Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire

Anti-Christian policies in the Roman Empire occurred intermittently over a period of about three centuries until the year 313 when the Roman Emperors Constantine the Great and Licinius jointly promulgated the Edict of Milan which legalised the Christian religion. The persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire was carried out by the state and also by local authorities on a sporadic, ad hoc basis, often at the whims of local communities.. Empire-wide persecution took place by decree of the emperors Maximinus Thrax and Decius.