Constantine and Eusebius
There are many great rulers in history, among them men and women of great fortitude, power, allegiance, wealth and intrigue. Yet, there are few who ring more interesting to a modern reader than Constantine I, who is widely held as the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity and spread its favor across the then known world. This work will briefly discuss Constantine I (27 February 272 -- 22 May 337 AD) and his only remaining biographer Eusebius (263-339 AD) who was really writing the history of the church rather than on the greatness of a single human leader. The work will first briefly explore who these men were, according to history then it will discuss their relationship to one another, the impact that relationship had on each and finally how that relationship influenced the enculturation of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
Constantine the great (Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantius Augustus) or Constantine I or sometimes known as Saint Constantine was the Roman emperor from 306-337 serving as the 57th emperor of the Roman Empire was a consummate military ruler who reinvigorated the empire, rebuilding through military might the size and strength of the empire. He is best known for being the first Roman Emperor to personally convert to Christianity, likely because of the limited sources remaining from his reign. Much of what is known about Constantine comes to us from the writings of a single Christian writer, Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea in Palestine who recorded Constantine's life through a vision of Christian conversion and therefore left a foundational legacy for history which squarely seats Christianity in the Roman empire as it begins to win favor as a dominant religion. In many ways the controversy of Constantine and his reign, which was militarily bloody and historically similar to other rulers is enlightened by Eusebius' many claims of the greatness of Constantine through the window of Christianity, rather than through his military might and dominating history.[footnoteRef:1] [1: Thomas C. Ferguson. Past Is Prologue: The Revolution of Nicene Historiography. Leiden, NLD: Brill Academic Publishers, 2005. p 15-16.]
There is limited evidence of the personal relationship between Eusebius and Constantine, beginning mainly with a brief meeting of the two in Palestine, prior to Constantine's role as emperor began but likely culminating with Constantine's trip to Jerusalem for the dedication of the newly built Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Eusebius was the bishop of the principle city in the area and therefore played an important role in the celebrations, likely to have several audiences with Constantine supported in part bay years of distant correspondence and a few other personal meetings. Eusebius recognized in Constantine a leader willing and desirous of bringing peace to the church and Constantine recognized in Eusebius an admired and therefore powerful individual and also supported him. The relationship then according to Gonzalez, a foremost scholar on the early church was neither that of close friend nor courtier as each had distant and important roles but each also seemed to recognize the role of the other and cultivate mutual respect based upon it.[footnoteRef:2] This is not to say that the men were opportunists just that each recognized mutual goals and utilized the relationship, as brief and intermittent as it was to support these goals, in Eusebius' eye the mutual goal was to strengthen and unify the Christian Church during and after a serious rift, the Arian controversy which Eusebius wavered on with the primacy of thought being on unity rather than disunity, a thought openly favored by Constantine as well, throughout his years as emperor.[footnoteRef:3] Also according to Gonzalez while Constantine was alive Eusebius found occasion to praise him in dedication but did not do so fully until his passing, in the form of the doctrine that has become one of two official biographical informatics for Constantine's rule, though fully entrenched as church history and cannon, the Vita Constantini is as much a history of Constantine as it is a faith filled retelling of the role that Constantine played in church unity. The only other surviving biographical work is the anonymous Origo Constantini Imperatoris which details his military and civil history, rather than his role in the church.[footnoteRef:4] For most scholars of Constantine the two works together forma relatively comprehensive biography of the man and his role in the empire but for the purpose of this work, detailing Constantine and Eusebius there is only need of a mention here. The reality of the relationship between these two men,...
The tribes had finally become a threat for the Roman Empire. Fights between tribes had passed over the borders with the Romans and large numbers of barbarians were crossing the border. Romans could not resist the waves of immigrants entering the empire, nor could they control them. Tribesmen could not be educated or civilized, and, thus, they brought chaos with them. All that the Roman Emperors could do at the
Roman Empire When Diocletian became the emperor of Rome in 284 AD, the Roman Empire was beset with enormous military and social problems and was on the verge of collapse. Complete anarchy prevailed in the Roman army which was no longer controllable under a single command and it was common practice for a succession of generals to declare themselves as emperor. In the fifty years before Diocletian came to power, a
Roman Empire The history of the Roman Empire has long been a topic of discussion amongst those who are interested in ancient political and social structures. The purpose of this discussion is to explore the subject of the Roman Empire and the impact of this empire on historic events in the world. More specifically the essay will focus on the development of Roman religious and family values and how they were
Under the ruling of their new king, Alaric, the Visigoths decided that they deserved gold in order to live in decency. Since the Roman government refused to support the Germanic tribe, the Visigoths marched on Rome, defeating the numerous forces gathered to defend the city. In spite of the fact that the Romans were better experienced in warfare they did not stand a chance before the more powerful Germanic
C However, the road infrastructure, the cultural achievements, as well as other aspects of Roman influence were only possible as a result of strong and constant policies undergone by the Empire. In this sense, it was clear for Rome that the army was of crucial importance. Therefore, all soldiers enlisted in the Roman army benefited from the same rights and advantages as the ones being stationed in the Capital, for
Religion was also of little importance to the people of Pompeii and in addition to the fact that they did not even express an exceptional interest in their gods; they were not connected in any way to Christianity, which greatly influenced the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. "The locations of much of the erotic art, which will be discussed, were discovered within patrician villas, bathhouses, brothels, and taverns"
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now