OBJECTION: CHRISTIANS WERE NEVER REALLY PERSECUTED The Roman historian Tacitus described the persecution of Christians in Rome (c. 64–68 CE) in Book 15, Section 44 of Annals (written c. 116 CE). Modern scholars (even skeptics of Christianity) still regard Tacitus as one of the greatest Roman historians, although in very recent years, some have tried to deny his claims about Christian persecution. But other early manuscripts, including Pliny the Younger’s letter to Emperor Trajan, written c. 112 CE, support Tacitus’s early report of Christian persecution.
