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Constans – Roman Emperor: 337-350 A.D. –
Son of Constantine I the Great
Bronze AE Centenionalis 20mm (4.32 grams) Alexandria mint: 347-348 A.D.
Reference: RIC VIII 57
DN CONSTANS PF AVG, diademed bust left with globe
FEL TEMP REPARATIO, emperor standing left, holding labarum and shield, two
captives, kneeling
and leaning left before him, ALEГ in ex.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured,
provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of
Authenticity.
Labarum of Constantine I, displaying the “Chi-Rho” symbol above.
The labarum was a
vexillum (military standard) that displayed
the “Chi-Rho”
symbol
☧, formed from the first two
Greek letters of the word “Christ”
–
Chi and
Rho. It was first used by the
Roman emperor
Constantine I. Since the vexillum consisted of
a flag suspended from the crossbar of a cross, it was ideally suited to
symbolize the
crucifixion of
Christ.
Later usage has sometimes regarded the terms “labarum” and “Chi-Rho” as
synonyms. Ancient sources, however, draw an unambiguous distinction between the
two.
Etymology
Beyond its derivation from Latin labarum, the etymology of the word is
unclear. Some derive it from Latin /labāre/ ‘to totter, to waver’ (in the sense
of the “waving” of a flag in the breeze) or laureum [vexillum] (“laurel
standard”). According to the
Real Academia Española, the related
lábaro is also derived from Latin labărum
but offers no further derivation from within Latin, as does the Oxford English
Dictionary.[5]
An origin as a loan into Latin from a Celtic language or
Basque has also been postulated. There is a
traditional Basque symbol called the
lauburu; though the name is only attested from
the 19th century onwards the motif occurs in engravings dating as early as the
2nd century AD.
Vision of Constantine
A coin of Constantine (c.337) showing a depiction of his labarum
spearing a serpent.
On the evening of October 27, 312, with his army preparing for the
Battle of the Milvian Bridge, the emperor
Constantine I claimed to have had a vision
which led him to believe he was fighting under the protection of the
Christian God.
Lactantius states that, in the night before the
battle, Constantine was commanded in a dream to “delineate the heavenly sign on
the shields of his soldiers”. He obeyed and marked the shields with a sign
“denoting Christ”. Lactantius describes that sign as a “staurogram”, or a
Latin cross with its upper end rounded in a
P-like fashion, rather than the better known
Chi-Rho sign described by
Eusebius of Caesarea. Thus, it had both the
form of a cross and the monogram of Christ’s name from the formed letters “X”
and “P”, the first letters of Christ’s name in Greek.
From Eusebius, two accounts of a battle survive. The first, shorter one in
the
Ecclesiastical History leaves no doubt that
God helped Constantine but doesn’t mention any vision. In his later Life of
Constantine, Eusebius gives a detailed account of a vision and stresses that
he had heard the story from the emperor himself. According to this version,
Constantine with his army was marching somewhere (Eusebius doesn’t specify the
actual location of the event, but it clearly isn’t in the camp at Rome) when he
looked up to the sun and saw a cross of light above it, and with it the Greek
words
Ἐν Τούτῳ Νίκα. The traditionally employed
Latin translation of the Greek is
in hoc signo vinces– literally “In this
sign, you will conquer.” However, a direct translation from the original Greek
text of Eusebius into English gives the phrase “By this, conquer!”
At first he was unsure of the meaning of the apparition, but the following
night he had a dream in which Christ explained to him that he should use the
sign against his enemies. Eusebius then continues to describe the labarum, the
military standard used by Constantine in his later wars against
Licinius, showing the Chi-Rho sign.
Those two accounts can hardly be reconciled with each other, though they have
been merged in popular notion into Constantine seeing the Chi-Rho sign on the
evening before the battle. Both authors agree that the sign was not readily
understandable as denoting Christ, which corresponds with the fact that there is
no certain evidence of the use of the letters chi and rho as a Christian sign
before Constantine. Its first appearance is on a Constantinian silver coin from
c. 317, which proves that Constantine did use the sign at that time, though not
very prominently. He made extensive use of the Chi-Rho and the labarum only
later in the conflict with Licinius.
