Roman emperor was the head of the church, so Christianity became a political tool to manage the population.
The Empire was politically managed by having it divided into two halves, a Greek speaking eastern half and a Latin speaking western half. Which ended up shearing Christianity into Catholic and Orthodox.
Thousands of Christians were martyred in the first centuries after Christs death. Often they were tortured and/or crucified.
Not exactly a punishment that was unique to the Christian.
My point is that they didn’t bend to the Roman government.
No, but eventually they would become the Roman government and then they bent a whole lot
How?
Roman emperor was the head of the church, so Christianity became a political tool to manage the population.
The Empire was politically managed by having it divided into two halves, a Greek speaking eastern half and a Latin speaking western half. Which ended up shearing Christianity into Catholic and Orthodox.