1

HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION

(1ST TO 4TH CENTURY AD)
-Billy J. Zorinthara
Department of Church History & Missiology

PERSECUTION UNDER JUDAISM

Persecutions of Christians were sporadic and locally inspired, and almost never state-sanctioned
during the earlier persecution under the Judaism. In the first two centuries Christianity was a
relatively small sect which was not a significant concern of the Emperor. Martyrs were c Inter-
communal dissension began almost immediately with the teachings of Stephen at Jerusalem, who
was considered an apostate. According to the Acts of the Apostles, a year after the Crucifixion of
Jesus, Stephen was stoned for his alleged transgression of the faith, with Saul (who later converted
and was renamed Paul) looking on.In 41 AD, when Agrippa I, who already possessed the territory
of Antipas and Phillip, obtained the title of King of the Jews, in a sense re-forming the Kingdom
of Herod, he was reportedly eager to endear himself to his Jewish subjects and continued the
persecution in which James the Greater ( James, son of Zebedee, AD 44) 1lost his life, Peter
narrowly escaped and the rest of the apostles took flight. After Agrippa's death, the Roman
procurator ship began (before 41 they were Prefects in Iudaea Province) and those leaders
maintained a neutral peace, until the procurator Festus died and the high priest Annas II took
advantage of the power vacuum to attack the Church and executed James the Just (62 or 69 AD),
then leader of Jerusalem's Christians.

1
The Synoptic Gospels state that James and John were with their father by the seashore when Jesus called them to
follow him.[Matt. 4:21-22][Mk. 1:19-20] James was one of only three apostles whom Jesus selected to bear witness to his
Transfiguration. James and John (or, in another tradition, their mother asked Jesus to grant them seats on his right and
left in his glory. Jesus rebuked them, and the other ten apostles were annoyed with them. James and his brother wanted
to call down fire on a Samaritan town, but were rebuked by Jesus.[Lk 9:51-6] The Acts of the Apostles records that "Herod
the king" (traditionally identified with Herod Agrippa) had James executed by sword. He is the only apostle whose
martyrdom is recorded in the New Testament. He is, thus, traditionally believed to be the first of the twelve apostles
martyred for his faith.[Acts 12:1-2] Nixon suggests that this may have been caused by James' fiery temper, for which he
and his brother earned the nickname Boanerges or "Sons of Thunder".[Mark 3:17] F. F. Bruce contrasts this story to that
of the Liberation of Saint Peter, and notes that "James should die while Peter should escape" is a "mystery of divine
providence".
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PERSECUTION UNDER THE ROMAN EMPIRE (AD 64-311)

NERO (3768):2 The first documented case of imperially supervised persecution of Christians in
the Roman Empire begins with Nero. In 64 AD, a great fire broke out in Rome, destroying portions
of the city and economically devastating the Roman population. Some people suspected that Nero
himself was the arsonist, as Suetonius reported, claiming that he played the lyre and sang the 'Sack
of Ilium' during the fires. In his Annals, Tacitus (who wrote that Nero was in Antium at the time
of the fire's outbreak), stated that "to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the
most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians (or Chrestians)
by the populace" (Tacit. Annals XV, see Tacitus on Jesus). Suetonius, later to the period, does not
mention any persecution after the fire, but in a previous paragraph unrelated to the fire, mentions
punishments inflicted on Christians, defined as men following a new and malefic superstition.
Suetonius however does not specify the reasons for the punishment, he just lists the fact together
with other abuses put down by Nero. Due to the sparse mentions of persecution under Nero in
Roman historiography (Cassius Dio wrote about the Great Fire but did not mention Christians)
and lack of evidence that Christians were distinguished from Jews at the time, it has been called a
"myth" by modern historians. Neros Perseuction did not go beyond the City of Rome.3

While the imperial city was in flames, Nero went up to the tower of Macaenas, played upon his
harp, sung the song of the burning of Troy, and openly declared that 'he wished the ruin of all
things before his death. Besides the noble pile, called the Circus, many other palaces and houses
were consumed; several thousand perished in the flames, were smothered in the smoke, or buried
beneath the ruins. This dreadful conflagration continued nine days; when Nero, finding that his
conduct was greatly blamed, and a severe odium cast upon him, determined to lay the whole upon
the Christians, at once to excuse himself, and have an opportunity of glutting his sight with new
cruelties. This was the occasion of the first persecution; and the barbarities exercised on the

2
Claudius likely and inadvertently was the first emperor, then, to persecute Christians (who were perceived as a
Jewish sect)for, it seems, disturbing the peace. since the Jews were continually making disturbances at the
instigations of Chrestus, he [Claudius] expelled them from Rome. So writes the Roman historian Suetonius about
events in Rome around 52. Chrestus may have been a thorn in the side of Roman politicos anxious to be rid of him
and his cohorts. Or Chrestus may be the way uninformed bureaucrats pronounced the name about which Jews
argued: Christus. Such arguments between Jews and Christians were not unknown (e.g., in Ephesus; Acts 19).

