110 A.D., concluding from the absence of references to persecution in the letters that they were probably written after the harsh reign (AD 81–96) of the Roman emperor Domitian, whose persecution of Christians seems to have prompted the writing of the Book of Revelation. Dodd notes, however, that they could have been written in the pre-Domitian era, which is likely if the author was a personal disciple of Jesus. Marshall suggests a date of between the 60s and 90s. Rensberger suggests a dating of around 100, assuming that the Gospel of John was written in the 90s and the letters must have followed after. Brown argues for a date of between 100 and 110, with all three letters composed in close time proximity. A date past 110–115 is unlikely, as parts of 1 John and 2 John are quoted by Polycarp and Papias. The letters do not indicate the location of authorship, but since the earliest quotations of them (in the writings of Polycarp, Papias, and Irenaeus) come from the province of Asia Minor, it is likely that the epistles were also written in Asia. Church tradition typically places them in the city of Ephesus. Manuscripts 3 John is preserved in many of the old manuscripts of the New Testament. Of the Greek great uncial codices, codices Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, and Vaticanus contain all three Johannine epistles, while Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus contains 3 John 3–15 along with 1 John 1:1–4. Codex Bezae, while missing most of the Catholic epistles, contains 3 John 11–15 in Latin translation. In languages other than Greek, the Vulgate and the Sahidic, Armenian, Philoxenian Syriac, and Ethiopian versions contain all three epistles. Between the different copies there are no major difficulties or differences, meaning that there is very little doubt over determining the original text. Canonical history There are some doubtful similarities between passages in the Johannine epistles and the writings of Polycarp and Papias, but the earliest definitive references to the epistles come from the late second century. Irenaeus in Adversus Haereses 3.16.8 (written c. 180), quotes 2 John 7 and 8, and in the next sentence 1 John 4:1, 2, but does not distinguish between 1 and 2 John; he does not quote from 3 John. The Muratorian Canon seems to refer to two letters of John only, though it is possible to interpret it as referring to three. 1 John is extensively cited by