The vision has been interpreted in a solar context (e.g. as a
solar halo phenomenon), which would have been
reshaped to fit with the Christian beliefs of the later Constantine.
An alternate explanation of the intersecting celestial symbol has been
advanced by George Latura, which claims that Plato’s visible god in Timaeus
is in fact the intersection of the Milky Way and the Zodiacal Light, a rare
apparition important to pagan beliefs that Christian bishops reinvented as a
Christian symbol.
Eusebius’ description of the labarum
“A Description of the Standard of the Cross, which the Romans now call the
Labarum.” “Now it was made in the following manner. A long spear, overlaid with
gold, formed the figure of the cross by means of a transverse bar laid over it.
On the top of the whole was fixed a wreath of gold and precious stones; and
within this, the symbol of the Saviour’s name, two letters indicating the name
of Christ by means of its initial characters, the letter P being intersected by
X in its centre: and these letters the emperor was in the habit of wearing on
his helmet at a later period. From the cross-bar of the spear was suspended a
cloth, a royal piece, covered with a profuse embroidery of most brilliant
precious stones; and which, being also richly interlaced with gold, presented an
indescribable degree of beauty to the beholder. This banner was of a square
form, and the upright staff, whose lower section was of great length, of the
pious emperor and his children on its upper part, beneath the trophy of the
cross, and immediately above the embroidered banner.”
“The emperor constantly made use of this sign of salvation as a safeguard
against every adverse and hostile power, and commanded that others similar to it
should be carried at the head of all his armies.”
Iconographic career under Constantine
Coin of
Vetranio, a soldier is holding two
labara. Interestingly they differ from the labarum of Constantine in
having the Chi-Rho depicted on the cloth rather than above it, and
in having their staves decorated with
phalerae as were earlier Roman
military unit standards.
The emperor
Honorius holding a variant of the
labarum – the Latin phrase on the cloth means “In the name of Christ
[rendered by the Greek letters XPI] be ever victorious.”
Among a number of standards depicted on the
Arch of Constantine, which was erected, largely
with fragments from older monuments, just three years after the battle, the
labarum does not appear. A grand opportunity for just the kind of political
propaganda that the Arch otherwise was expressly built to present was missed.
That is if Eusebius’ oath-confirmed account of Constantine’s sudden,
vision-induced, conversion can be trusted. Many historians have argued that in
the early years after the battle the emperor had not yet decided to give clear
public support to Christianity, whether from a lack of personal faith or because
of fear of religious friction. The arch’s inscription does say that the Emperor
had saved the
res publica INSTINCTV DIVINITATIS
MENTIS MAGNITVDINE (“by greatness of mind and by instinct [or impulse]
of divinity”). As with his predecessors, sun symbolism – interpreted as
representing
Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Sun) or
Helios,
Apollo or
Mithras – is inscribed on his coinage, but in
325 and thereafter the coinage ceases to be explicitly pagan, and Sol Invictus
disappears. In his
Historia Ecclesiae Eusebius further reports
that, after his victorious entry into Rome, Constantine had a statue of himself
erected, “holding the sign of the Savior [the cross] in his right hand.” There
are no other reports to confirm such a monument.
Whether Constantine was the first
Christian emperor supporting a peaceful
transition to Christianity during his rule, or an undecided pagan believer until
middle age, strongly influenced in his political-religious decisions by his
Christian mother
St. Helena, is still in dispute among
historians.
