The Persecution of Christians during the Roman Empire

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Recommended: Christianity in the Roman Empire

The Christian persecution refers to the “religious persecution of Christians as a consequence of professing their faith, both historically and in the current era” (Princeton.edu, 2013). Over the years in history, Christians have experienced persecution for professing their faith under the hands of different nations and individuals. The persecutors include; Jews-from which Christianity originates, the Roman Empire, Hindu groups and Muslim groups. The reasons for the persecutions of Christians by various groups are still unclear. Rumors have it that Christians were persecuted because they were atheists, incestuous and cannibals (Morey, 2013; Lunn-Rockliffe, 2011). These rumors have however not been proven and continue to be treated just like that -rumors. Nevertheless, it is undisputed that various good Roman emperors persecuted Christians. It has been said that they were called good emperors because of having such great success in securing the empires borders, a prosperous economy, and an overall general peace which their predecessors had failed (Thenagain.info, 2013). Therefore, this paper delves into the persecution of Christians during the Roman Empire, particularly in the reigns of the five said good emperors- Nerva, Hadrian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelias, and Antonius Pius.

Nerva ruled Roman Empire from 96-98 AD. Nerva had been chosen to be the Emperor by the assassins of the previous emperor, Domitian. Various good things characterized Nerva’s reign. First, he was a conservative man who succeeded in fairly dealing with and creating a great working relation with the senate. Secondly, he was also able to finish all of the Domitian`s projects, valued good public image and thus spent a lot in trying to achieve it and attempted to p...

... middle of paper ...

...g it at the Stoics school and he highly embodied its principles.
Marcus Aurelius was a fanatical stoic and showed no love for Christians. He adhered to Trajan’s rescript, however he did reinstate anonymous denouncements, but his main concern was keeping peace in the empire. He introduced a Christian spy system with a reward of being able to get the property of the accused Christian. These rewards motivated accusers and many a Christian were captured and persecuted by authorities. The persecutions were barbaric and cruel in nature. After the reign of Marcus, a lull of 20-year persecution free of the church was experienced.

CONCLUSION
Though the Roman reign under Nerva, Hadrian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelias, and Antonius Pius was marked with progress in all spheres from development to civilization, these reigns were also marked with great persecution of Christians.

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