Imperial Rome AD 284 to 363 : the new empire

385 Pages·2012·4.53 MB·English

by  Harries

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THE EDINBURGH HISTORY OF ANCIENT ROME M THE EDINBURGH HISTORY OF ANCIENT ROME
SERIES EDITOR: J. S. RICHARDSON
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The Edinburgh History of Ancient Rome is a chronological history of Rome and the Roman
R
world in eight volumes. From the city’s first settlement to the collapse of the western
empire and the emergence of Byzantium some 1,500 years later, each volume encapsulates I
A
the ever-changing identity of Rome, providing overall unity to its dramatic history.
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‘This elegant and exciting book offers a fresh approach to understanding “early”
late Antiquity. The breadth of vision is impressive. Jill Harries’ triumph is to O
place Constantine and his promotion of Christianity in the context of a M
fully-rounded history of the Roman Empire from Diocletian to Julian.’
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Christopher Kelly, University of Cambridge

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A distinct perspective on the dawn of Late Antiquity d
Diocletian (284–305) and his principal successor, Constantine (306–337), would rule the Roman
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world for over half a century and Constantine’s sons would build on their legacy. Administrative
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reform encouraged the rise of a bureaucratic culture, provincial government was reshaped and
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became more hierarchical and the court became more structured. The period was also one of

momentous religious change. With Constantine’s adoption of Christianity as the favoured
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recipient of imperial patronage, the religious landscape would, over time, be radically reshaped.
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Jill Harries combines analysis of administrative reform and religious change with accounts of

war, women and imperial cities to offer new insights on Late Rome and her empire.
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Key Features
IMPERIAL R OME
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• Focuses on the Emperor Constantine as a major figure and offers a context to his
achievement
• Addresses the role of imperial women, often ignored for this period
ad 284 TO 363
• Studies the control of empires and how rulers fashion their claims to legitimacy
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Jill Harries is Professor of Ancient History at the University of St Andrews. ll

