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Most of what is known about the life of Justin Martyr comes from his own writings. He was born at [[Flavia Neapolis]] (modern [[Nablus]]) in [[Palestine]]. The city had been founded by [[Vespasian]] in the aftermath of the destruction of [[Jerusalem]] in [[70 AD]]. According to church tradition Justin suffered martyrdom at [[Rome]] under Marcus Aurelius when Rusticus was prefect of the city (between [[162 AD|162]] and [[168 AD|168]]). He calls himself a Samaritan, but his father and grandfather were probably Greek or Roman, and he was brought up a [[pagan]]. It seems that he had property, studied philosophy, converted to [[Christianity]], and devoted the rest of his life to teaching what he considered the true philosophy, still wearing his philosopher's gown to indicate that he had attained the truth. He probably travelled widely and ultimately settled in Rome as a Christian teacher. While he was at Rome, he debated opponents of his belief, such as Crescens the Cynic. He was later martyred in 165 A.D. for his no compromise faith in Christianity.