In this Book

summary

Over the course of the fourth century, Christianity rose from a religion actively persecuted by the authority of the Roman empire to become the religion of state—a feat largely credited to Constantine the Great. Constantine succeeded in propelling this minority religion to imperial status using the traditional tools of governance, yet his proclamation of his new religious orientation was by no means unambiguous. His coins and inscriptions, public monuments, and pronouncements sent unmistakable signals to his non-Christian subjects that he was willing not only to accept their beliefs about the nature of the divine but also to incorporate traditional forms of religious expression into his own self-presentation. In Constantine and the Cities, Noel Lenski attempts to reconcile these apparent contradictions by examining the dialogic nature of Constantine's power and how his rule was built in the space between his ambitions for the empire and his subjects' efforts to further their own understandings of religious truth.

Focusing on cities and the texts and images produced by their citizens for and about the emperor, Constantine and the Cities uncovers the interplay of signals between ruler and subject, mapping out the terrain within which Constantine nudged his subjects in the direction of conversion. Reading inscriptions, coins, legal texts, letters, orations, and histories, Lenski demonstrates how Constantine and his subjects used the instruments of government in a struggle for authority over the religion of the empire.

Table of Contents

restricted access Download Full Book
  1. Cover
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Title page, Copyright, Dedication
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Contents
  2. pp. vii-viii
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. List of Maps
  2. p. ix
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Introduction. Many Faces of Constantine
  2. pp. 1-24
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Part I. Constantine’s Self-Presentation
  1. Chapter 1. Constantine Develops
  2. pp. 27-47
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 2. Constantinian Constants
  2. pp. 48-66
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 3. Constantine and the Christians: Controlling the Message
  2. pp. 67-84
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Part II. the Power of Petitions
  1. Chapter 4. Approaching Constantine: The Orcistus Dossier
  2. pp. 87-113
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 5. The Exigencies of Dialogue: Hispellum
  2. pp. 114-130
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 6. Constantine’s Cities in the West: Nomen Venerandum
  2. pp. 131-149
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 7. Constantine’s Cities in the East: Peer Polity Interaction
  2. pp. 150-164
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Part III. Reconstructing the Ancient City
  1. Chapter 8. Redistributing Wealth
  2. pp. 167-178
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 9. Building Churches
  2. pp. 179-196
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 10. Empowering Bishops
  2. pp. 197-206
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Part IV. Alternative Responses to Constantine
  1. Chapter 11. Engaging Cities
  2. pp. 209-229
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 12. Resisting Cities
  2. pp. 230-245
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 13. Opposing Christians: Donatists and Caecilianists
  2. pp. 246-259
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter 14. Complex Cities: Antioch and Alexandria
  2. pp. 260-278
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Epilogue
  2. pp. 279-284
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. List of Sigla and Abbreviations
  2. pp. 285-288
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Notes
  2. pp. 289-356
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Bibliography
  2. pp. 357-392
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Index
  2. pp. 393-402
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Acknowledgments
  2. pp. 403-404
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
Back To Top

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Without cookies your experience may not be seamless.