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Timeline
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. – 2 Timothy 3:1
“The Christian Martyrs’ Last Prayer” – Jean-Leon Gerome (ca. 1863-1873)
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Judea: Persecution by Saul [aka Paul]41
Judea: Persecution by Herod Agrippa I62
Judea: Persecution by Annas II66 – 68
Rome: Persecution by Neroca. 95
Rome: Persecution under Domitianca. 107
Roman Empire: Persecution under Trajan132 – 136
Roman Empire: Persecution by Jews for refusing to join with them in the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome165 – 177
Roman Empire: Persecution under Marcus Aurelius202 – 211
Roman Empire: Persecution under Septimius Severus235
Roman Empire: Persecution under Maximinus I250
Roman Empire: Persecution by Decius257 – 260
Roman Empire: Persecution by Valerian303 – 311
Roman Empire: Persecution by Diocletian and Galerius, 10,000 – 100,000 killed341
Persian Empire: 1,150 Christians executed361 – 363
Roman Empire: Persecution by Julian the Apostate375
Crimea: Goths kill 308 Christians516
Yemen: The Jewish warlord Dhu Nuwas claimed to have killed 22,000 Christians622 – 750
Middle East, North Africa, Spain: Islamic conquest960
Ethiopia: Queen Gudit persecuted the Church1281
China: Leaders of the Church of the East arrested1338 – 1368
China: Final suppression of the Church of the East1370 – 1405
Asia and the Middle East: Destruction of the Church of the East in Central Asia by Timur, aka Tamerlane. Up to 17 million people of all faiths died. This was likely the largest persecution of Christians by non-Christians prior to the 20th century – the exact number of affected Christians is unknown due to the extent of the destruction, but given Timur’s hatred of Christianity it was surely a high percentage of the total causalities1453
Byzantine Empire: Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks. Thousands of Christians were killed and 30,000 deported or sold into slavery1470
Greece: Fall of Negroponte to the Ottomans, 6,000 Christians killed or enslaved1570 – 1573
Cyprus: Invasion by the Ottomans, at least 56,000 Christians killed or enslaved
Lepanto, Ionian Sea: The Ottoman navy was defeated and 12,000 Christian galley slaves were freed, at the cost of 7,500 Christian dead1587 – 1639
Japan: Christianity was outlawed and 37,000 Christians and sympathizers were killed in the Shimabara Rebellion1683
Austria: Siege and Battle of Vienna claimed over 16,000 Christians but the Ottoman forces were defeated1690
Serbia: Ottoman atrocities caused 37,000 Christian families to flee to Austria1700 – 1900
Vietnam: More than 20,300 Christians were killed1780 – 1784
India: Tipu Sultan killed nearly 26,000 Christians and forced 30,000 to convert to Islam including some British officers1789 – 1799
France: Revolution and the Vendean Revolt claimed 177,000 – 450,000 Christian lives1791 – 1873
Korea: Over 10,000 Christians were killed in four major persecutions1821 – 1832
Greece: Up to 130,000 Christians died in the war for independence from the Ottomans1831 – 1861
Madagascar: Thousands of actual and suspected Christians died in ritual poisoning ordeals1843 – 1909
Ottoman Empire: Over 380,000 Armenian, Assyrian, and Bulgarian Christians were killed in several waves of persecution1869 – 1873
Japan: 3,600 Kakure Kirishitan [‘Hidden Christians’] from Nagasaki were sent into internal exile, 650 died1900
China: Almost 33,000 Christians were killed in the Boxer Rebellion1912 – present
Across the entire globe: At least 35 million Christians were killed and many more suffered in the greatest cumulative persecution in historyNote: This timeline does not include the numerous cases of persecution of Christians by Christians, each of which was a denial of the prayer of Jesus that his followers be one [cf John 17:11], and many of which were exploited by non-Christians who desired to injure and wound His Church. It is a fact that much Christian suffering has ultimately been due to a lack of Christian unity in the face of persecution.
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Timeline