Constantine: Roman Emperor, Christian Victor Tapa dura - 2010

de Paul Stephenson

A fascinating survey of the life and enduring legacy of perhapsthe greatest and most unjustly ignored of the Roman emperors-written by arichly gifted historian.

In 312 A.D., Constantine-one of four Romanemperors ruling a divided empire-marched on Rome to establish his control.On the eve of the battle, a cross appeared to him in the sky with anexhortation, "By this sign conquer." Inscribing the cross on the shields ofhis soldiers, Constantine drove his rivals into the Tiber and claimed theimperial capital for himself.

Under Constantine, Christianity emergedfrom the shadows, its adherents no longer persecuted. Constantine united thewestern and eastern halves of the Roman Empire. He founded a new capitalcity, Constantinople. Thereafter the Christian Roman Empire endured in theEast, while Rome itself fell to the barbarian hordes.

Paul Stephensonoffers a nuanced and deeply satisfying account of a man whose cultural andspiritual renewal of the Roman Empire gave birth to the idea of a unifiedChristian Europe underpinned by a commitment to religious tolerance.