Constantine the Emperor / David Potter.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Potter, David, 1957-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Emperors--Rome--Biography.

Emperors.

Religion and state--Rome--History.

Religion and state.

Rome--History--Constantine I, the Great, 306-337.

Rome.

Constantine I, Emperor of Rome, -337.

Constantine.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 368 p. ) ill., maps

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, c2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Provides a full account of Constantine's career, including his conversion to Christianity and the refounding of Byzantium. This year Christians worldwide will celebrate the 1700th anniversary of Constantine's conversion and victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. No Roman emperor had a greater impact on the modern world than did Constantine. The reason is not simply that he converted to Christianity but that he did so in a way that brought his subjects along after him. Indeed, this major new biography argues that Constantine's conversion is but one feature of a unique administrative style thatenabled him to take control of an empire beset by internal rebellions and external threats by Persians and Goths. The vast record of Constantine's administration reveals a government careful in its exercise of power but capable of ruthless, even savage actions. Constantine executed (or drove to suicide)his father-in-law, two brothers-in-law, his eldest son, and his once beloved wife. An unparalleled general throughout his life, even on his deathbed he was planning a major assault on the Sassanian Empire in Persia. Alongside the visionary who believed that his success came from the direct intervention of his God resided an aggressive warrior, a sometimes cruel partner, and an immensely shrewd ruler. These characteristics combined together in a long and remarkable career, which restored theRoman Empire to its former glory. Beginning with his first biographer Eusebius, Constantine's image has been subject to distortion. More recent revisions include John Carroll's view of him as the intellectual ancestor of the Holocaust (Constantine's Sword) and Dan Brown's presentation of him as the man who oversaw the reshaping of Christian history (The Da Vinci Code). In Constantine the Emperor, David Potter confronts each of these skewed and partial accounts to provide the most comprehensive,authoritative, and readable account of Constantine's extraordinary life.

Contents:

Cover

CONTENTS

PREFACE

ABBREVIATIONS

MAP OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

INTRODUCTION

PART 1 IMPERIAL RESURRECTION

Chapter 1 The Crisis of AD 260

Chapter 2 The Renewal of the Roman Empire

PART 2 DIOCLETIAN

Chapter 3 The New Emperor

Chapter 4 Emperors and Subjects

Chapter 5 A New Look

Chapter 6 Persia and the Caesars

PART 3 CONSTANTINE AND DIOCLETIAN

Chapter 7 The Court of Diocletian

Chapter 8 Imperial Edicts and Moral Crusades

Chapter 9 Minervina

Chapter 10 The Succession

PART 4 FATHERS AND SONS

Chapter 11 The New Regime

Chapter 12 Maxentius and Fausta

Chapter 13 The End of Maximian

PART 5 THE ROAD TO ROME

Chapter 14 The Gathering Storm

Chapter 15 The Battle of the Milvian Bridge

Chapter 16 Freedom of Worship

Chapter 17 The Conversion of Constantine

PART 6 WAR AND PEACE

Chapter 18 Reworking Past and Future

Chapter 19 Governing the Empire

Chapter 20 Maximus and Bassus

Chapter 21 The Donatist Controversy

PART 7 TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY

Chapter 22 The Defeat of Licinius

Chapter 23 The Eastern Empire

Chapter 24 Constantine Speaks to the Bishops

Chapter 25 The Arian Controversy

Chapter 26 Nicaea

Chapter 27 Constantinople and Rome

PART 8 RULER OF THE WORLD

Chapter 28 Constantine' s Government

Chapter 29 Constantinople

Chapter 30 An Ordered Society

Chapter 31 Christians, Pagans, and Jews

Chapter 32 Neighbors

Chapter 33 End Times

EPILOGUE

APPENDIX: FINDING CONSTANTINE

TIMELINE

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

V

Y.

Notes:

Formerly CIP.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-19-998602-9

0-19-998597-9

OCLC:

922904256