3
John Foster, The First Advance: Church History AD 29-500 (Delhi: ISPCK, 1987), 71.
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Christians were such as even excited the commiseration of the Romans themselves. Nero even
refined upon cruelty, and contrived all manner of punishments for the Christians that the most
infernal imagination could design.

In particular, he had some sewed up in skins of wild beasts, and then worried by dogs until they
expired; and others dressed in shirts made stiff with wax, fixed to axletrees, and set on fire in his
gardens, in order to illuminate them. This persecution was general throughout the whole Roman
Empire; but it rather increased than diminished the spirit of Christianity. In the course of it, St.
Paul and St. Peter were martyred. To their names may be added, Erastus, chamberlain of Corinth;
Aristarchus, the Macedonian, and Trophimus, an Ephesians, converted by St. Paul, and fellow-
laborer with him, Joseph, and commonly called Barsabas, and Ananias, bishop of Damascus.

Domitian (89-96): The historian Pliny called Domitian the beast from hell who sat in its den,
licking blood. In the Book of Revelation, John of the Apocalypse may have referred to Domitian
when he described a beast from the abyss who blasphemes heaven and drinks the blood of the
saints. Domitian was the first emperor to have himself officially titled in Rome as God the Lord.
He insisted that other people hail his greatness with acclamations like Lord of the earth,
Invincible, Glory, Holy, and Thou Alone.4 Foster also noted that during Domitian rules,
My God and Lord was used by Domintian to be addressed.5

4
Imperial cult or Emperor worship: The cult of Roman emperors, living and dead, became the State religion
throughout the empire, though it originated as a simple act of thankfulness for the peace and stability brought by
Rome. Temples were erected in honour of Julius Caesar soon after his death (44 BCE) and to Augustus in his lifetime,
e.g. at Pergamum. This explains the reference to Satan's throne (Rev. 2: 13). In this city, as elsewhere, the cult
developed because local people wanted it not in order to flatter the establishment but out of genuine gratitude for the
benefits brought by Rome, and it was not felt to be a substitute for existing religions. Nevertheless, as the feelings of
gratitude faded, the imperial cult became more and more a test of loyalty to the regime. The consequence was that
refusal to perform the outward rituals was bound to incur penalties. Emperors are treated as God and worshiping
imperial cult is seen as unity of the emperor.
5
John Foster, The First Advance: Church History AD 29-500 ,71.
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According to some historians, Jews and Christians were heavily persecuted toward the end
of Domitian's reign. The Book of Revelation, which mentions at least one instance of martyrdom
(Rev 2:13; cf. 6:9), is thought by many scholars to have been written during Domitian's reign. Early
church historian Eusebius wrote that the social conflict described by Revelation reflects
Domitian's organization of excessive and cruel banishments and executions of Christians, The
emperor Domitian, who was naturally inclined to cruelty, first slew his brother, and then raised the
second persecution against the Christians. In his rage he put to death some of the Roman senators,
some through malice; and others to confiscate their estates. He then commanded all the lineage of
David be put to death. Among the numerous martyrs that suffered during this persecution was
Simeon, bishop of Jerusalem, who was crucified; and St. John, who was boiled in oil, and afterward
banished to Patmos. Flavia, the daughter of a Roman senator, was likewise banished to Pontus;
and a law was made, "That no Christian, once brought before the tribunal, should be exempted
from punishment without renouncing his religion."

