The First Christian Centuries: Constantine

This Companion offers students a comprehensive one-volume survey of this pivotal emperor and his times. Richly illustrated and designed as a survey accessible to all audiences, it also achieves a level of scholarly sophistication and originality that will be welcomed by the experts. The volume is divided into five sections that examine political history, religion, social and economic history, art, and foreign relations during the reign of Constantine, who steered the Roman Empire on a course parallel with his own personal development.

First study of Constantine to make use of Kevin Wilkinson's re-dating of the poet Palladas to the reign of Constantine, disproving the predominant scholarly belief that Constantine remained tolerant in matters of religion to the end of his reign. Clearly sets out the problems associated with depictions of Constantine and answers them with great clarity. Includes Barnes' own research into the marriage of Constantine's parents, Constantine's status as a crown prince and his father's legitimate heir, and his dynastic plans. Honorable Mention for 2011 Classics & Ancient History PROSE award granted by the Association of American Publishers.

This volume in the Cambridge History of Christianity presents the 'Golden Age' of patristic Christianity. After episodes of persecution by the Roman government, Christianity emerged as a licit religion enjoying imperial patronage and eventually became the favored religion of the empire. The articles in this volume discuss the rapid transformation of Christianity during late antiquity, giving specific consideration to artistic, social, literary, philosophical, political, inter-religious and cultural aspects. The volume moves away from simple dichotomies and reductive schematizations (e.g., 'heresy v. orthodoxy') toward an inclusive description of the diverse practices and theories that made up Christianity at this time. Whilst proportional attention is given to the emergence of the Great Church within the Roman Empire, other topics are treated as well - such as the development of Christian communities outside the empire.

Explores two areas of Constantine's religious affiliation: his conversion to Christianity and the specific details connected to his actions.

This volume makes available three works attributed to Constantine - two of which were certainly not written by him - which are important sources for historians of the papacy, Christianity and Constantine himself. The Oration to the Saints is an intellectual defence of Christianity, which puts the case for monotheism, extols the incarnation and voluntary abasement of the Son of God, and finally declares Constantine's personal adherence to the Saviour. The legend of the discovery of the True Cross by the empress Helena, mother of Constantine, following her conversion to Christianity is presented in translations of two variant accounts. The third text, the Edict of Constantine, presents Constantine's supposed edict to Pope Silvester transferring lands to the papacy. An introduction considers the authorship, motivation and historical context for each of the works, and extensive annotation elucidates textual difficulties and allusions.

The Emperor Constantine was one of the great, charismatic figures of the ancient world. He was directly responsible for two momentous transformations that greatly affected our history and civilization: the founding of Constantinople as the Roman capital and the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity. With knowledge gained from modern research in all relevant fields, including archaeology, papyrology, and art history, Michael Grant traces the controversies that surround this intriguing ruler back to their very beginnings. He draws a compelling portrait of Constantine, assessing the emperor's achievements as a general in command of his armies and as a resourceful politician and reformer. In art, politics, economics, social developments, and particularly in religion, the life of Constantine acts as a bridge between past and present. Michael Grant goes beyond the bias of literary sources and reveals the private man behind the public persona: the superstitious beliefs underpinning Constantine's hallucinatory visions and dreams that heralded his conversion to Christianity; his persecution of paganism in the name of Christianity that set precedents for centuries to come; and the relationship between church and state that gave way to the totalitarianism of the Late Roman Empire. Was he the last notable Roman emperor, or the first medieval monarch? Was the great convert a saint and hero, or should we regard him as a murderer who killed his wife, his eldest son, and many of his friends to further his own ambitions? These are just some of the issues raised in this revelatory biography

Beyond the Empire is a narrative which recounts the key role Rome had when Christians were discovering what it meant to live their faith as a recognized church. They were part of a city identified with an empire, which at first was self-assured but later in disarray. They learnt from it as well as partially transforming it. This enabled the Church, when the empire crumbled, to open to the new peoples beyond the Alps, mediating what it had received from classical and biblical sources to the nucleus of the modern world being formed in Western Europe.

This volume in the Cambridge History of Christianity presents the 'Golden Age' of patristic Christianity. After episodes of persecution by the Roman government, Christianity emerged as a licit religion enjoying imperial patronage and eventually became the favored religion of the empire. The articles in this volume discuss the rapid transformation of Christianity during late antiquity, giving specific consideration to artistic, social, literary, philosophical, political, inter-religious and cultural aspects. The volume moves away from simple dichotomies and reductive schematizations (e.g., 'heresy v. orthodoxy') toward an inclusive description of the diverse practices and theories that made up Christianity at this time. Whilst proportional attention is given to the emergence of the Great Church within the Roman Empire, other topics are treated as well - such as the development of Christian communities outside the empire.

This book about Flavia Julia Helena Augusta, mother of Constantine the Great, deals with the historical facts of Helena's life and investigates the origin and function of the legends concerning the discovery of the True Cross by Helena, which were developed in the 4th and 5th centuries.