by Michael Hall

Rome was arguably one of the greatest empires in the history of man. It held a vast territory that encompassed the entire Mediterranean. People flocked from vast distances to see the pinnacle of human civilization. In addition, it was one of the first culturally diverse nations in the world. People were free to worship any religion they saw fit. Christianity, one of the largest religions on Earth, probably owes its survival to the ancient civilization. Because of Emperor Constantine raising it from its lowly cult status, Christianity has become the supergiant it is today. But the issue of why Constantine converted the Roman Empire from Paganism to Christianity is a point of debate. Norbert Brox, in his A Concise History of the Early Church, states that “Constantine did not experience any conversion; there are no signs of a change of faith in him” (48). So if he never converted to Christianity, what would be the purpose of a nationwide conversion? Things definitely are not how they seem. Due to the inadequacies of the traditional Pagan religion, Constantine, who was greatly influenced by his mentor Diocletian, used his supposed Christian conversion for the purpose of creating an artificial nationalism and social control structure for the Empire, during which time neither he, nor Rome, ever converted to the religion—but instead remained Pagan.

Although the Roman world was extremely spiritual in the third century, citizens were beginning to lose interest in their unstructured religious systems. A.H.M. Jones tells us in his book, Constantine and the Conversion of Europe, that citizens from all levels of society were deeply religious, and believed that the gods intervened in human affairs (37). But the traditional religions did not seem to help the population deal with the economic and social problems of the third century. In addition to the public, the government was not too happy with the unstructured religious systems of the period. They required something with a bit more control.

Although most citizens found consolation in the Pagan religion, many were beginning to believe that was insufficient.

Although Paganism was the dominant belief system in the Roman Empire, it was beginning to lose hold on the populace. The Roman world encompassed a variety of different cultures—each with its own religious background. Paganism in the third century was a mixture of these different religious beliefs (Jones 29). The religious toleration of the period allowed citizens to experiment and participate in a wide range of different belief systems. The majority of Roman citizens worshipped the Roman, Greek, and Egyptian gods of their ancestors, while the minority practiced the Jewish and Christian faiths. Although deeply religious, citizens were becoming disillusioned with the current religious systems. Tradition was the main reason worship of Greek and Roman gods endured in the later Roman Empire (Jones 29-30). People maintained their religious beliefs purely because they had been brought up that way. As Harold Mattingly stated in his book, Christianity in the Roman Empire, “Pagan thought was repulsive to many men, because of its lack of seriousness, its vagueness and its flippancy” (23). Many citizens believed the traditional Pagan religions were losing credibility. It was time for something new.

Not only were the religious beliefs becoming outdated, many Roman citizens, and it seems the Empire itself, were also becoming discouraged with the lack of structure in the religious systems of the period.

Paganism, in the third century, was not structured as an effective means of control. In his book, Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries, Ramsay MacMullen tells us that traditional pagan religion had no central structure, and everyone could worship how they saw fit (32). “Even in wide-spread cults like those of Isis and of Mithras there was no central authority which laid down doctrine, regulated ritual, or authorized the appointment of priests” (Jones 40). There are obvious advantages to this. Since there were no rules, regulations, or dogma, citizens had a great deal of religious freedom. But citizens treated Paganism as more of a past-time than a religious belief. If worshippers disliked the religious policies of a certain branch of Paganism, they could easily switch religions and worship something else. However, this religious situation did present disadvantages for the Empire. This is because Paganism was neither state controlled or structured (Jones 38-39). The state did not intervene in religious affairs. Even if it wanted to, it would not have been able to effectively enforce any control due to the decentralization of power within the religious system. And due to the religious toleration of the period, religions had full reign as long as they did not go against the Empire. With no central authority, control of the religion was completely in the hands of the worshippers. But who controlled the worshippers?

All the religions, not just Paganism, flourished due to the tolerance of the Roman government. It was not until early in Constantine’s life, when he was traveling with the then Emperor Diocletian, that religious freedom began to deteriorate.