A variety of fabricated tales were, during this reign, composed in order to injure the Christians.
Such was the infatuation of the pagans, that, if famine, pestilence, or earthquakes afflicted any of
the Roman provinces, it was laid upon the Christians. These persecutions among the Christians
increased the number of informers and many, for the sake of gain, swore away the lives of the
innocent. Another hardship was, that, when any Christians were brought before the magistrates, a
test oath was proposed, when, if they refused to take it, death was pronounced against them; and
if they confessed themselves Christians, the sentence was the same.
The following were the most remarkable among the numerous martyrs who suffered during this
persecution. Dionysius, the Areopagite, was an Athenian by birth, and educated in all the useful
and ornamental literature of Greece. He then travelled to Egypt to study astronomy, and made very
particular observations on the great and supernatural eclipse, which happened at the time of our
Savior's crucifixion. The sanctity of his conversation and the purity of his manners recommended
him so strongly to the Christians in general, that he was appointed bishop of Athens.
Nicodemus, a benevolent Christian of some distinction, suffered at Rome during the rage of
Domitian's persecution. Protasius and Gervasius were martyred at Milan. Timothy was the
celebrated disciple of St. Paul, and bishop of Ephesus, where he zealously governed the Church
until A.D. 97. At this period, as the pagans were about to celebrate a feast called Catagogion,
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Timothy, meeting the procession, severely reproved them for their ridiculous idolatry, which so
exasperated the people that they fell upon him with their clubs, and beat him in so dreadful a
manner that he expired of the bruises two days later.

Trajan (98117): Trajan's policy towards Christians was no different from the treatment of other
sects, that is they would only be punished if they refused to worship the emperor and the gods, but
they were not to be sought out.The "edict of Septimius Severus" touted in the Augustan History is
considered unreliable by historians. According to Eusebius, the Imperial household of Maximinus'
predecessor, Alexander, had contained many Christians. Eusebius states that, hating his
predecessor's household, Maximinius ordered that the leaders of the churches should be put to
death. According to Eusebius, this persecution of 235 sent Hippolytus of Rome and Pope Pontian
into exile but other evidence suggests that the persecutions of 235 were local to the provinces
where they occurred rather than happening under the direction of the Emperor.

Marcus Aurelius (161-180): The persecution in Lyon in AD 177 was a persecution of Christians
in Lugdunum, Roman Gaul (present-day Lyon, France), during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161-
180). By 177, a number of the Christians in the area of Vienne and Lyons were Greeks from
Asia.[2] Before the actual outbreak of violence, Christians were forbidden from the marketplace,
the forum, the baths, or to appear in any public places.If they did appear in public they were subject
to being mocked, beaten, and robbed by the mob. The homes of Christians were vandalized. (Hist.
Eccl., 5.1.5,7). The martyrs of Lyons were accused of "Thyestean banquets and Oedipean
intercourse," a reference to cannabalism and incest.

The authorities seized the Christians and questioned them in the forum in front of the
populace. They were then imprisoned until the arrival of the governor.According to Eusebius (Hist.
Eccl.,5.4), while yet a presbyter or elder, St. Irenaeus was sent with a letter, from certain members
of the Church of Lyons awaiting martyrdom, to Eleutherus, bishop of Rome.When the governor
arrived at Lugdunum, he interrogated them in front of the populace again, mistreating them to such
a degree that Vettius Epagathus, a Christian and man of high social standing, requested permission
to testify on behalf of the accused. This request was refused and instead the governor arrested
Vettius Epagathus when he confessed to being a Christian (5.1.9-10).These Christians endured
 6

torture while the authorities continued to apprehend others. Two of their pagan servants were
seized and, fearing torture, falsely charged the Christians with incest and cannibalism (Hist. Eccl.,
5.1.12-13).What followed was the torture of the captive Christians by various means. In the end,
all were killed, some of whom had recanted but later returned to the faith (Hist. Eccl., 5.1.45-
46).There were 48 victims at Lyons, half of them were of Greek origin, half Gallo-Roman.The
elderly Bishop Pothinus, first Bishop of Lyons, was beaten and scourged, and died shortly after in
prison.A slave, Blandina was subjected to extreme torture. She was initially exposed, hung on a
stake, to be the food of the beasts let loose upon her. As none of the beasts at that time touched
her; she was brought back again to the prison, before being cast in a net and thrown before a
bull.Also martyred at this time were Attalus, Epipodius and Alexander, Maturus, Saint Ponticus,
a fifteen-year-old boy, and Sanctus, a deacon from Vienne.

Septimius Severus (193-211): A number of persecutions of Christians occurred in the Roman

Empire during the reign of Septimius Severus (193-211).The traditional view has been that
Severus was responsible. This is based on a reference to a decree he is said to have issued
forbidding conversions to Judaism and Christianity but this decree is known only from one source,
the Augustan History, an unreliable mix of fact and fiction. Early church
historian Eusebius describes Severus as a persecutor, but the Christian apologist Tertullian states
that Severus was well disposed towards Christians, employed a Christian as his personal physician
and had personally intervened to save from "the mob" several high-born Christians whom he knew.
Eusebius' description of Severus as a persecutor likely derives merely from the fact that numerous
persecutions occurred during his reign, including those known in the Roman martyrology as the
martyrs of Madaura and Perpetua and Felicity in the Roman province of Africa, but these were
probably as the result of local persecutions rather than empire-wide actions or decrees by Severus.

