Lecture 13: Imperial Politics and Religion
“emperors,” but Constantine worked ruthlessly to eliminate rivals
and make himself sole ruler.• Constantine was born a pagan and only received Christian baptism
on his deathbed, but from the beginning, he clearly favored
Christianity as the new “glue” of the empire. Eusebius spoke of
Constantine’s father, Constantius, as a believer in the one God
but stopped short of calling him a Christian. It is possible that
Constantine was drawn to the religion through the influence of
his mother.
o The ecclesiastical historian Eusebius reported the legend
of Constantine’s dream before the Battle of the Milvian
Bridge (“in hoc signo vinces”) in 312 and the placing of the
Christian chi rho (the first letters of “Christ” in Greek) on his
soldier’s shields.o After his defeat of Maxentius, Constantine and Licinius issued
a decree of freedom of worship for the Christians in June
313, referring to an earlier mutual agreement at Milan in 312.
Hence, this decree of toleration is called the Edict of Milan.• Constantine immediately used his supreme authority to become the
protector and benefactor of the formerly persecuted religion.
o He proclaimed release from exile of those who had been
persecuted and the restoration of property to confessors, while
property taken from churches was to be restored by money
from the imperial treasury.o He issued benefits to African clergy of “the very Holy Catholic
Church,” including exemption from taxation and performance
of public service.o Beginning in 313, Christian symbols appeared on imperial
coins; pagan symbols disappeared by 323.o The state recognized the decisions made by church officials as
valid for the Christian community.