Pliny the Younger
Roman senator and letter writer. As Trajan’s governor of Bithynia and Pontus he tried people accused of being Christians and wrote to the emperor for guidance; his letter and Trajan’s reply survive.
Pliny says he was in his eighteenth year when Vesuvius erupted, which was in AD 79, so he was born in 61 or 62 (Pliny, Letters 6.20). Nine books of his letters to friends survive (see Letters).
Trajan sent him to govern Bithynia and Pontus, where he arrived on 17 September of a year between 109 and 111 (Pliny, Letters 10.17a). His official letters from the province, with the emperor’s answers, make up a tenth book. Among them is his report on the Christians, in which he says that he had never before attended one of their trials (Pliny, Letters 10.96). See Pliny Asks Trajan How to Treat Christians. The book ends, without a farewell, with an exchange about a travel permit for his wife (Pliny, Letters 10.120–121).
In the timeline
- about AD 112, estimated datePliny Asks Trajan How to Treat Christians
The governor of Bithynia and Pontus reports to the emperor on his trials of Christians and on what they do when they meet. Trajan rules that they are not to be hunted out, but are to be punished if accused and convicted.
Primary sources
Letters
- Pliny, Letters 6.20attalus.org
- Pliny, Letters 10.17aattalus.org
- Pliny, Letters 10.96attalus.org
- Pliny, Letters 10.120–121attalus.org