From the third to fourth centuries, the Roman Empire witnessed a widespread attempt to stop the spread of Christianity. Initially, mostly church leaders were targeted, but later anyone who admitted Christianity became a target. The persecutions reached their peak during the reign of Diocletian. These persecutions actually helped the spread of Christianity by glorifying Christians and starting a tradition of martyrdom that shaped the Church, and the strength shown by Christians shows that persecutions could not have stopped the spread of Christianity. In the first half of the third century, Christian persecution was fragmented, and although Christianity was illegal, there is no evidence that it was widely persecuted. It has also grown tremendously during this time. Mostly very outspoken Christian leaders were persecuted. In 249 the emperor Trajan Decius issued an edict requiring all citizens to sacrifice to the gods. After this edict there are numerous reports of Christian martyrdom in Alexandria, Smyrna and in some parts of Egypt. In 257 the persecution was renewed under Valerian. After his reign, Galien issued an edict ending the persecution of Christians, and peace regarding religion was maintained during his reign. During this period, Christians became part of many Roman institutions, including the Senate and the Roman army. It remained relatively stable until 303 under Diocletian and the tetrarchy. This period, called the Great Persecution, lasted until 312. Essentially, these persecutions led to an even greater spread of Christianity, and the cruelty of the Roman emperors in their treatment of Christians helped accelerate it. From the third to fourth centuries, power was often fragmented. In the middle......the paper......is spread out. There was no way that the persecutions could have succeeded due to the inherent inability of the Roman government to impose persecutions on a universal level. Instead, the persecutions created an abundance of aspiring figures who became important to the formation of the church. To conclude, power was too fragmented in the Roman Empire and the different emperors each had their own unique way of dealing with Christians. Furthermore, they had many problems to deal with, including dynastic threats and foreign incursions. As a result, the Roman Empire simply did not have the resources to successfully stop the proliferation of Christianity. Instead, the persecutions inspired Christians to defend their faith and became a testimony to the strength of the Christian faith. As a result, persecutions helped spread and provide a basis for the growth of Christianity.