Arve, and welcome to Emperor's of Rome, a Roman history podcast from Latrobe University.

I'm your host Matt Smith, and with me today is Associate Professor Kaelin Davenport,

Head of the Centre for Classical Studies at the Australian National University.

This is episode CXCI, the persecution of Christians.

The persecution wasn't a new thing for Rome, but under the rule of Valerian, they intensified.

Christians who were now the specified target, but the executions and confiscations of property

did little to help the stability of the Empire.

Here's Kaelin Davenport.

So seven years before, in 250, the impredecius had issued his edict of sacrifice.

And this commanded that all inhabitants of the Empire had sacrifice to the Roman gods

for the preservation of the Empire.

Now, this may not have been directly targeting the Christians, but they were certainly adversely affected

because, of course, Bishops, Deacons and the Christian faithful at large did not wish to sacrifice to the gods

or to the deified emperors.

Now, of course, Deacons didn't last very long, and Christians greeted his death with great rejoicing.

He was not the hero in the Christian tradition that he is in the mainstream Roman tradition.

And thereafter, persecution seems to have been at a local level on local initiatives.

There was no renewal under Tribunianus Gallus.

There is a story of the Bishop of Rome, Cornelius, who was being exiled,

but there certainly no attempt at universal sacrifice.

Why was there the need for these kind of edicts?

What did Rome think?

...