Although Christianity began as a protest movement against the moral state of the people of Israel, it also started within a Roman province and was for centuries to develop within the context of the Roman Empire. The stereotype of cruel emperors and heroic martyrs is familiar (not least from films) but, as Dominic Janes shows in this stimulating and wide-ranging study, the relationship between Romans and Christians was not only more complex but continually evolving. The ignorance and incomprehension of Pontius Pilate was soon replaced by dislike and anger, as the Christian community grew. The refusal of these people to sacrifice to the emperor's divinity struck a blow at the heart of Roman authority. Decades of sporadic persecution followed before emperor Constantine I converted to Christianity. The Church was then showered by gifts and endowments. Great churches with splendid decorations sprang up across the Empire. The splendour of Roman art and architecture was now brilliantly employed by the Christian faith. The final period of the Roman Empire saw the decay of the grand monuments of the Roman state as its power crumbled away. Yet, during those turbulent years the Church was able to keep control of its power and splendour. From being the humble opponent of the grandeur of Rome, the Church became the vehicle for the preservation of classical magnificence through the art of its basilicas and baptisteries. This book explores the story of Romans and Christians across the Empire. Then it focuses on Britain and Gaul in the final years of the Roman Empire so as to explain the vital way in which the heritage of classical art and architecture was transmitted to the Middle Ages and thereby to our own times.
