Roman Emperors & Christianity

What was the significance of certain Roman Emperors — and what was their effect on Christianity? Augustus · Tiberius · Constantine · Gratian

Augustus (Octavian) — BCE 27 to CE 14

The first sole Roman Emperor, Augustus emerged out of The Second Triumvirate. A grandson of the sister of Julius Caesar, he was named at first Caius Octavius, becoming Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus on adoption by the Julian gens (ca. BCE 44). "Augustus" was a title of honor granted (ca. BCE 27) by the Senate. Augustus' reforms fostered a revival of profoundly pagan Roman religious and cultural traditions.

Augustus is arguably the single most important figure in Roman history. In the course of his long and spectacular career, he put an end to the advancing decay of the Republic and established a new basis for Roman government that was to stand for three centuries — the "Principate." This system provided the Roman Empire with a series of rulers who presided over the longest period of unity, peace, and prosperity that Western Europe, the Middle East and the North African seaboard have known in their entire recorded history.

Augustus (Octavian) was emperor when Christ Jesus was born, BCE 4.

Knowing that durable all-weather roads were the major commercial and military arteries of the empire, over four decades he lavished great expenditures extending them to all frontiers — 50,000 miles (80,000 km) of high-quality roads, complemented with sturdy Roman-arch-style stone bridges. No other single feature of Roman governance produced more unity, peace, and prosperity than did its excellent roads and bridges — the "Auto-Bahn" of that age.

Tiberius — CE 14 to CE 37

Tiberius co-ruled as Emperor from CE 11 and assumed complete control in mid-September CE 13 when Augustus became exceedingly infirm. Tiberius was emperor when Christ Jesus was crucified, CE 31. It was Tiberius who authorized Pontius Pilate's jurisdiction over Judea.

Constantine — CE 306 to CE 337

Constantine I, known as Constantine the Great, was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity — or, at minimum, to extend imperial favor toward the Christian church. His Edict of Milan (CE 313) granted religious tolerance throughout the empire. Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea (CE 325) and moved the capital of the empire eastward to Constantinople. His reign marks the pivotal moment when Roman imperial power and Christian institutional authority became permanently intertwined.

Gratian — CE 375 to CE 383

Emperor Gratian was the first Roman emperor to refuse the title of Pontifex Maximus (high priest of the traditional Roman religion), marking a formal break between the imperial office and pagan priesthood. It was under Gratian and his co-emperor Theodosius I that Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire. Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica (CE 380), declaring Nicene Christianity the only legitimate imperial religion — the moment Roman Catholicism officially declared itself Christian.