Constantine and the Christian EmpireThis biographical narrative is a detailed portrayal of the life and career of the first Christian emperor Constantine the Great (273 – 337). Combining vivid narrative and historical analysis, Charles Odahl relates the rise of Constantine amid the crises of the late Roman world, his dramatic conversion to and public patronage of Christianity, and his church building programs in Rome, Jerusalem and Constantinople which transformed the pagan state of Roman antiquity into the Christian empire medieval Byzantium. The author’s comprehensive knowledge of the literary sources and his extensive research into the material remains of the period mean that this volume provides a more rounded and accurate portrait of Constantine than previously available. This revised second edition includes:
A landmark publication in Roman Imperial, early Christian, and Byzantine history, Constantine and the Christian Empire will remain the standard account of the subject for years to come. |
Contents
I THE SUBJECT AND THE ANCIENT SOURCES | 1 |
II THE IMPERIAL CRISIS AND THE ILLYRIAN EMPERORS | 15 |
III THE FIRST TETRARCHY AND THE CAESARS SON | 42 |
IV THE GALLIC EMPEROR AND THE DYING PERSECUTORS | 75 |
V THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN AND CONSTANTINES CONVERSION | 98 |
VI RELIGIOUS CONCERNS AND APOSTOLIC ROME | 121 |
VII THE EASTERN CRUSADE AND THE NICENE COUNCIL | 162 |
VIII THE DYNASTIC TRAGEDY AND HELENAS PILGRIMAGE | 202 |
X THE FINAL CAMPAIGNS AND THE EMPERORS HEIRS | 245 |
XI THE THIRTEENTH APOSTLE AND THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE | 269 |
XII THE LEGACY AND MODERN INTERPRETATIONS | 281 |
ABBREVIATIONS LIST | 289 |
NOTES | 291 |
377 | |
402 | |
IX IMPERIAL CONCERNS AND CHRISTIAN CONSTANTINOPLE | 221 |