Constantine spent his early years with Emperor Diocletian reforming the government and dealing with rebellions. In the article “The Word ‘Homoousios’ from Hellenism to Christianity” found in Church History, Pier Franco Beatrice tells us that as a child traveling with Emperor Diocletian, Constantine was constantly surrounded by “pagan philosophers” (264). This would have given Constantine ample time and opportunity to learn about the various pagan religions and traditions. Not only would he have heard pagan mythology from the experts, but due to his travels, he would have obtained first hand knowledge as well. Also, “during the years that Constantine was at court, Diocletian was steadily remodeling administration, defence, and finance” (Jones 22). Constantine was learning at a young age from his mentor the skills that would prove useful to him later on as the future Emperor of Rome. There were also many uprisings during these volatile times. H.M.D. Parker, in his book, A History of the Roman World from A.D. 138 to 337, tells us that in regards to the revolt in Egypt, “Diocletian regarded the rebellion as a dangerous nationalist rising” (233). There is no doubt that Constantine would have seen this rebellion and been influenced by Diocletian’s actions. He would have learned the dangers of uncontrolled nationalism from his Emperor, especially negative focused nationalism against the Empire.

During his travels, Constantine would have had ample time to learn about pagan mythology. He learned administrative and military skills from his mentor. He also had experience with rebellions among the populace. But what was he to do to avoid a rebellion among his troops?

While serving under Diocletian, Constantine learned the importance of maintaining troop loyalty. The Roman army of the period was relatively small, and was mainly used for defensive purposes (Mattingly 14). Most troops were deployed along the frontier to protect the Empire from the northern tribes (see fig. 1). But the well-trained Roman army was no match for the superior strength of the northern heathens. To protect the frontier from the invading barbarians, Diocletian increased the size of the army by introducing mandatory service (Jones 23-24). The result of increasing the size of the army by conscription had to have caused strain amongst Roman citizens and the army. Predicting this, Diocletian made a radical move. To prevent military revolts, emperors, not generals, must assume command of the armies (Parker 224). But at the time there was only one emperor. And Diocletian could not be everywhere at once. To remedy this, Diocletian created the co-emperor positions. But this still limited the number of armies to the number of emperors. As there was no nationalism in the Roman Empire, something needed to be done to ensure the loyalty of the troops, regardless of the distance from the Emperor.

Fig. 1. Invaders of the Empire in the Third Century AD (Freeman, Egypt 466).

Not only was there a problem ensuring the loyalty of the Roman Army, but there were problems with religious factions who refused to join military service. The main faction involved in this dissent was the Christian religion.

Constantine was involved in the persecution of the Christians under Diocletian. As expected, not everyone liked the idea of mandatory service. Although most citizens did not agree with the conscription process, most cooperated with the government mandate. However, Christian citizens decided not to cooperate with the Empire, and rejected mandatory service. The Christians refusal to participate in the army, for the sake of maintaining the peace, posed a problem for the Empire (Mattingly 49). If they could deny service in the Army based on their religion, nothing stopped members of the rest of the religions from doing likewise. The Emperor became increasingly annoyed by the Christian sect. And E.D. Hunt, in his article, “Constantine and Jerusalem” in The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, tells us that while traveling with Diocletian’s court, “Constantine was part of an imperial regime whose hostility to Christianity was becoming ever more visible” (par. 3). So Constantine was there when Diocletian began the persecution of the Christians. And rather than oppose the mandate of the Emperor, it is highly likely that Constantine participated in Christian persecution during his tenure at Diocletian’s court (Hunt par. 5). So Constantine, the future Christian Emperor of Rome, participated in the persecution of the Christians under Diocletian. It would have been during this time that Constantine would have witnessed the resilience and courage of the Christians when faced with the persecution. This is something which may have left a lasting imprint in his mind.

Although Christians proved troublesome to Constantine in his early years, their ability to stay unified and loyal to their faith, regardless of the obstacle, left him with a lasting impression. But the impression was not strong enough to convert him just yet. He first returned to Britain and continued to practice his traditional religion, Paganism.

Constantine spent his first years as Emperor in Pagan worship until his conversion to Christianity. After his father’s death, he was installed as Emperor by the Army, and proceeded to conquer the rest of the Roman Empire (Hunt par. 5). While doing so, he followed in his father’s footsteps and became and advocate for Paganism. Initially, Constantine’s religious views were focused towards Hercules in his early years as Emperor (Parker 292). This is not odd, as many people of the time, emperors and citizens, practiced pagan beliefs. What is amazing is his tendency to jump from one faith to another. This is because shortly after his worship of the ancient Greek hero, his religious views changed. Constantine became a sun worshipper (Parker 292). But we know that shortly after this event, he had his prophetic vision before the battle at Milvian Bridge, and converted to Christianity. What was the cause of this inconsistency in his religious beliefs? Was Constantine merely soul searching, or was he just changing his religion to whatever best suited him at the time?

