Constantine the Great and the Later Roman Empire

Constantine the Great
and the Later Roman
Empire
HSTAM 315
Byzantine History
Lecture 1
In 293, the emperor Diocletian created a
new system of government known as the
Tetrarchy. This famous porphyry statue of
the Tetrarchs stands today at one of the
corners of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice.
The Crusaders stole the statue and other
architectural remains from Constantinople
during their sack of the Byzantine capital
in 1204.
BILL AND TED IN SEARCH OF DIOCLETIAN
Diocletian establishes the
Tetrarchy (293C.E.)
Porphyry statue of the
Tetrarchs from
Nicomedia (Bithynia)
Today in Venice
The ideology of the Tetrarchy emphasized
unity, military strength, and a return to
traditional Roman values. In fact, the
Tetrarchy introduced many innovations, but
their reforms, by increasing the central
authority of the state, ensured the survival
of the empire after the political and economic
turmoil of the third century.
Diocletian reorganized the empire into
four prefectures and doubled the number
of provinces within each prefecture,
separating military from civilian
authority to reduce the risk of
insurrection and a return to the civil
wars of the third century.
Policies of the Tetrarchy:
- Expansion of the military
- Administrative and fiscal reform
- “Restoration” of Roman religious traditions
- Each Tetrarch assigned a divine patron
Senior emperors linked to Jupiter and Hercules
Junior emperors linked to Sol-Mithras and Mars
- Persecution of alien religions
Among the greatest military challenges facing the empire was the emergence of the
Sasanian Empire, founded in 224. In the 240s, the armies of the Persian kings had
devastated Syria and resettled tens of thousands of captives in lower Mesopotamia. In
260, the Persians captured in battle the emperor himself -- and forced him to serve as a
footstool whenever the Persian king of kings mounted his horse!
Before launching the Great
Persecution, Diocletian consulted
the oracle of Apollo at Didyma.
The remains of the site’s
Hellenistic temple help one
imagine the shrine’s grandeur
and prestige; the oracle approved
the persecution of the “atheists.”
The Oracle of Apollo at Didyma (Turkey)
Close-up of Gorgon
head from the Temple
of Apollo at Didyma.
The system of government known at the
Tetrarchy collapsed into civil war in 306
CE, when the legions stationed at York
raised Constantine, son of Constantius,
on their shields and proclaimed him
emperor.
An Imperial champion from the northern frontier
Constantine of Naissus,
an unlikely savior?
- first attracted to
worship of Sol
(the sun god)
Originally from Naissus (southern
Serbia), Constantine’s background was
similar to that of other soldier
emperors of the third and fourth
centuries. Coins and speeches given in
his honor indicate that he was
originally a worshipper of the Sun God
(Sol).
Coins of Aurelian (270-76) depicting the Sun god
Constantine was not the first Roman emperor to worship the sun god.
Another successful soldier emperor, Aurelian, build a major temple to the
Sun God in Rome in the previous generation. The image on the coin’s reverse
shows a statue of the Sun God holding a globe (a symbol for the world).
Constantine,
victor over
Maxentius at the
Milvian Bridge
outside Rome
312 C.E.
Described by
church historian
Eusebius of
Caesarea
In 312 CE, Constantine won a decisive battle at the Milvian Bridge just north
of Rome. It is likely that if he had lost, the course of European history would
be dramatically different. Christian historians presented Constantine’s
victory as providential and compared Constantine to Moses.
Constantine’s triumph at the Milvian Bridge was
also depicted on early Christian sarcophagi (stone
burial boxes), like this one from Arles in southern
France.
The Life-bringing sign
Chi-Rho (first two
letters of the title
Christ in Greek)
Constantine medallion
with the Chi-Rho sign
According to the biography by Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea
in Palestine, Constantine had a vision of the Chi-Rho sign in
the sky before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge.
The Arch of
Constantine, erected
on the edge of Roman
forum ca. 315,
emphasized
Constantine’s
connections to earlier
successful emperors
like Hadrian, Marcus
Aurelius, and Aurelian.
The arch includes
multiple scenes of
traditional Roman
gods and sacrifice.
ARCH OF CONSTANTINE
BASILICA OF MAXENTIUS
FINISHED BY CONSTANTINE
Constantine
finished this
impressive basilica
(used for legal
affairs), which
stands at the edge
of the Roman
Forum.
Fragments of
monumental statue of
Constantine from the
Basilica of Constantine
(begun by Maxentius)
Courtyard of
Capitoline Museum
According to Constantine’s biographer,
the bishop Eusebius of Caesarea, this
giant statue of Constantine held a
standard bearing the Chi-Rho symbol,
the new Christian sign which
Constantine claims to have seen in the
sky on the eve of his victory at the
Battle of the Milvian Bridge. The
statue was rediscovered in the 16th
century.
Posing beside Constantine’s finger
is a touristic must-do. You may
recognize this University of
Washington graduate student in
History. Next year, I would like to
substitute a picture of one of you!
As a sign of his devotion
to the Christian,
Constantine built
churches in honor of the
martyrs; many of them
can be still be visited in
Rome today.
The adoption of the
basilica as the new
style of church was an
architectural
revolution. Here, the
basilica in Trier
(Germany), which
Constantine converted
into a church.
A pagan temple was designed as
the god’s house; churches, by
contrast, were designed to hold
the entire congregation of
worshippers of the one God.
A CONGREGATIONAL SPACE FULL OF LIGHT
This sixth-century
church in Ravenna,
Italy, exemplifies the
elegant design of early
Christian basilicas.
APSE OF AN EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
The Church of St. Peter lies
today at the center of
Vatican City, the papal
residence. The 16th cent.
Church that one sees here
stands directly on the site
of a Constantinian basilica,
erected to honor the site of
St. Peter’s martyrdom.
St. Peter’s Cathedral (Vatican City)
Emperor Licinius, no longer
an ally of the Christians
In 324, Constantine defeated
Licinius and became sole emperor
of the Roman Empire. He refounded the Greek city of
Byzantium as a new imperial
capital named, modestly,
Constantinople, the city of
Constantine.
CONSTANTINE
Constantine’s capital, NEW
ROME, was embellished with a
defensive wall, baths, an
imperial forum, and a great
palace complex complete with a
hippodrome (for chariot races).
BYZANTIUM
BECOMES
CONSTANTINOPLE
THE CITY OF
CONSTANTINE
Column of Delphi
in Hippodrome
The art and
monuments of
Constantine’s era
linked his new
capital to GrecoRoman past. This
gem, which shows a
personification of
the city offering a
victory wreath to
Constantine,
recalls the art of
the Augustan age.
The t wisted bronze
column in the
hippodrome
originally stood in
Delphi as a votive to
celebrate the
Greeks’ victory
over King Xerxes in
the fifth century
B.C. (800 years
before the reign of
Constantine).
Council of Nicaea, 325 C.E.
The Council of Nicaea, convened by the Emperor
Constantine in 325, is recognized today by most
churches as the “first ecumenical council.” Later
councils attempted to refine the theology
articulated in the Nicene creed, but in doing so
introduced new controversies. Here, a Byzantine
fresco, in the monastery of Sumela in NE Turkey,
depicting Constantine and the bishops at the council.
Constantine and Helena
In orthodox churches, Constantine is
revered as a saint, together with his
mother Helena, who reportedly discovered
the True Cross on which Christ was
crucified. Images of Constantine and
Helena flanking the Cross were widespread
in Byzantine art. This one was made by a
contemporary Romanian icon painter.