How did the persecution of Christians differ across the Roman Empire?

The persecution of Christians initiated by Diocletian in 303 CE was not applied with uniform intensity across the Roman Empire, as the implementation of the edicts depended heavily on the individual rulers of the tetrarchy.1

• The East: Under the influence of Galerius, who was a staunch follower of traditional Roman religion, the persecution was most severe in the Eastern regions, particularly in Egypt, Palestine, and the Danubian provinces. In these areas, the edicts—which mandated the destruction of churches, the seizure of sacred texts, the imprisonment of clergy, and death for those refusing to sacrifice—were enforced with extreme violence for nearly a decade.123
• Italy: Maximian, the Augustus of the West, initially displayed zeal in carrying out the measures but quickly lost interest in the campaign.1
• Gaul and Britain: Constantius maintained a much more lenient approach, limiting his actions to the destruction of a few churches and refusing to pursue further reprisals against the Christian population.1

While Diocletian sought to restore unity and the pax deorum (peace of the gods) through these measures, the varying levels of enforcement reflected the decentralized nature of the tetrarchic administration.13