Diocletian and the Roman Empire

Diocletian was furious and immediately ordered all members of his household to make a sacr fice to the gods. Then, egged on by galerius and a few other staunchly anti christian advisers, he extended his order to the army. Every officer and soldier in the legions was to make a sacrifice. Refusal meant immediate discharge. Now, since christianity is about to become one of the cor defining elements of the roman empire, i think i should probably take this moment to give a brief thumb nail sketch of the first 300 years of the church.