Early Christianity in the Near East
The phrase Christianity and Empire conjures up the perennial relationship between Christian belief and structures of power that has been responsible for Christianity's political hegemony in a series of empires. This chapter deals with expressions of Christianity that fall outside, or the traditions that were incorporated into mainstream orthodox Christianity. Throughout the first three centuries ce, Rome gradually extended its rule in the Near East, pushing its frontier eastward and incorporating political entities and city states that had been independent. Edessa's foundation as a Greco-Macedonian city, east of the Euphrates, can be traced back to the days of Seleucus I Nicator around 300 bce. Christianity's embeddedness in Edessene public life, at the court and possibly in the marketplace, allowed the smooth adoption of the Edessene language used in a pagan setting for Christian usage. In the course of the fourth century Syriac Christians in various ways participated in the long struggle over Nicene Christology.