What happens when a persecuted minority like Christianity becomes acculturated into the heritage of empire? Walter Benjamin observed that rulers adopt the histories of past empires to gain the appearance of eternal power:

Those who currently rule are however the heirs of all those who have ever been victorious. Empathy with the victors thus comes to benefit the current rulers every time…Whoever until this day emerges victorious, marches in the triumphal procession in which today’s rulers tread over those who are sprawled underfoot. (Walter Benjamin, Theses on the Philosophy of History VII, [page #])

A Jewish cultural theorist who lived and wrote in interwar Germany, Benjamin argued that the powerful reconstruct history to reflect the structures that enable their power. He critiqued the powers of his day for their recurrent use of imperial habits and gestures. The Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, Napoleon's French Republic and the Italian Fascists all costumed themselves with Rome’s legacy, remaking Rome in their own image; the religious empire of Christendom can often be seen to use the same costumes.