They refuse to obey an imperial edict to burn incense before the
idols of the ancient Roman gods. They are 40 legionaries serving
on the Armenian frontier and they are Christians. Christianity
recently had been declared legal by Constantine, but his
authority is in the west. His counterpart in the east is
Licinius, who is resentful of Constantine’s growing power and of
his growing interest in Christianity. Licinius ignores the
lessons learned by emperors, governors, and prefects of Rome’s
past three centuries: Persecution has only increased the resolve
and numbers of this troublesome sect. He ignores the words of
Tertullian that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the
faith. The local magistrate warns the soldiers of the disgrace
that will befall them should they not offer the sacrifice. He
offers promotion to any that will. Yet “no threat or bribe will
induce them to forsake Jesus Christ” (Giuseppe Riciotti, The Age
of Martyrs: Christianity from Diocletian to Constantine, 212).
Bound with one chain and c