Constantine and the Christian Empire

by Charles Odahl

Overview

This biographical narrative is a detailed portrayal of the life and career of the first Christian emperor Constantine the Great (273 - 337). Combining vivid narrative and historical analysis, Charles Odahl relates the rise of Constantine amid the crises of the late Roman world, his dramatic conversion to and public patronage of Christianity, and his church building programs in Rome, Jerusalem and Constantinople which transformed the pagan state of Roman antiquity into the Christian empire medieval Byzantium.

The author's comprehensive knowledge of the literary sources and his extensive research into the material remains of the period mean that this volume provides a more rounded and accurate portrait of Constantine than previously available.

This revised second edition includes:

• An expanded and revised final chapter
• A new Genealogy and an expanded Chronology
• New illustrations
• Revised and updated Notes and Bibliography

A landmark publication in Roman Imperial, early Christian, and Byzantine history, Constantine and the Christian Empire will remain the standard account of the subject for years to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415645140
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/05/2012
Series:	Roman Imperial Biographies
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	440
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Charles Matson Odahl long served as the Professor of Ancient and Medieval History and Latin Literature at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho (1975-2011) and now serves as Visiting Professor for Roman and Byzantine History at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. His main research interests are Cicero and the late Roman Republic, early Christianity, and Constantine and the early Byzantine Empire. He has travelled, lived, studied and taught throughout Europe and around the Mediterranean Basin, and examined all of the historical sites and monuments of the Ciceronian and Constantinian Eras. Previous publications include Early Christian Latin Literature (1993), Cicero and the Catilinarian Conspiracy (Routledge, 2010), and first and second editions of Constantine and the Christian Empire (Routledge, 2004 and 2010).

Table of Contents

1. The Subject and Ancient Sources 2. The Imperial Crisis and Illyrian Emperors 3. The First Tetrarchy and the Caesar's Son 4. The Gallic Emperor and the Dying Persecutors 5. The Italian Campaign and Constantine's Conversion 6. Religious Concerns and Apostolic Rome 7. The Eastern Crusade and the Nicene Council 8. The Dynastic Tragedy and Helena's Pilgrimage 9. Imperial Concerns and Christian Constantinople 10. The Final Campaigns and the Emperor's Heirs 11. The Thirteenth Apostle and the Christian Empire 12. The Legacy and Modern Interpretations

Editorial Reviews

'A splendid, solid Constantine ... whose many illustrations invite the reader to enter and be carried along with the story.' - Yale University, USA

'A splendid volume, an opus praeclare as well as a magnum opus ... the scholarship is impeccable ... The layout, the quality of the photographs and the graphics are all excellent.' - State University of New York, USA

'[This] book will undoubtedly remain the standard account of the reign for many years to come.' - University College Cork, Ireland

'Charles Matson Odahl offers a wide-ranging assessment ... [his] perspective in panoramic ... clearly and often engagingly written [the book] offers a splendid account of Constantine and his legacy.' - The Record

'Altogether this is a very good account of one of the greatest of the Roman Emperors.' - The NYMAS Review

From the Publisher