Soldiering for God: Christianity and the Roman Army

477 Pages·2010·4.17 MB·English

by  John F. Shean

Soldiering for God
History of Warfare
Editors
Kelly DeVries
Loyola College in Maryland
John France
University of Wales Swansea
Michael S. Neiberg
University of Southern Mississippi
Frederick Schneid
High Point University
VOLUME 61
Soldiering for God
Christianity and the Roman Army
By
John F. Shean
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2010
Cover illustration: Christ as a warrior (5th–6th century), mosaic, Cappella di Sant’Andrea,
Museo Arcivescovile, Ravenna.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shean, John F.
Soldiering for God : Christianity and the Roman army / by John F. Shean.
p. cm. — (History of warfare ; 61)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-18731-3 (hardback : acid-free paper)
1. Rome—Army—Religious life. 2. Rome—History—Empire, 284-476.
3. Christianity—Rome. I. Title. II. Series.
DG89.S47 2010
270.1—dc22
2010020323
ISSN 1385-7827
ISBN 978 90 04 18731 3
Copyright 2010 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
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Fees are subject to change.
To my wife

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ............................................................................ ix
Preface ................................................................................................. xi
Acknowledgements ............................................................................ xiii
Abbreviations ..................................................................................... xv
Chapter One Introduction: The Warrior’s Path to God .......... 1
Chapter Two Roman Army Religion .......................................... 31
Chapter Three Christian Attitudes towards the Roman State,
War, and Military Service ............................................................ 71
Chapter Four Sociology of Early Christianity ........................... 105
Chapter Five Evidence for the Presence of Christians in the
Roman Army .................................................................................. 177
Chapter Six The Thirteenth Apostle ............................................ 217
Chapter Seven Church and State in the Fourth Century ........ 279
Chapter Eight The Impact of ‘Barbarization’ on the Roman
Army ................................................................................................ 327
Chapter Nine Consequences of Conversion .............................. 369
Table 1 ................................................................................................. 409
Bibliography ........................................................................................ 415
Index .................................................................................................... 439

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Christ as a warrior (5th–6th century), mosaic,
Cappella di Sant’Andrea, Museo Arcivescovile, Ravenna .......... cover
Chi-rho ................................................................................................. 271
Wheel symbol of European Sun god .............................................. 271