| He was a superb general, who restored order by conquest, reform and restoration of the old gods, but one sect resisted. And when Diocletian's palace burned down and the army's sacrificial portents looked bleak, the Christians were blamed for failing to honour the Roman gods. Diocletian decided to solve the problem by force. In 304 AD, he ordered every citizen of the Empire to sacrifice publicly to the Roman gods, and if the Christians refused, they would be executed. It was a strategy designed to drive the Christians into the open. Yet, despite the threats, they remained defiant. Rome's senators were baffled. Why would anyone risk their lives for this upstart cult whose founder died a criminal's death in a Roman outpost, when the pagan gods had delivered the riches of Empire? Yet, still, pagan Romans were choosing to convert, and here in the suburbs of Rome, there's a fascinating clue as to why. |
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