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r
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ie T H E N E W E M P I R E
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Cover image: Constantius II, AE-2, mint of Cyzicus, 351–354 ad. Soldier spearing a fallen horseman.
Photo by Jan Starnes, Oxford Imaging Ltd, The Barber Institute Coin Collection, University of
Birmingham, R3378; G. Haines Collection.
Cover design: www.paulsmithdesign.com ISBN 978-0-7486-2053-1
Jill Harries
www.euppublishing.com
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Imperial Rome AD 284 to 363
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The Edinburgh History of Ancient Rome
General Editor: J. S. Richardson
Early Roman Italy to 290 BC: The Origins of Rome and the Rise
of the Republic
Guy Bradley
Rome and the Mediterranean 290 to 146 BC: The Imperial
Republic
Nathan Rosenstein
The End of the Roman Republic 146 to 44 BC: Conquest and
Crisis
Catherine Steel
Augustan Rome 44 BC to AD 14: The Restoration of the Republic
and the Establishment of the Empire
J. S. Richardson
Imperial Rome AD 14 to 192: The First Two Centuries
Jonathan Edmondson
Imperial Rome AD 193 to 284: The Critical Century
Clifford Ando
Imperial Rome AD 284 to 363: The New Empire
Jill Harries
From Rome to Byzantium AD 363 to 565: The Transformation
of Ancient Rome
A. D. Lee
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Imperial Rome 284 to 363
AD
The New Empire
Jill Harries
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© Jill Harries, 2012
Edinburgh University Press Ltd
22 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LF
www.euppublishing.com
Typeset in Sabon
by Norman Tilley Graphics Ltd, Northampton,
and printed and bound in Great Britain
by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
A CIP record for this book is available from the
British Library
ISBN 978 0 7486 2052 4 (hardback)
ISBN 978 0 7486 2053 1 (paperback)
ISBN 978 0 7486 2921 3 (webready PDF)
ISBN 978 0 7486 5395 9 (epub)
ISBN 978 0 7486 5394 2 (Amazon ebook)
The right of Jill Harries
to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published with the support of the Edinburgh University
Scholarly Publishing Initiatives Fund.
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Contents
Illustrations vi
Series editor’s preface ix
Author’s preface x
Abbreviations xiv
Map: The Roman Empire under the Tetrarchy xvii
1. The long third century 1
2. Four lords of the world, AD 284–311 25
3. The empire renewed 50
4. The return of the old gods 80
5. The victory of Constantine, AD 311–37 106
6. Towards the sunrise: Constantine Augustus 134
7. Constructing the Christian emperor 156
8. The sons of Constantine 185
9. Warfare and imperial security, AD 337–61 209
10. Church and empire 229
11. Images of women 255
12. Rome and Antioch 274
13. Julian Augustus 294
14. The funeral director 319
Chronology 324
Guide to further reading 330
Bibliography of modern works cited 336
Index 355
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Illustrations
All illustrations © J. C. N. Coulston
Tetrarchic
Figure 1 Curia Iulia, Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy 46
Figure 2 Diocletianic Rostra, Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy 46
Figure 3 Basilica Iulia, Forum Romanum, Rome, Italy 47
Figure 4 Victories relief, Decennalia Base, Forum Romanum,
Rome, Italy 47
Figure 5 Sacrifice with gods, Decennalia Base, Forum
Romanum, Rome, Italy 48
Figure 6 Central block, Baths of Diocletian, Rome, Italy 48
Figure 7 Frigidarium interior, Baths of Diocletian, Rome,
Italy 49
Figure 8 Arch of Galerius, Thessalonike, Greece 75
Figure 9 Enthroned Tetrarchs, Arch of Galerius, Thessalonike,
Greece 75
Figure 10 Adlocutio frieze, Arch of Galerius, Thessalonike,
Greece 76
Figure 11 Sacrifice frieze, Arch of Galerius, Thessalonike,
Greece 76
Figure 12 Camp of Diocletian, Palmyra, Syria 77
Figure 13 Diocletianic wall, Palmyra, Syria 77
Figure 14 Baths of Diocletian porch, Palmyra, Syria 78
Figure 15 Market building, Aezani, Turkey 78
Figure 16 Price edict inscription, market building, Aezani,
Turkey 79
Figure 17 Mausoleum of Diocletian, Split, Croatia 102
Figure 18 Peristyle court, Villa of Diocletian, Split, Croatia 102
Figure 19 Temple of Jupiter, Villa of Diocletian, Split,
Croatia 103
Figure 20 West gate, Villa of Galerius, Gamzigrad, Serbia 103
Figure 21 Apsidal aula, Villa of Galerius, Gamzigrad, Serbia 104
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Illustrations vii
Figure 22 Labyrinth mosaic, Villa of Galerius, Gamzigrad,
Serbia 104
Figure 23 Mausoleum of Galerius, Thessalonike, Greece 105
Figure 24 Octagonal hall, Palace of Galerius, Thessalonike,
Greece 105
Maxentius
Figure 25 Maxentius pedestal inscription, Via Sacra, Rome,
Italy 125
Figure 26 Circus of Maxentius, E. du Pérac 1577, Via Appia,
Rome, Italy 125
Figure 27 Starting gates, Circus of Maxentius, Via Appia,
Rome, Italy 126
Figure 28 Mausoleum of Romulus, Via Appia, Rome, Italy 126
Figure 29 Milvian Bridge, Rome, Italy 127
Constantine I
Figure 30 Aula Palatina, Trier, Germany 127
Figure 31 Constantinian cathedral exterior, Trier, Germany 128
Figure 32 Statue of Constantine I, Campidoglio, Rome,
Italy 128
Figure 33 Colossal head of Constantine I, Basilica Nova,
Rome, Italy 129
Figure 34 Basilica Nova, Rome, Italy 129
Figure 35 Arch of Constantine, Rome, Italy 130
Figure 36 Victory pedestal, Arch of Constantine, Rome,
Italy 130
Figure 37 Milvian Bridge battle frieze, Arch of Constantine,
Rome, Italy 131
Figure 38 Adventus frieze, Arch of Constantine, Rome,
Italy 131
Figure 39 Adlocutio frieze, Arch of Constantine, Rome,
Italy 132
Figure 40 Congiarium frieze, Arch of Constantine, Rome,
Italy 132
Figure 41 Sol tondo, Arch of Constantine, Rome, Italy 133
Figure 42 Dedicatory inscription, Arch of Constantine,
Rome, Italy 133
Figure 43 Bronze pinecone and peacocks, reused in the
atrium of Constantine’s Church of St Peter, Rome, Italy 182
Figure 44 Santa Costanza exterior, Rome, Italy 182
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viii Imperial Rome AD 284 to 363
Figure 45 Dionysiac vault mosaic, Santa Costanza, Rome,
Italy 183
Figure 46 Serpent Column, Istanbul, Turkey 183
Figure 47 Column of Constantine, Istanbul, Turkey 184
Post-Constantinian
Figure 48 Equestrian pedestal of Constantius II, Forum
Romanum, Rome, Italy 208
Figure 49 Lateran obelisk, Rome, Italy 208
Figure 50 Column of Julian, Ankara, Turkey 318
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Series editor’s preface
Rome, the city and its empire, stands at the centre of the history of
Europe, of the Mediterranean, and of lands which we now call the
Middle East. Its influence through the ages which followed its trans-
formation into the Byzantine Empire down to modern times can be
seen across the world. This series is designed to present for students
and all who are interested in the history of western civilisation the
changing shape of the entity that was Rome, through its earliest
years, the development and extension of the Republic, the shift
into the Augustan Empire, the development of the imperial state
which grew from that, and the differing patterns of that state which
emerged in east and west in the fourth to sixth centuries. It covers
not only the political and military history of that shifting and com-
plex society but also the contributions of the economic and social
history of the Roman world to that change and growth and the intel-
lectual contexts of these developments.The team of contributors, all
scholars at the forefront of research in archaeology and history in
the English-speaking world, present in the eight volumes of the series
an accessible and challenging account of Rome across a millennium
and a half of its expansion and transformation.Each book stands on
its own as a picture of the period it covers and together the series
aims to answer the fundamental question: what was Rome, and how
did a small city in central Italy become one of the most powerful and
significant entities in the history of the world?
John Richardson, General Editor