Other instances of persecution occurred before the reign of Decius, but there are fewer accounts
of them from 215 onward. This may reflect a decrease in hostility toward Christianity or gaps in
the available sources. Perhaps the most famous of these post-Severan persecutions are those
attributed to Maximinus the Thracian (r. 235-238). According to Eusebius, a persecution
undertaken by Maximinus against heads of the church in 235 sent both Hippolytus and Pope
Pontian into exile on Sardinia. Other evidence suggests the persecution of 235 was local to
Cappadocia and Pontus, and not set in motion by the emperor.
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One traditional account of killing is the Persecution in Lyon6 in which Christians were purportedly
mass-slaughtered by being thrown to wild beasts under the decree of Roman officials for
reportedly refusing to renounce their faith according to St. Irenaeus. The sole source for this event
is early Christian historian Eusebius of Caesarea's Church History, an account written in Egypt in
the 4th century. Tertullian's Apologeticus of 197 was ostensibly written in defense of persecuted
Christians and was addressed to Roman governors.

Decius (249251): Decius became Roman emperor in 249 as a result of military victories. He
made efforts to revive Rome's "Golden Age", adding the name of one of his most admired
predecessors, Trajan, to his own, revived the ancient office of censor and restored the Colosseum.
Restoration of traditional Roman piety was another of his aims, and after performing the annual
sacrifice to Jupiter on January 3, 250, he issued an edict, the text of which is lost, ordering sacrifices
to the gods to be made throughout the Empire. Jews were specifically exempted from this
requirement. A decree was issued requiring public sacrifice, a formality equivalent to a testimonial
of allegiance to the Emperor and the established order. Decius authorized roving commissions
visiting the cities and villages to supervise the execution of the sacrifices and to deliver written
certificates to all citizens who performed them. Christians were often given opportunities to avoid
further punishment by publicly offering sacrifices or by burning incense to Roman gods, and were

6
The persecution in Lyon in AD 177 was a persecution of Christians in Lugdunum, Roman Gaul (present-day Lyon,
France), during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161-180). By 177, a number of the Christians in the area of Vienne and
Lyons were Greeks from Asia. Before the actual outbreak of violence, Christians were forbidden from the marketplace,
the forum, the baths, or to appear in any public places. If they did appear in public they were subject to being mocked,
beaten, and robbed by the mob. The homes of Christians were vandalized. (Hist. Eccl., 5.1.5, 7). The martyrs of Lyons
were accused of "Thyestean banquets and Oedipean intercourse," a reference to cannibalism and incest.How long all
of this lasted is not indicated, but eventually the authorities seized the Christians and questioned them in the forum in
front of the populace. They were then imprisoned until the arrival of the governor.According to Eusebius (Hist.
Eccl.,5.4), while yet a presbyter or elder, St. Irenaeus was sent with a letter, from certain members of the Church of
Lyons awaiting martyrdom, to Eleutherus, bishop of Rome.When the governor arrived at Lugdunum, he interrogated
them in front of the populace again, mistreating them to such a degree that Vettius Epagathus, a Christian and man of
high social standing, requested permission to testify on behalf of the accused. This request was refused and instead
the governor arrested Vettius Epagathus when he confessed to being a Christian (5.1.9-10).These Christians endured
torture while the authorities continued to apprehend others. Two of their pagan servants were seized and, fearing
torture, falsely charged the Christians with incest and cannibalism (Hist. Eccl., 5.1.12-13).What followed was the
torture of the captive Christians by various means. In the end, all were killed, some of whom had recanted but later
returned to the faith (Hist. Eccl., 5.1.45-46).There were 48 victims at Lyons, half of them were of Greek origin, half
Gallo-Roman.The elderly Bishop Pothinus, first Bishop of Lyons, was beaten and scourged, and died shortly after in
prison.A slave, Blandina was subjected to extreme torture. She was initially exposed, hung on a stake, to be the food
of the beasts let loose upon her. As none of the beasts at that time touched her; she was brought back again to the
prison, before being cast in a net and thrown before a bull.Also martyred at this time were Attalus, Epipodius and
Alexander, Maturus, Saint Ponticus, a fifteen-year-old boy, and Sanctus, a deacon from Vienne.
 8

accused by the Romans of impiety when they refused. Edict of 250 was passed by Decius and
Certificate of Sacrifice (Libelli, Libellus)7 was made compulsory for everyone as a sign of showing
that they had offered a sacrifice to the Roman gods.

