Dr. David Gwynn

Valerian then attempts a deliberate persecution of Christians in the later 250s, systematically attacking the churches they could find, the bishops.

But Valerian is then captured by the Persians and eventually turned into a Persian monument.

And as a result, that persecution ended.

So there have been imperial attacks on Christianity in the 250s, but they didn't end well for the emperors involved.

For the next 20 years, it seems to have been relative peace.

Basically, the emperors have other things to worry about, and it doesn't look like persecuting Christians works very well.

So by the time you get to 284, Christians are a growing minority within the population.

They've expanded, not least because Christianity offers charity, offers welfare.

So in a time of crisis, the Christians show their strength.

But they are also regarded as a potential threat to stability, above all, a potential threat to the will of the gods.

And Diocletian and all the Tetrarchs are devout believers in the old gods.

It is very noticeable that taking action on religious grounds is the last of Diocletian's major stages.

He wanted the army.

He wanted the provincial structure revised.

He worried about the taxation system, about the economy.

Only when all those pieces were in place does he seem to decide now he can focus on religion.

So there is no indication of major attacks on Christians or other religious groups in the first 15 years.

So when he's co-ruling with Maximian or in the early years of the Tetrarchy, the change seems to come around the year 300.

Interestingly, the first religious group he seems to have targeted wasn't actually the Christians, it's a group called the Manichaeans.

Now, Manichaeism is a very unusual hybrid religion, really, between Persian, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish elements.