at the end of the roman empire, death cults appeared on the fringes of society. these death cults frequently preached heretical libel against political figures and gods
I think it’s bad history. The Western Roman Empire was Catholic for about 500 years before it fell (the ERE Orthodox), and the “fall” was a slow dissolution of the central Imperial authority and its replacement by the existing systems of patronage evolving into fuedal contracts, not some cataclysmic event.
Cults, including what could be called “death” cults, were a constant throughout Roman society, not a sudden appearance that hailed the end times. They might have been more common in and around certain cataclysmic events, like plagues and invasions, as a societal coping mechanism, but that’s just speculation.
I mean that somewhat describes Christianity with all they talk about human sarifice (self sacrifice but while you’re alive as in living your life in the service of others which obviously almost none of them actually do) and figurative dying and being reborn
There’s a reason the Romans weren’t super keen on having a bunch of Christians running around
yeah but you can’t solve martyrdom religious growth with murder and Rome never had a second idea after they thought of solving problems with murder