The Martyrdom of Polycarp is one of the works of the Apostolic Fathers, and as such is one of the very few genuine such writings from the actual age of the persecutions. The work details Polycarp's death at the age of 86 years old, at the hands of the Romans, in the second century AD. It is among the first recorded Acts of the Martyrs. Though the author of the "Martyrdom of Polycarp" is unknown, the story is recorded by Eusebius, who claims to have received it through a letter addressed to the Church of Philemelium by the Church of Smyrna.