The Age of Constantine the Great [Paperback]

Jacob Burckhardt (Author), Moses Hadas (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation)

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1st California pbk. ed edition (March 25, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520046803
• ISBN-13: 978-0520046801
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #522,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good if you already know the basics, January 7, 2000

By 

Slacker79 "slacker79" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Age of Constantine the Great (Paperback)

This is a good treatment of the time from Diocletian to Constantine (actually shortly before and shortly after those landmark reigns). The book will be profitable to all readers, but it will be most valuable to those who already know at least a little of Rome's history. Certain background is presumed, and some important events are merely glossed over rather than treated in depth. This isn't really a drawback -- not every book can be a comprehensive history; some have to look in more detail at certain aspects!

Burckhardt is at his best in describing the state of paganism and of the arts in this age. He really comes alive here.

One drawback is the very "19th century" feel -- e.g., certain events or behaviors are sweepingly and uncritically characterized as due to race or gender. Another is that, in discussing Constantine and the Church, it seems clear that Burckhardt doesn't want Constantine to be a Christian, and this may cloud some of the presentation and interpretation.

But, overall, a good treatment. Don't read it for a biography of Constantine -- you'll be disappointed.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive guide from the peak of Roman society to the Byzantine Empire, May 30, 2008

By 

Jack Burton (Porkchop Express, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Age of Constantine the Great (Hardcover)

This is one of the most helpful resources for Roman and Byzantine history I have come across. Burckhardt seems to follow a precise timeline and his transitions from ruler to ruler are flawless. I would not recommend trying to read this book straight through as it is quite dense but all the information presented is necessary. This book is a great tool for memorizing rulers by personal characteristics and historic legacies and I have used it as a reference for many college research papers. If you are looking for a historical analysis of this period I would definitely pick this up.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars More about Diocletian than Constantine -- and with a bias, September 30, 2009

By 

Florentius (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Age of Constantine the Great (Paperback)

Don't bother with this one. Burckhardt was a 19th century academic with an ax to grind against Constantine and a mission to rehabilitate the Christian-persecuting Diocletian. He pursues both of those ends with blind and tedious enthusiasm.

The book takes about 240 pages just to get to Constantine at all, as Burckhardt loses his focus amid 60 page digressions on pagan practices in the ancient Mediterranean world.

Perhaps most annoyingly, the modern translator has seen fit to strip out all of Burckhardt's references which makes the book into an unverifiable manifesto as opposed to a serious scholarly work.

There are much better and more accessible works out there on Constantine and his times than this one, such as Constantine and the Christian Empire, just to give one example. Or, if you prefer to go straight to the primary source, try: The Life of the Blessed Emperor Constantine: From AD 306 to 337 (Christian Roman Empire Series, vol. 8).