What was Christianity, and how did it affect life in the Roman Empire?

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Depiction of JesusThis mural, from a Roman camp at Dura-Europos on the Euphrates River, may be the earliest known depiction of Jesus. Dating to 235 C.E., it depicts Jesus healing a paralytic man, an incident described in the New Testament. Early Christians used art to spread their message. (Yale University Art Gallery, Dura-Europos Collection)

DDuring the reign of the emperor Tiberius (r. 14–37 C.E.), in the Roman province of Judaea a Jewish man named Jesus of Nazareth preached, attracted a following, and was executed on the order of the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate. Christianity, the religion created by Jesus’s followers, came to have an enormous impact first in the Roman Empire and later throughout the world.