  There are implied criticisms of the Gnostics in the letters included in the New Testament (see, e.g., 1 Timothy 1:4), so this dispute goes back to the very early days of Christianity.  The Gnostics promoted works as scriptures that were doubted or rejected by other Christians, such as the "Gospels" of Thomas and Judas.  Gnostics would also edit out passages from accepted Gospels if they felt it could not be proven, such the reference in Luke to an angel coming to strengthen Jesus during his agony prior to the Crucifixion (Luke 22:43-44).  Gnosticism had its roots in pre-Christian philosophy, and it persists to this day in attempts to pick and choose from the New Testament, and supplement it with Apocrypha (non-authentic works) as in the ''Da Vinci Code'' book and movie.

Another Christian heresy was "Gnosticism", based on the Greek work for knowledge ("gnosis").  The Gnostics claimed to rely entirely on knowledge or reason, and later the word "agnostic" was coined to describe people who claim that recognition of God is impossible because it is somehow beyond human reasoning.  There are implied criticisms of the Gnostics in the letters included in the New Testament (see, e.g., 1 Timothy 1:4), so this dispute goes back to the very early days of Christianity.  The Gnostics promoted works as scriptures that were doubted or rejected by other Christians, such as the "Gospels" of Thomas and Judas.  Gnostics would also edit out passages from accepted Gospels if they felt it could not be proven, such the reference in Luke to an angel coming to strengthen Jesus during his agony prior to the Crucifixion (Luke 22:43-44).  Gnosticism had its roots in pre-Christian philosophy, and it persists to this day in attempts to pick and choose from the New Testament, and supplement it with Apocrypha (non-authentic works) as in the ''Da Vinci Code'' book and movie.

===Jewish Rebellion and the Second Diaspora===

===Jewish Rebellion and the Second Diaspora===

The Roman Empire was brutal not only to the Christians but to the Jews.  Going back to A.D. 66, Jewish "Zealots" from Judea rebelled against the Romans and a bitter struggle followed.  Titus's Roman army was far more powerful, however, and killed many of the Zealots and then senselessly destroyed the sacred temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70, leaving only the Wailing Wall that remains to this day for Jewish believers to pray before.  Then, in A.D. 73, Jewish holdouts in a fortress near Masada finally succumbed after years of courageous fighting against the more powerful Roman army.  Herod the Great had built a fortified palace there in a rocky hill on the southwest shore of the Dead Sea, between 37 and 31 B.C.  Herod built it for his own protection in case there were a Jewish revolt against him, but the Zealots later captured it for the purposes of their own revolt.  After two years of a courageous defense against the Romans, the Romans finally prevailed with a battering ram in breaching the defenses.  The oral tradition is that the Romans used Jewish slaves who the Zealots were reluctant to kill.  Instead, the Zealots all committed suicide rather than submit to Roman authority, though another oral tradition is that the Zealots killed each other (except for the last one) out of respect for the Jewish prohibition against suicide.

The Roman Empire was brutal not only to the Christians but also to the Jews.  Going back to A.D. 66, Jewish "Zealots" from Judea rebelled against the Romans and a bitter struggle followed.  Titus's Roman army was far more powerful, however, and killed many of the Zealots and then senselessly destroyed the sacred temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70, leaving only the Wailing Wall that remains to this day for Jewish believers to pray before.  Then, in A.D. 73, Jewish holdouts in a fortress near Masada finally succumbed after years of courageous fighting against the more powerful Roman army.  Herod the Great had built a fortified palace there in a rocky hill on the southwest shore of the Dead Sea, between 37 and 31 B.C.  Herod built it for his own protection in case there were a Jewish revolt against him, but the Zealots later captured it for the purposes of their own revolt.  After two years of a courageous defense against the Romans, the Romans finally prevailed with a battering ram in breaching the defenses.  The oral tradition is that the Romans used Jewish slaves who the Zealots were reluctant to kill.  Rather than submit to Roman authority, the Zealots killed each other (out of respect for the Jewish prohibition against suicide).

