The Mongol Empire

The founder of Christianity is believed to have been a man named Jesus. Born about 4AD in a Jewish family in Bethlehem, Palestine, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and followed his preaching of the coming of heaven and washed off his sins in the Jordan River. Jesus began preaching to the poor and sick in Judea – then a Roman province -- and convinced them to follow the teachings of God (II/173). The major tenet of this new religion -- called Christianity due to the Greek word Christos (the Messiah) – is the belief in one universal God, who loves and protects the human kind. Salvation and the kingdom of heaven are attainable by everyone who puts his/her trust in the All Mighty. Around 32AD, Jesus was apprehended by the Jewish leadership alarmed by his growing popularity among the masses, Fearful of Roman reprisals, Jewish elders handed Jesus over to the Romans, who crucified him. While Christianity started as a small religious group, it gradually attained wide following. Several reasons contributed to its growth. After Jesus’ death, his work was continued by charismatic leaders such as Peter and Paul, who gained popularity in Europe, especially Greece and Italy. Christianity offered salvation to everybody, regardless of social status and wealth – poor and rich, sick and healthy, princes and slaves. Therefore, it became especially popular with common people. The charismatic work carried out by Christian priests, and their dedication to the cause contributed to the fact that many affluent people supported and financed Christian institutions (II/189-191). While in the Roman Empire the Christians suffered persecution, the decline of the Empire compelled emperors to seek a device that would unify the diverse imperial population. Such a device was a single religion, and Christianity seemed to be popular enough to serve this purpose. In 313AD it was declared state religion, and from that moment on Christianity would eventually gain the status of world religion since the Roman Empire ruled on three continents, and thus Christianity affected many people of different cultures, languages, and histories (I/211-214). In spite of its humble beginnings, a strange creed preached by a Palestinian Jew named Jesus has become the most popular (numerically) religion of the world. Although Christianity evolved from Judaism, this affiliation was conveniently forgotten as the Christian Church turned against the Jews in the Middle Ages. The relation between the two religions remains strained until this very day.