64–311 CE · Europe · Faith
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
Why it matters
Pliny’s letters describe his uncertainty over how to try accused Christians. Trajan approved punishment in specified circumstances but rejected anonymous accusations and instructed that Christians should not be sought out. The exchange demonstrates coercion and variation in policy, rather than a continuous, uniform campaign in every province.
Pliny and Trajan: Letters 10.96–97 ↗Silent pan-and-zoom motion derivative of the Christian persecution before Constantine reconstruction; not archival footage.
Enlarge and examine the picturePrimary Atlas editorial reconstruction for Christian persecution before Constantine.
World History in Pictures · Public site artwork. This record does not grant third-party republication rights.
How Atlas classifies this artwork →
Enlarge and examine the pictureSupporting Atlas reconstruction within the same Christian persecution before Constantine editorial package; not an independent archival record.
World History in Pictures · Same editorial artwork package
How Atlas classifies this artwork →
Enlarge and examine the pictureContext crop from the same Christian persecution before Constantine reconstruction; not an independent historical record.
World History in Pictures · Same editorial artwork package
How Atlas classifies this artwork →Interpretation note
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
70 CE · Middle EastDestruction of JerusalemRoman forces under Titus captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE during the Jewish revolt, which had begun in 66; resistance continued elsewhere after the city's fall.
30–67 CE · Middle EastApostolic Church and Paul’s journeysPentecost, missionary travel and house churches carried the Christian message from Jerusalem through Asia Minor, Greece and Rome.
c. 1st–8th centuries CE · AfricaKingdom of AksumAksum linked the African interior, Red Sea and Indian Ocean, minted coinage and adopted Christianity in the fourth century.