Another Jewish rebellion against the Romans occurred in A.D. 132, and this time the Romans completely destroyed the Jewish state and dispersed the Jewish people to faraway lands.  This is known as the "Second Diaspora" ("diaspora" is Greek for dispersion).  (The "First Diaspora" was the Babylonian captivity.)  There would not be another Jewish homeland until 1948.  After the Second Diaspora some Jewish people converted to Christianity, while others formed Jewish communities in faraway places.  By A.D. 1000, Spain became a center for Jewish scholarship, but the Spanish Inquisition in A.D. 1492 is blamed for expelling Jews from that country.  Eastern Europe welcomed displaced Jewish settlers, and by the 17th century it became the center of the Diaspora.  In the late 1800s many Jewish people migrated to Germany and Britain, but the Holocaust in Germany during World War II destroyed Jewish communities there.  The center of the Diaspora today is the United States, which has a Jewish population of nearly 6 million, more than the 5 million Jewish population of Israel, founded in 1948.  Great Jewish centers such as Egypt and Babylon (now Iraq), which thrived in the first century, now have fewer than 1000 Jewish residents.

Another Jewish rebellion against the Romans occurred in A.D. 132, and this time the Romans completely destroyed the Jewish state and dispersed the Jewish people to faraway lands.  This is known as the "Second Diaspora" ("diaspora" is Greek for dispersion).  (The "First Diaspora" was the Babylonian captivity.)  There would not be another Jewish homeland until 1948.  After the Second Diaspora some Jewish people converted to Christianity, while others formed Jewish communities in faraway places.  By A.D. 1000, Spain became a center for Jewish scholarship, but the Spanish Inquisition in A.D. 1492 is blamed for expelling Jews from that country.  Eastern Europe welcomed displaced Jewish settlers, and by the 17th century it became the center of the Diaspora.  In the late 1800s many Jewish people migrated to Germany and Britain, but the Holocaust in Germany during World War II destroyed Jewish communities there.  The center of the Diaspora today is the United States, which has a Jewish population of nearly 6 million, more than the 5 million Jewish population of Israel, founded in 1948.  Great Jewish centers such as Egypt and Babylon (now Iraq), which thrived in the first century, now have fewer than 1000 Jewish residents.

===Augustine and Jerome===

===Augustine and Jerome===

Towards the end of the Roman empire, in the early fifth century, Augustine of Hippo (known to many as "Saint Augustine") wrote books entitled ''Confessions'' and ''City of God'', which merged classical and Christian viewpoints, and in particular reconciled the classical (Greco-Roman) view about knowledge and virtue with Christian views of sin.  Born in North Africa to a pagan father and a Christian mother, Augustine went through personal spiritual crises before converting to Christianity and advocating justification by grace alone.  He criticized all the heresies of his time and supported the sacraments of the church.  He also supported the concept of "predestination", which would later be emphasized by the Frenchman John Calvin during the Protestant Reformation in the 1530s (Calvin fled to Switzerland to promote his ideas).     

Towards the end of the Roman empire, in the early Fifth Century A.D., Augustine of Hippo (known to many as "Saint Augustine") wrote books entitled ''Confessions'' and ''City of God'', which merged classical and Christian viewpoints, and in particular reconciled the classical (Greco-Roman) view about knowledge and virtue with Christian views of sin.  Born in North Africa to a pagan father and a Christian mother, Augustine went through personal spiritual crises before converting to Christianity and advocating justification by grace alone.  He criticized all the heresies of his time and supported the sacraments of the church.  He also supported the concept of "predestination", which would later be emphasized by the Frenchman John Calvin during the Protestant Reformation in the 1530s (Calvin fled to Switzerland to promote his ideas).     

A contemporary of Augustine was Jerome ("Saint Jerome"), who translated the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament into Latin.  This became known as the Vulgate, and remained the authoritative Bible for over 1000 years.

A contemporary of Augustine was Jerome ("Saint Jerome"), who translated the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament into Latin.  This became known as the Vulgate, and remained the authoritative Bible for over 1000 years.