The Roman Empire's persecution of the Christians revisited

INTERROGATING AN ANCIENT WAR ON TERROR: THE PERSECUTION OF THE CHRISTIANS RECONSIDERED A PUBLIC LECTURE BY DR JAMES CORKE-WEBSTER, SENIOR LECTURER, ROMAN HISTORY, KING’S COLLEGE LONDON AND 2020 UWA INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES VISITING FELLOW. THIS LECTURE WILL EXPLORE THE PERSECUTION OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS UNDER THE ROMAN EMPIRE. THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN REMEMBERED AS A CLASH OF IDEOLOGIES – A WAR BETWEEN THE ROMAN STATE AND ITS TRADITIONAL GODS ON THE ONE HAND, AND THE NEW CHRISTIAN CULT AND ITS UPSTART GOD ON THE OTHER. BUT DOES OUR EVIDENCE REALLY SUPPORT THAT VIEW? AND IF NOT, WHAT MIGHT PERSECUTION LOOK LIKE? THIS LECTURE LOOKS TO UNCOVER NOT JUST HOW PERSECUTION WAS ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED IN ANTIQUITY, BUT HOW IT WAS (MIS)REMEMBERED AS WELL. DR JAMES CORKE-WEBSTER IS A ROMAN HISTORIAN WITH PARTICULAR INTERESTS IN EARLY CHRISTIAN AND LATE ANTIQUE HISTORY AND LITERATURE. HE STUDIED CLASSICS AND THEOLOGY AT OXFORD, CAMBRIDGE, AND MANCHESTER, BEFORE TAKING UP A FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP AT BERKELEY. HE THEN HELD LECTURESHIPS AT EDINBURGH AND DURHAM BEFORE MOVING TO KINGS COLLEGE IN 2017. HE IS THE AUTHOR OF _EUSEBIUS AND EMPIRE: CONSTRUCTING CHURCH AND ROME IN THE ECCLESIASTICAL _HISTORY (CAMBRIDGE: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2019).