Religion, however, was not the only thing that was troubling Constantine. It turns out that his Army was not too pleased with the present situation.

Much to the disgruntled Roman Army’s surprise, the Pagan Emperor Constantine supposedly converted to Christianity due to his famous vision preceding the battle at Milvian Bridge. Prior to the battle, Constantine had experience with troop rebellions (Parker 247). He must have learned from his mentor, the former Emperor Diocletian, that the most important task was control of the army. Due to his extensive military experience, Constantine learned early the importance of catering to the Army’s needs. He realized that the Army had a lot of sway as to who the emperors would be. And without strong control of the Army, his position as Emperor could be short-lived. In addition to this, there was no nationalism in the Roman Empire. There was nothing to keep these mostly conscripted troops together. Even his presence at the battle field was insufficient. He needed to be assured of the Army’s loyalty in his absence. But in the midst of pondering on these questions, Constantine had his famous vision from the Christian God. The vision told him to unite his army behind a new divine symbol (see fig. 2). Helmut Koester and Vasiliki Limberis, in their article “Christianity” found in Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome, tell us that the Labarum was the symbol Constantine used to win the battle (1066). After the victory, news quickly spread about the divinely inspired Emperor. Constantine’s Army seemed to be uniting behind the symbol. What an interesting coincidence.

Fig. 2. Labarum (“Royal”).

So the inspiring vision of Constantine led the Roman Army to victory. But was the dream authentic?

These visions were not true inspirations, but a contemporary means of heightening troop morale. Constantine, who had a history of seeing visions, was not alone in this ability which happened to be highly prevalent in ancient times, both among commoners and emperors (Brox 47). So there was an overabundance of visions in the Roman Empire. It would not have shocked anyone to find out that Constantine had a vision. Also, Constantine was not alone in his visions of Christian beings. In Constantine the Great, Herman Dörries tells us that Licinius, Constantine’s rival, had a prophetic dream from an angel which he relayed to his troops (50). Interestingly, these visions always seemed to coincide with the observer’s plans. Licinius also used religious propaganda, such as prayers before battle, to increase troop morale (Jones 85). So were both emperor’s divinely inspired, or were these visions just a third-century form of propaganda? Both sides supposedly saw Christian visions, but only one side won. But since Constantine was on the winning side, his vision must have been the correct one. However, Charles Freeman, in his article “The Emperor’s State of Grace” found in History Today, tells us that there is no official story, only contradictory accounts, of Constantine’s vision before the battle at Milvian Bridge (par. 4). Most accounts, all of which were opposing, did not come out until some time after the event. It is quite possible that the entire vision was a complete fabrication. So if it were a lie, it was a terrific example of military propaganda.

Constantine had seen the power that religion had on the unification of his Army. Could that same power be used to unify the populace?

After his conquest of the Empire, Constantine used religion to supplement his control. “The stock of ideas within the political, social, and cultural unity of the then world had prompted in contemporaries the notion of a unity of the human race: all human beings belonged together in one whole” (Brox 23). Constantine wanted to create a world government. A government under which he would have complete control over the entire population. But this would be impossible unless he could find some sort of method that created a social hierarchy. “From Constantine’s perspective [,] the state needed a religion which was strictly monarchical in its view of God and the world, and which was represented and continued on earth in the political monarchy of the absolutist emperor” (Brox 48). Another benefit was that this new religion could also be used as a form of nationalism, which the Empire did not have. So Constantine realized that the best way to create total control over the population was by the implementation of a centralized, state-run, religious system. He took advantage of the political and social conditions of the time to introduce his new idea. But his traditional Pagan religion was not suitably structured for such a powerful concept. He had to find something that was. So Constantine realized the benefit of having religion as a form of social control. What he lacked was the proper medium to enforce that control. To remedy this, Constantine would have to introduce a new state-run religious system for the Empire.

Constantine realized that the creation of a state-run religion was a top priority. He knew that the new religion could create an artificial nationalism that the citizens of the Empire would unite behind. But he was going to find his new state religion in the most unlikely place.
part II
 

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December 17th, 2006 at 5:17 am