No Roman emperor had a greater impact on the modern world than Constantine. Constantine's conversion to Christianity is but one feature of a unique administrative style that enabled him to take control of an empire beset by internal rebellions and external threats by Persians and Goths. The vast record of Constantine's administration reveals a government careful in its exercise of power but capable of ruthless actions. Constantine executed (or drove to suicide) his father-in-law, two brothers-in-law, his eldest son, and his once beloved wife. An unparalleled general throughout his life, even on his deathbed he was planning a major assault on the Sassanian Empire in Persia. Alongside the visionary who believed that his success came from the direct intervention of his God resided an aggressive warrior, a sometimes cruel partner, and an immensely shrewd ruler. These characteristics combined together in a long and remarkable career, which restored the Roman Empire to its former glory.
By:
David Potter
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 236mm,
Width: 171mm,
Spine: 31mm
Weight: 640g
ISBN: 9780199755868
ISBN 10: 0199755868
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 11 December 2012
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
TIMELINE; INTRODUCTION; SECTION 1 IMPERIAL RESURRECTION; CHAPTER 1 THE CRISIS OF 260 AD; CHAPTER 2 THE RENEWAL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE; SECTION 2 DIOCLETIAN; CHAPTER 3 THE NEW EMPEROR; CHAPTER 4 EMPERORS AND SUBJECTS; CHAPTER 5 A NEW LOOK; CHAPTER 6 PERSIA AND THE CAESARS; SECTION 3 CONSTANTINE AND DIOCLETIAN; CHAPTER 7 THE COURT OF DIOCLETIAN; CHAPTER 8 IMPERIAL EDICTS AND MORAL CRUSADES; CHAPTER 9 MINERVINA; CHAPTER 10 THE SUCCESSION; SECTION 4 FATHERS AND SONS; CHAPTER 11 THE NEW REGIME; CHAPTER 12 MAXENTIUS AND FAUSTA; CHAPTER 13 THE END OF MAXIMIAN; SECTION 5 THE ROAD TO ROME; CHAPTER 14 THE GATHERING STORM; CHAPTER 15 THE BATTLE OF THE MILVIAN BRIDGE; CHAPTER 16 FREEDOM OF WORSHIP; CHAPTER 17 THE CONVERSION OF CONSTANTINE; SECTION 6 WAR AND PEACE; CHAPTER 18 REWORKING PAST AND FUTURE; CHAPTER 19 GOVERNING THE EMPIRE; CHAPTER 20 MAXIMUS AND BASSUS 319-323; CHAPTER 21 THE DONATIST CONTROVERSY; SECTION 7 TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY; CHAPTER 22 VICTORY IN THE EAST; CHAPTER 23 THE EASTERN EMPIRE; CHAPTER 24 CONSTANTINE SPEAKS TO THE BISHOPS; CHAPTER 25 THE ARIAN CONTROVERSY; CHAPTER 26 NICAEA; CHAPTER 27 CONSTANTINOPLE AND ROME; SECTION 8 RULER OF THE WORLD; CHAPTER 28 CONSTANTINE'S GOVERNMENT; CHAPTER 29 CONSTANTINOPLE; CHAPTER 30 AN ORDERED SOCIETY; CHAPTER 31 CHRISTIANS, PAGANS AND JEWS; CHAPTER 32 NEIGHBOURS; CHAPTER 33 END TIMES; EPILOGUE; DRAMATIS PERSONAE; NOTES; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX
<br>David Potter is Francis W. Kelsey Collegiate Professor of Greek and Roman History and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Michigan. His books include The Victor's Crown (OUP), Emperors of Rome, and Ancient Rome: A New History.<br>
Reviews for Constantine the Emperor
He has examined, with gusto and an unrivalled mastery of detail, the aspects of Constantine neglected by those who concentrate only on his relations with Christianity. Peter Brown, London Review of Books [This is a book] for anyone who really wants to understand how the Roman Empire functioned, how the Church came to be absorbed into imperial structures and administration, and how the Emperor's aims and ideas developed as his experience of running (or at least heading) the empire grew. The Revd Dr Cally Hammond, Church Times Potter's mission is to chip away at the meretricious facts of Constantine's life and throw back over him the more truthful shroud of obscurity...[I]t would be hard to find a more convincing account of the military and administrative prowess and the conviction with which Constantine carved out a new style of monarchy against the long shadow of Diocletian. The Tablet Potter's admirably comprehensive account of this most significant of all emperors clearly and judiciously plots the way in which he grew into the role that he was convinced it was his destiny to play. BBC History Magazine Based closely on contemporary evidence, David Potter has written a penetrating and original analysis of the evolution of Constantine's role as Emperor, and of his conception of that role. Military History Monthly [Potter] has produced a new, readable and authoritative account of Constantine's life. The Church of England Newspaper
