“Fresh and vigorous . . . an admirable survey of some major aspects of the history [of the early Christian church].”—Robert M. Grant, New York Times Book Review “One of the most outstanding historians of the ancient world.”—Anthony A. Barrett, The Historian How did the early Christian church manage to win its dominant place in the Roman world? In his newest book, an eminent historian of ancient Rome examines this question from a secular—rather than an ecclesiastical—viewpoint. Ramsay MacMullen’s provocative conclusion is that mass conversions to Christianity were based more on the appeal of miracle or the opportunity for worldly advantages than simply on a “rising tide of Christian piety.”