Why did St. Ignatius of Antioch ask Roman Christians not to seek a pardon for him?

St. Ignatius of Antioch urged Roman Christians not to seek a pardon for him because he viewed martyrdom as the ultimate path to becoming a perfect disciple of Christ.1

For Ignatius, martyrdom was a way to unite with Christ by sharing in his Passion and suffering. He believed that this union was essential to participate in Christ’s glory and achieve spiritual perfection. Consequently, he feared that if his friends in Rome successfully obtained a pardon, they would deprive him of this opportunity to imitate Christ and reach that state of perfection. While his intense longing for death in the arena has sometimes been interpreted as an obsession, it reflected a deep-seated conviction shared by many Christians of his era that suffering for one's faith was the most profound expression of devotion.213