As for the labarum itself, there is little evidence for its use before 317.In
the course of Constantine’s second war against Licinius in 324, the latter
developed a superstitious dread of Constantine’s standard. During the attack of
Constantine’s troops at the
Battle of Adrianople the guard of the labarum
standard were directed to move it to any part of the field where his soldiers
seemed to be faltering. The appearance of this talismanic object appeared to
embolden Constantine’s troops and dismay those of Licinius.At the final battle
of the war, the
Battle of Chrysopolis, Licinius, though
prominently displaying the images of Rome’s pagan pantheon on his own battle
line, forbade his troops from actively attacking the labarum, or even looking at
it directly.[16]
Constantine felt that both Licinius and
Arius were agents of Satan, and associated them
with the serpent described in the
Book of Revelation (12:9).
Constantine represented Licinius as a snake on his coins.
Eusebius stated that in addition to the singular labarum of Constantine,
other similar standards (labara) were issued to the Roman army. This is
confirmed by the two labara depicted being held by a soldier on a coin of
Vetranio (illustrated) dating from 350.
Later usage
Modern ecclesiastical labara (Southern Germany).
The emperor
Constantine Monomachos (centre
panel of a Byzantine enamelled crown) holding a miniature labarum
Constans (Latin:
Flavius Julius Constans Augustus)
(c.323-350) was
Roman Emperor from 337 to 350. He defeated his
brother
Constantine II in 340, but anger in the army
over his personal life and preference for his barbarian bodyguards led the
general
Magnentius to rebel, resulting in the
assassination of Constans in 350.
Career
Constans was the third and youngest son of
Constantine the Great and
Fausta, his father’s second wife. He was
educated at the court of his father at
Constantinople under the tutelage of the poet
Aemilius Magnus Arborius.
On 25 December 333, Constantine I elevated Constans to the rank
of
Caesar at
Constantinople. Constans became engaged to
Olympias, the daughter of the
Praetorian Prefect
Ablabius, but the marriage never came to
pass.With Constantine’s death in 337, Constans and his two brothers,
Constantine II and
Constantius II, divided the Roman world between
themselves and disposed of virtually all relatives who could possibly have a
claim to the throne.The army proclaimed them
Augusti on September 9, 337. Almost
immediately, Constans was required to deal with a
Sarmatian invasion in late 337, over whom he
won a resounding victory.
Division of the Roman Empire among the Caesars appointed by
Constantine I: from left to right,
the territories of
Constantine II, Constans,
Dalmatius and
Constantius II. After the death of
Constantine I (May 337), this was the formal division of the Empire,
until Dalmatius was killed and his territory divided between
Constans and Constantius.
Constans was initially under the guardianship of Constantine II. The original
settlement assigned Constans the
praetorian prefectures of
Italy and Africa.[6]
Constans was unhappy with this division, so the brothers met at
Viminacium in 338 to revise the boundaries.[6]
Constans managed to extract the prefecture of
Illyricum and the
diocese of Thrace,[6]
provinces that were originally to be ruled by his cousin
Dalmatius, as per Constantine I’s proposed
division after his death.[5]
Constantine II soon complained that he had not received the amount of territory
that was his due as the eldest son.[7]
Annoyed that Constans had received Thrace and
Macedonia after the death of Dalmatius,
Constantine demanded that Constans hand over the African provinces, which he
agreed to do in order to maintain a fragile peace.[7][8]
Soon, however, they began quarreling over which parts of the African provinces
belonged to
Carthage, and thus Constantine, and which
belonged to
Italy, and therefore Constans.[9]
This led to growing tensions between the two brothers, which were only
heightened by Constans finally coming of age and Constantine refusing to give up
his guardianship. In 340 Constantine II invaded Italy.[8]
Constans, at that time in
Dacia, detached and sent a select and
disciplined body of his Illyrian troops, stating that he would follow them in
person with the remainder of his forces.[7]
Constantine was eventually trapped at
Aquileia, where he died, leaving Constans to
inherit all of his brother’s former territories –
Hispania,
Britannia and
Gaul.[4]
Constans began his reign in an energetic fashion.[4]
In 341-42, he led a successful campaign against the
Franks, and in the early months of 343 he
visited
Britain.[3]
The source for this visit,
Julius Firmicus Maternus, does not provide a
reason, but the quick movement and the danger involved in crossing the
channel in the dangerous winter months suggests
it was in response to a military emergency, possibly to repel the
Picts and
Scots.[3]
Regarding religion, Constans was tolerant of Judaism but promulgated an edict
banning pagan sacrifices in 341.[3]
He suppressed
Donatism in Africa and supported
Nicene orthodoxy against
Arianism, which was championed by his brother
Constantius. Although Constans called the
Council of Sardica in 343 to settle the
conflict,[10]
it was a complete failure,[11]
and by 346 the two emperors were on the point of open warfare over the dispute.[12]
The conflict was only resolved by an interim agreement which allowed each
emperor to support their preferred clergy within their own spheres of influence.[12]
Death
In the final years of his reign, Constans developed a reputation for cruelty
and misrule.