The edict ordered that the sacrifices be performed in the presence of a Roman magistrate, and a
signed and witnessed certificate be issued to that effect. It was the first time that Christians had
faced legislation forcing them to choose between their religious beliefs and death, although there
is no evidence that Decius' edict was specifically intended to target Christians. The edict appears
to have been designed more as an Empire-wide loyalty oath. Nevertheless, a number of Christians
were put to death for refusing to perform the sacrifices, many others apostatized and performed
the ceremonies, and others went into hiding. The effects were long-lasting and caused tension
between Christians who had performed the sacrifices or fled and those who had not, and left bitter
memories of persecution. Refusal was punished by arrest, imprisonment, torture, and executions.
Christians fled to safe havens in the countryside and some purchased their certificates, called
libelli. Several councils held at Carthage debated the extent to which the community should accept
these lapsed Christians. The Christian church, despite no indication in the surviving texts that the
edict targeted any specific group, never forgot the reign of Decius whom they labelled as that
"fierce tyrant".

Some early Christians sought out and welcomed martyrdom. Roman authorities tried hard to avoid
Christians because they "goaded, chided, belittled and insulted the crowds until they demanded
their death." According to Droge and Tabor, "in 185 the proconsul of Asia, Arrius Antoninus, was
approached by a group of Christians demanding to be executed. The proconsul obliged some of
them and then sent the rest away, saying that if they wanted to kill themselves there was plenty of
rope available or cliffs they could jump off.. Such seeking after death is found in Tertullian's
Scorpiace and in the letters of Saint Ignatius of Antioch but was not the only view of martyrdom

7
A libellus (plural libelli) in the Roman Empire was any brief document written on individual pages (as opposed to
scrolls or tablets), particularly official documents issued by governmental authorities.The term libellus has particular
historical significance for the libelli that were issued during the reign of Emperor Decius to citizens to certify
performance of required pagan sacrifices in order to demonstrate loyalty to the authorities of the Roman Empire.
During later periods libelli were issued as certificates of indulgence, in which the confessors or martyrs interceded for
apostate Christians.
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in the early Christian church. The 2nd century text Martyrdom of Polycarp relates the story of
Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, who did not desire death, but died a martyr, bound and burned at the
stake, then stabbed when the fire miraculously failed to touch him. The Martyrdom of Polycarp
advances an argument for a particular understanding of martyrdom, with Polycarps death as its
prized example. The example of the Phrygian Quintus, who actively sought out martyrdom, is
repudiated.

Valerian Persecutions (253260): The emperor Valerian took the throne in 253 but from the
following year he was away from Rome fighting the Persians who had conquered Antioch. He
never returned as he was taken captive and died a prisoner. However he sent two letters regarding
Christians to the Senate. The first, in 257, ordered all Christian clergy to perform sacrifices to the
Roman gods and forbade Christians from holding meetings in cemeteries. A second letter the
following year ordered that bishops and other high ranking church officials were to be put to death,
and that senators and equites who were Christians were to be stripped of their titles and lose their
property. If they would not perform sacrifices to the gods they also were to be executed. Roman
matrons who would not apostatize were to lose their property and be banished, while civil servants
and members of the Emperor's staff and household who refused to sacrifice would be reduced to
slavery and sent to work on the Imperial estates.The fact that there were such high ranking
Christians at the very heart of the Roman imperial establishment shows both that the actions taken
by Decius less than a decade before had not had a lasting effect and that Christians did not face
constant persecution or hide from public view.

Among those executed under Valerian were Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, and Sixtus II, Bishop of
Rome with his deacons including Saint Lawrence. The public examination of Cyprian by the
proconsul in Carthage, Galerius Maximus, on 14 September 258 has been preserved. Valerian
policy was to execute bishops and senior clergy, and thus leave the church leaderless. But was
disturbed by barbarian and Persians invader, and valerians plan was not fulfilled. The next
emperor, Gallienus (261) stopped the persecution as unlawful andgave tback the property of
thechurch to the Christians.8 A warrant to arrest a Christian, dated 28 February 256, was found
among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri (P. Oxy 3035). The grounds for the arrest are not given in the

8
Foster, The First Advanced, 76.
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document. Valerian's first act as emperor on 22 October 253 was to make his son Gallienus his
Caesar and colleague. Early in his reign, affairs in Europe went from bad to worse, and the whole
West fell into disorder. In the East, Antioch had fallen into the hands of a Sassanid vassal and
Armenia was occupied by Shapur I (Sapor). Valerian and Gallienus split the problems of the
empire between them, with the son taking the West, and the father heading East to face the Persian
threat.

