Why it matters
Martyr witness, apologetics and community networks shaped Christian identity before legalization.
- Date
- 64–311
- Historical setting
- Late Antiquity · Europe
- People & communities
- Nero · Domitian · Decius · Diocletian · Perpetua · Polycarp
64–311 · Europe · Faith
Christian persecution before Constantine
Persecution varied by place and period, from Nero’s violence at Rome to empire-wide coercion under Decius and Diocletian.
Atlas dossier · Late AntiquityFree device narration · synchronized English captions · transcript available
01
Event
Persecution varied by place and period, from Nero’s violence at Rome to empire-wide coercion under Decius and Diocletian.
02
People
Nero · Domitian · Decius · Diocletian · Perpetua · Polycarp
03
Consequences
Martyr witness, apologetics and community networks shaped Christian identity before legalization.
Interpretation note
Evidence, memory and historical debate
This dossier distinguishes the event’s basic chronology from later arguments about meaning, responsibility and legacy. When comparing religious, national, Indigenous or scholarly interpretations, consult the primary and institutional sources above alongside peer-reviewed historical work.
Elsewhere in the world
Parallel histories near this moment
70 · Middle EastDestruction of JerusalemRoman forces under Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple after the Jewish revolt.
30–67 · Middle EastApostolic Church and Paul’s journeysPentecost, missionary travel and house churches carried the Christian message from Jerusalem through Asia Minor, Greece and Rome.
100–940 · AfricaKingdom of AksumAksum linked the African interior, Red Sea and Indian Ocean, minted coinage and adopted Christianity in the fourth century.