Customer Reviews

Constantine and the Christian Empire (Roman Imperial Biographies)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have now read, in whole or in part, about a dozen biographies of Constantine the Great, from the original Vita by Eusebius Pamphilus written over 1,600 years ago, to several penned by excellent modern scholars. Hands down, however, Constantine and the Christian Empire by Charles M. Odahl is the best of them all. Comprehensive but never dry, dense with facts and references but also with relevant illustrations, this book draws the clearest and most compelling portrait of Constantine of any that I have yet read.

When researching an historical figure whose role remains the subject of intense debate to this day, it can be difficult to sift through the historical bias to find the real man. In the case of Constantine, we have a great majority of ancient sources which laud the man, and an even larger majority of modern commentators who vilify him. Odahl, however, avoids both of these extremes. Though obviously an admirer of Constantine, Odahl presents a balanced portrait which neither excuses the emperor's faults nor ascribes evil motives to even his overtly pious acts.

Specifically, I was impressed that Odahl:

* presented Constantine as a human being--not as a saint or, conversely, as a soulless politician.

* Took the account of the vision of the Cross in the sky seriously, without ascribing it to some bizarre natural phenomenon or claiming that Constantine simply made it up.

* didn't make Constantine out to be a false Christian who only embraced the faith based on some political calculation.

* gives a very detailed and compelling account of the great tragedy of Constantine's reign--the execution of his son Crispus and his wife Fausta.

* dismisses neither the effusive biography of Constantine written by Eusebius of Caesarea nor the vicious attacks of the pagan historian Zosimus, but incorporates both into his narrative.

* has such an impressive grasp of the numismatic evidence -- including some illustrations of Constantinian coinage that I had never seen before.

So in short, if you are looking for a readable, accurate, fair, and intriguing biography of Constantine, this is the one. It may be just a tad heavy for a general reader, but for someone with even a passing interest, it will be an enjoyable read. If you're anything like me and like to go to the original sources after reading a book like this, I heartily recommend The Life of the Blessed Emperor Constantine: From AD 306 to 337 by Eusebius Pamphilus, bishop of Caesarea.

This is an excellent biography of emperor Constantine. The book is well written and easy to read, but it is still a rigorous scholar work, with complete references to both ancient works and modern studies. Thus, it is well suited for the armchair historian but also for a serious student of the late roman empire. You will find all available details on Constantine background, his family and his activities both in the religious and civil field.

Constantine's life has been interpreted in different ways: most old historians (from Gibbon onwards) tended to have a more negative view of this emperor, while most contemporary historians have a generally positive judgment - basically this depends mostly on the relative value given to Eusebius' biography on Constantine (the major contemporary source on Constantine's reign). Eusebius was a christian bishop and theologian and a survivor of the Great Persecution, so it is no surprise that his view of Constantine was clearly biased (and largely discarded by old historians). However, Eusebius' work includes many original documents (plus he was the only historian who talked directly with Constantine himself!) thus a careful interpretation of his work and is the key of most modern works on Constantine (in particular after Barnes major work on Constantine and Eusebius). Odahl gives a balanced account of Constatine's reign. He critically interprets Eusebius work, in particular regarding Constantine's conversion and its religious opinions. Previous authors have described Constantine as a simple and unrefined soldier-emperor. Odahl clearly shows the evolution of Constantine thoughts and of his understanding of christian theology that reached considerable depth. This analysis is based on surviving letters and speeches made by Constantine himself (and reported in part in the book). The dark side of his reign (in particular the executions of close family members) are also clearly presented and discussed, although it is impossible to really understand what happened due to the lack of contemporary evidences. Thus, Odahl presents what reported by ancient historian after Constantine's death, without making hypothesis which could never be substantiated. The simple truth is that we will never know the reasons for Constantine's great tragedy (the execution of his son Crispus and his wife Fausta): what we know is that he did not want to share these reasons with the public (Eusebius never wrote a word about these events not even to justify the emperor).

The book includes a good discussion of numismatic evidences as well as of the many buildings made by the emperor (an often overlooked topic: the many churhes, basilicas and other buildings made throughout the empire show without any doubt the strong and early commitment of Constantine to the Christian faith).

Although the title of the book is "Constantine and the Christian Empire" the second part of the title is less well presented in the book. I would have liked a more thorough and technical discussion of administrative and military reforms of Diocletian and Constantine.

Still this is probably the best single book on Contantine's life. Eusebius and Contantine by Barnes is an excellent reference book, but it is not a biography of Constantine (it includes several chapters on Eusebius life and works, which are not so interesting for readers who hare not deeply involved in the history of the Church). If you want something more simple and less scholarly-shaped (but still accurate) you may look for Michael Grant biography.