THE GREAT PERSECUTION UNDER DIOCLETIAN9

These desultory persecutions culminated with the reign of Diocletian and Galerius at the end of
the third century and the beginning of the 4th century. Diocletian, acclaimed emperor on November
20, 284, was a religious conservative, faithful to the traditional Roman cult. Unlike Aurelian (r.
27075), Diocletian did not foster any new cult of his own. He preferred older gods, Olympian
gods. The Great Persecution is considered the largest. Beginning with a series of four edicts
banning Christian practices and ordering the imprisonment of Christian clergy, the persecution
intensified until all Christians in the empire were commanded to sacrifice to the Roman gods or
face immediate execution. Over 20,000 Christians are thought to have died during Diocletian's
reign. One of the most prominent martyrs during the Diocletian persecution was Saint George, a
Roman soldier who loudly renounced the Emperor's edict, and in front of his fellow soldiers and
tribunes claimed to be a Christian by declaring his worship of Jesus Christ. Diocletian attempted
to convert George, even offering gifts of land, money and slaves if he made a sacrifice to the
Roman gods; he made many offers, but George never accepted any of them and was subsequently
tortured and decapitated. Though Diocletian zealously persecuted Christians in the Eastern part of
the empire, his co-emperors in the West did not follow the edicts so Christians in Gaul, Spain, and
Britannia were virtually unmolested.

9
In 303, the Emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding the legal
rights of Christians and demanding that they comply with traditional Roman religious practices. Later edicts targeted
the clergy and demanded universal sacrifice, ordering all inhabitants to sacrifice to the gods. The persecution varied
in intensity across the empireweakest in Gaul and Britain, where only the first edict was applied, and strongest in
the Eastern provinces. Persecutory laws were nullified by different emperors at different times
 11

This persecution lasted until Constantine I came to power in 313 and legalized Christianity. It was
not until Theodosius I in the later 4th century that Christianity would become the official religion
of the Empire. Between these two events Julian II temporarily restored the traditional Roman
religion and established broad religious tolerance renewing Pagan and Christian hostilities.

PERSECUTION UNDER SASSANID EMPIRE10

In AD 341, the Zoroastrian Shapur II ordered the massacre of all Christians in the Persian Sassanid
Empire. During the persecution, about 1,150 Assyrian Christians were martyred under Shapur II
in Assuristan (Sassanid ruled Assyria). In the 4th century, the Terving king Athanaric in ca. 375
ordered a persecution of Christians. Accounts of executions for apostasy of Zoroastrians who
converted to Christianity during Sasanian rule proliferated from the fifth to early seventh century,
and continued to be produced even after collapse of Sasanians. The punishment of apostates
increased under Yazdegerd I and continued under successive kings. It was normative for apostates
who were brought to the notice of authorities to be executed, although the prosecution of apostasy
depended on political circumstances and Zoroastrian jurisprudence. Per Richard E. Payne, the
executions were meant to create a mutually recognised boundary between interactions of the
people of the two religions and preventing one religion challenging another's viability. Although
the violence on Christians was selective and especially carried out on elites, it served to keep
Christian communities in a subordinate and yet viable position in relation to Zoroastrianism.
Christians were allowed to build religious buildings and serve in the government as long as they
didn't expand their institutions and population at the expense of Zoroastrianism

10
The Sasanian Empire, which succeeded the Parthian Empire, was recognized as one of the leading world powers
alongside its neighboring arch-rival the Roman-Byzantine Empire, for a period of more than 400 years. The Sasanian
Empire was founded by Ardashir I, after the fall of the Parthian Empire and the defeat of the
last Arsacid king, Artabanus V.
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JEWISH REVOLT AND PERSECUTION

According to two different Christian traditions, Simon bar Kokhba, the commander of the second
Jewish revolt against Rome (132-136 AD), persecuted the Christians: Justin Martyr claims that
Christians were punished if they did not deny and blaspheme Jesus Christ, while Eusebius asserts
that Bar Kokhba harassed them because they refused to join his revolt against the Roman. The
latter is likely true, and Christian's refusal to take part in the revolt against the Roman Empire was
a key event in the split of Early Christianity and Judaism.