Jeremy Norman’sHistoryofInformation.com Exploring the History of Information and Media through Timelines
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A: Roma, Lazio, Italy, B: Gibraltar, Gibraltar, C: Caesarea, Haifa District, Israel
Head from a statue of Diocletian at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum
On February 24, 303 CE Roman Emperor Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, commonly known as Diocletian, ordered the publication of his first "Edict against the Christians." This edict ordered the destruction of Christian scriptures and places of worship across the Empire, and prohibited Christians from assembling for worship.
This was the beginning of The Diocletianic Persecution which extended from 303 to 311— the Roman empire's "last, largest, and bloodiest official persecution of Christianity.".