Persecution of Christians

Christians were persecuted throughout the Roman Empire beginning in the first century AD, after Roman Emperor Augustus (reigned 27 BC—14 AD), established the imperial cult. The Imperial Cult is a state religion that deified those emperors found worthy of the honor and required everyone in the Roman empire to worship the emperor as a god. This was considered idolatry by Christians, who refused to worship the emperor. This refusal resulted in charges of treason, for which the punishment was death, normally by being killed by wild animals in the arena. The systematic persecution of Christians lasted until 313 AD, when Constantine the Great (reigned 306—337 AD) issued the Edict of Milan which gave Christianity legal status and a reprieve from persecution.