Despite Given the above, one of the main ironic trends during the ''Pax Romana'' was that Christianity was widely persecuted throughout the Roman empire. In addition, despite the term, the period was not without armed conflict, as Emperors frequently had to quell rebellions. Additionally, both Both border skirmishes and Roman wars of conquest also happened during this period. Trajan embarked on a series of campaigns against the Parthians during his reign and Marcus Aurelius spent almost the entire last decade of his rule fighting against the Germanic tribes.  Nonetheless the interior of the Empire remained largely untouched by warfare. The ''Pax Romana'' was an era of relative tranquility in which Rome endured neither major civil wars, such as the [[w:Crisis of the Third Century|perpetual bloodshed of the third century AD]], nor serious invasions, or killings, such as those of the [[w:Second Punic War|Second Punic War]] three centuries prior. During the ''Pax Romana'' the system of roads was greatly improved, the Roman alphabet became the basis for the western world alphabet, and aqueducts brought water from the mountains to Roman cities.<ref>[http://www.conservapedia.com/Pax_Romana Pax Romana] at Conservapedia.<?ref>

* '''"[http://www.conservapedia.com/Pax_Romana Pax Romana] at Conservapedia."''' Encyclopædia Britannica. ''Encyclopædia Britannica 2009 Ultimate Reference Suite''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009. Christianity was widely persecuted throughout the Roman empire