Too many books, but . . . Constantine who was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity ordered the destruction of a temple of Aphrodite in Jerusalem because it was supposedly built on the site of the crucifixion. He ordered the execution of pagan eunuch priests in Alexandria. During the reign of Constantius, beginning in 356, laws were approved that prescribed the death penalty for anyone who performed or attended pagan sacrifices or worshipped idols.
Valentinian II became the Emperor in the Western Roman Empire in 388. In 391, Valentinian II issued a law that prohibited sacrifices and that forbade anyone from visiting the temples of the old gods.
Theodosius I in 381 took the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire and in 392 became Emperor of the whole Empire. He authorized the destruction of pagan temples, holy sites, images and objects of reverence throughout the empire, though in some instances the old temples became Christian churches. Toward the end of his reign, Theodosius' instituted laws that are seen by some historians as a declaration of war on pagan religions. Even when the rites were kept within a residence and a family, pagan worship could result in executions, along with confiscation of property.
By 681, a council of bishops called on civil authorities to seize and behead all those guilty of non-Christian practices of any sort.
