Following the Peace of Nisibis, Emperor Diocletian and Galerius Maximianus return to the bustling city of Antioch, today's southern Turkey on the Mediterranean. Around the year 299 the haruspices find no sign of the future in the entrails of sacrificed sheep. They're concerned.
Haruspices interpret patterns and signs in the entrails of sacrificed animals, in the practice of haruspicy. In Antioch and Rome they hold great power as mystics. Divination like haruspicy, astragalomancy (casting bones or dice), astrology and oracular prophecies are widespread.
When the haruspices are unable to provide a clear reading for the future, the accuse the Christians present at court. This accusation set off a chain of events with far-reaching consequences for the Christian community and the empire as a whole.
Reacting to the haruspices' inability to interpret the signs, the dual Emperors decree a series of measures to purify the court and military. Everyone in the court is ordered to offer a purification sacrifice.
The military command is instructed to conduct the sacrifices. While Diocletian, known for his adherence to Roman traditions, may see religious cleansing as a necessary step, historical accounts by figures such as Eusebius, Lactantius and Constantine have a different story.
They argue it's Galerius, Caesar under Diocletian, who leads the persecution of Christians during this period. Galerius, fervent and politically motivated, sees opportunity in the crackdown on Christians and is willing to depart from the government's stance of inaction.
From 299 to 302, Antioch is Emperor Diocletian's primary residence, signifying the authority of the Roman Empire in the region. Meanwhile, Galerius assumes control over the strategic Middle and Lower Danube territories, solidifying the empire's presence in key frontier areas.
Tensions with the Manicheans reveal a darker side of Diocletian's rule. He executes key followers of Mani and destroys their scriptures. He issues the decree from Alexandria on 31 March 302 with resolve to suppress the Manichean movement.
Reasons for Diocletian's animosity towards the Manicheans include their perceived foreign origins, moral implications on Roman society, and their challenge to established religious practices. These create growing ideological clashes and rising conflicts.
When Diocletian returns to Antioch in the fall of 302 he takes up the persecution of Christians with added vigor. The brutal act of cutting out the tongue of the deacon Romanus of Caesarea for defiance and disruption of official sacrifices is but one example of Roman measures.
Romanus's subsequent imprisonment and execution on 17 November 303 exemplifies the consequences faced by those who dare challenge the imperial decree. As winter descends, Diocletian journeys to Nicomedia with Galerius.
Debates between the two rulers continue. Diocletian's suggestion to exclude Christians from positions of power and influence as a means of pacifying the traditional gods clashed with Galerius's more radical stance advocating for total eradication of the Christian community.
They seek guidance from the oracle of Apollo at Didyma. The oracle's cryptic message about the presence of the impious obstructing Apollo's counsel is interpretated by the court to mean the Christians in the empire.
Diocletian agrees to initiate a widespread persecution of Christians. This part of Roman history is characterized by systematic oppression and violence against Christian adherents.
On 23 February 303, Diocletian issues a decree leading to the demolition of a newly built church in Nicomedia. This action is accompanied by a directive to burn the scriptures found within the church and seize its valuable possessions for the imperial treasury.
Next day, Diocletian escalates his anti-Christian campaign by issuing the infamous "Edict against the Christians." The decree calls for destruction of Christian scriptures and places of worship across the Roman Empire, and forbids Christian gatherings for worship.
A fire breaks out in the Imperial palace after the issuance of the edict. Galerius convinces Diocletian the Christians are to blame, and that they scheme with palace eunuchs. As investigations fail to identify culprits, Christians and eunuchs alike are brutally executed.
Persecution of Christians continue unabated. Diocletian orders all members of the court to bow down to the Roman gods. Those who refuse are tortured and killed. The first to face punishment is Peter, butler of Diocletian, known as Cubicularius ("valet, chamberlain").
He is hanged and has his flesh ripped from his bones. When Dorotheus, an imperial chamberlain, and Gorgonius, a military officer, objected to this treatment they're also . Meanwhile, Peter is either boiled, burned alive, or "roasted on a gridiron."
According to other sources his torments include being raised and scourged, having salt and vinegar poured into his wounds, and being slowly boiled alive over an open flame. These are typical tortures to which entire Christian families can be subjected.
By the 4th century the Romans also have their most terrible implement yet, the bronze brazen bull, with its creator also becoming its first victim. This hideous death is inflicted on early Christians and other enemies of the state.
The victim(s) would be placed inside the bull's stomach through a trapdoor and then roasted alive by the heat from the fire built beneath it. A system of funnels and tubes makes the tortured screams sound like roaring of an angry bull.
The ruthless executions persist for months, culminating in the beheading of six individuals, including the bishop Anthimus, by at least 24 April 303. The situation escalates further when, just sixteen days later, another fire erupts in Nicomedia.
This incident prompts Galerius to make a hasty departure for Rome, citing safety concerns in the troubled city. Diocletian, the orchestrator of the anti-Christian campaign, soon follows suit, leaving a trail of destruction and suffering in his wake.
Despite further persecutory edicts, which lead to the arrest of Christian clergy and widespread acts of sacrifice, most Christians avoid punishment. Pagans show little sympathy towards the persecution.
The sufferings of martyrs only strengthens the determination of fellow Christians. Constantius and Maximian choose not to enforce the later edicts, leaving the Christians in the West unscathed.
Galerius revokes the anti-Christian edict in 311 AD, admitting the persecution hasn't succeeded in bringing Christians back to traditional religion. It gains the temporary apostasy of some Christians and the surrendering of scriptures during the persecution.
Within twenty-five years of the persecution's onset, the Christian emperor Constantine reigns over the empire alone. He overturns the effects of the edicts and restores all confiscated property to Christians.
Non-Fiction Books:
Fiction Books:
READ: Lora Ley Adventures - Germanic Mythology Fiction Series
READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries
Comments