Starting from Diocletian's persecution of Christians, culminating in the formation of the so-called "imperial cult", how much was Christianity responsible for the decline of the Roman Empire (Backman 48) ? Pagans certainly believed that Christians were responsible for the sacking of Rome in 410 by the oppressive Visigoths, and many were uncomfortable with Theodosius's “reckless establishment” of Christianity as the official state religion (Backman 56). Christian teachings slowly made their way into formal policies and civil legislation. Pagan traditions and rituals fell by the wayside as emperors assumed control, not only as leaders of the Roman Empire, but also as pontifex maximus - "chief priest" - (Backman 48). The brutal laws against Jews and pagans did not arise from any practical or logical stipulation, but because the Christian faith began to merge with the Roman Empire, leading to the decline of tolerance. Subsequently, many scholars of the time became concerned with aligning their Christian faith with their “love of classical literature,” a truly arduous task (Backman