Page "Diocletianic Persecution" Paragraph 3

Persecutory policies varied in intensity across the empire.

Where Galerius and Diocletian were avid persecutors, Constantius was unenthusiastic.

Later persecutory edicts, including the calls for universal sacrifice, were not applied in his domain.

His son, Constantine, on taking the imperial office in 306, restored Christians to full legal equality and returned property that had been confiscated during the persecution.

In Italy in 306, the usurper Maxentius ousted Maximian's successor Severus, promising full religious toleration.

Galerius ended the persecution in the East in 311, but it was resumed in Egypt, Palestine, and Asia Minor by his successor, Maximinus.

Constantine and Licinius, Severus's successor, signed the " Edict of Milan " in 313, which offered a more comprehensive acceptance of Christianity than Galerius's edict had provided.

Licinius ousted Maximinus in 313, bringing an end to persecution in the East.