Welcome to Roman Sources: Tacitus, Pliny, and Trajan

In this chapter, we are stepping outside the Bible to see what the Roman world thought of the early Christians. While the New Testament tells the story from the inside, Roman writers like Tacitus and Pliny the Younger give us a "view from the outside." Understanding these sources is vital for your Paper 2 exam because they explain why there was so much tension between the Roman Empire and the growing Christian movement. Don't worry if the names sound a bit intimidating—we will break down exactly what they said and why it matters!

1. Tacitus and the Great Fire of Rome

Tacitus was a famous Roman historian. In his work called the Annals (15:44), he writes about one of the most famous events in Roman history: the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64.

What happened?

Rumours were spreading that Emperor Nero had started the fire himself. To stop these rumours, Nero needed a scapegoat—someone to blame. He chose the Christians. This is the first time a Roman source mentions a specific persecution of Christians by the state.

Key points from Tacitus:

  • Negative view: Tacitus describes Christianity as a "mischievous superstition" and says Christians were hated for their "abominations" (bad practices).
  • Historical confirmation: He confirms that the founder, "Christus," was executed by the procurator Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius. This is a very important "non-Christian" piece of evidence for Jesus' existence.
  • Extreme cruelty: Tacitus describes how Nero turned the executions into a spectacle. Some Christians were covered in wild beast skins and torn by dogs; others were nailed to crosses or set on fire to serve as lights at night.
  • Tacitus' opinion: Interestingly, even though Tacitus hated Christians, he felt Nero went too far. He noted that people began to feel pity for the Christians because they weren't being punished for the public good, but to satisfy one man's (Nero's) cruelty.

Key Takeaway: Tacitus shows us that by AD 64, Christians were already seen as a distinct group, separate from Jews, and were viewed with great suspicion and dislike by Roman society.

2. Pliny the Younger: The Governor’s Dilemma

Fast forward about 50 years to around AD 112. Pliny the Younger was the Roman Governor of Bithynia (modern-day Turkey). He found himself in a difficult spot: he had many Christians being brought to his court, but he wasn't sure how to handle them. He wrote a letter to Emperor Trajan (Letters 10:96) asking for advice.

What was Pliny's problem?

Pliny had never been present at trials of Christians before. He didn't know if he should punish them just for being a Christian (the "name" itself) or only if they had committed actual crimes.

How did Pliny handle the trials?

He developed a three-step process:
1. He asked them, "Are you a Christian?"
2. If they said yes, he asked them twice more, warning them of the punishment.
3. If they refused to change their mind, he ordered them to be executed (or sent to Rome if they were Roman citizens).

The "Test" of Loyalty

To see if someone was telling the truth about quitting Christianity, Pliny made them perform three acts:
- Offer incense and wine to statues of the Roman gods.
- Worship the image of the Emperor.
- Curse Christ (Pliny noted that "real" Christians would never do this).

What did Pliny discover about Christian worship?

Pliny tortured two female slaves (deaconesses) to find out the truth. He discovered that Christians:
- Met on a fixed day before daylight.
- Sang a hymn to Christ "as to a god."
- Bound themselves by an oath not to commit crimes like fraud, theft, or adultery.
- Met later to eat an ordinary, harmless meal together.

Did you know? Pliny was worried because the Christian "contagion" was spreading to the countryside, and the Roman temples were becoming deserted. This was a threat to people's income because no one was buying sacrificial animals!

3. Trajan’s Response: The Official Policy

Emperor Trajan wrote back to Pliny (Letters 10:97), and his reply became the "rule of thumb" for how the Roman Empire dealt with Christians for many years.

Trajan’s Three Main Rules:

  • "Do not seek them out": Roman officials should not go on a "witch hunt" to find Christians. They should only act if someone makes a formal accusation.
  • No anonymous tips: Trajan specifically said that anonymous pamphlets or accusations should be ignored. He felt this was a "bad precedent" and not how a civilized Roman should act.
  • The "Pardon": If a person denied being a Christian and proved it by worshipping the Roman gods, they must be pardoned, no matter how suspicious their past was.

Key Takeaway: Trajan's policy was a middle ground. He didn't make Christianity legal, but he also didn't want to waste resources hunting them down unless they were causing public trouble.

4. Why were the Romans so hostile?

Based on these sources and the syllabus context (2.3.1), we can see five main reasons for the tension between Christians and non-Christians:

  1. Refusal to accept the Emperor’s divinity: Romans believed the Emperor was a god. Christians only worshipped one God, which looked like treason or "atheism" to Romans.
  2. Misinterpretation of practices: When Christians talked about "eating the body" (the Eucharist) or "loving brothers and sisters," Romans misunderstood this as cannibalism or immorality.
  3. Threat to income: As seen in Pliny's letter, when people became Christians, they stopped buying sacrifices, which hurt the local economy and temple trade.
  4. Perceived exclusivism: Christians didn't join in with community festivals or civic life because those events involved pagan gods. This made them look "anti-social" or like they hated the human race.
  5. Concerns about social unrest: Romans valued Pax Romana (Roman Peace). Any group that met in secret (like Christians at dawn) was seen as a potential source of rebellion or "social unrest."

Quick Review:
- Tacitus: Focuses on the AD 64 fire and Nero's cruelty. Confirms Christ's execution.
- Pliny: Focuses on the spread of Christianity in AD 112 and how to test their loyalty.
- Trajan: Focuses on legal procedure—don't hunt them, but punish them if they are caught and won't recant.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Don't mix up the dates: Tacitus is writing about AD 64 (Nero). Pliny is writing about AD 112 (Trajan). There is a nearly 50-year gap between them!
  • Don't think Christianity was "illegal" in a simple way: It was more of a "grey area." As Trajan showed, you weren't hunted down, but if you were brought to court and refused to worship the Emperor, you were executed for contumacy (stubborn disobedience).
  • Avoid confusing these with Bible texts: These are non-biblical sources. They are used to support and explain the tensions we see in books like Acts and 1 Peter.

Note: For more on how Christians responded to this pressure, see the chapters on 1 Peter and Tensions in Philippi and Ephesus.