Dominated by favourites and openly preferring his select
bodyguard, he lost the support of the
legions who were also offended by his
homosexuality. In 350, the general
Magnentius declared himself emperor at
Augustodunum with the support of the troops on
the
Rhine frontier, and later the western provinces
of the Empire. Constans was enjoying himself nearby when he was notified of the
elevation of Magnentius.
Lacking any support beyond his immediate household, he was
forced to flee for his life. As he was trying to reach either Italy or Spain,
supporters of Magnentius cornered him in a fortification in
Vicus Helena (now
Elne) in the
Pyrenees, southwestern
Gaul, where he was killed after seeking
sanctuary in a temple.
In
Roman mythology, Victoria was the personification/Goddess of victory.
She is the Roman version of the
Greek goddess
Nike, and was associated with
Bellona. She was adapted from the
Sabine
agricultural goddess
Vacuna and had
a
temple on the
Palatine Hill. Her name (in Latin) means victory. Unlike the Greek Nike, Victoria (Latin
for “victory”) was a major part of Roman society. Multiple temples were erected
in her honour. When her statue was removed in 382 AD by emperor
Gratianus there was much anger in Rome. She was normally worshipped by
triumphant generals returning from war. Also unlike the Greek Nike, who was known for success in athletic games such
as chariot races, Victoria was a symbol of victory over death and determined who
would be successful during war. Appearing on Roman coins, jewelry, architecture, and other arts, Victoria is
often seen with or in a
chariot. An
example of this is her place upon the
Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.
In
Greek mythology,
Nike
was a
goddess who personified
victory, also known as the Winged Goddess of
Victory. The Roman equivalent was
Victoria. Depending upon the time of various
myths, she was described as the daughter of
Pallas (Titan) and
Styx (Water) and the sister of
Kratos (Strength),
Bia (Force), and
Zelus (Zeal). Nike and her siblings were close
companions of
Zeus, the dominant deity of the
Greek pantheon. According to classical (later)
myth, Styx brought them to Zeus when
 the
god was assembling allies for the
Titan War against the older deities. Nike
assumed the role of the divine
charioteer, a role in which she often is
portrayed in Classical Greek art. Nike flew around battlefields rewarding the
victors with glory and fame.
Nike is seen with wings in most statues and paintings. Most other winged
deities in the Greek pantheon had shed their wings by Classical times. Nike is
the goddess of strength, speed, and victory. Nike was a very close acquaintance
of
Athena, and is thought to have stood in
Athena’s outstretched hand in the statue of Athena located in the Parthenon.
Nike is one of the most commonly portrayed figures on Greek coins.
Names stemming from Nike include amongst others:
Nicholas, Nicola, Nick, Nikolai, Nils, Klaas,
Nicole, Ike, Niki, Nikita, Nika, Niketas, and Nico.
The Roman Empire (Latin:
Imperium Romanum) was the post-Republican
period of the
ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an
autocratic form of government and large
territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean.
The Roman Empire at its greatest extent,
during the reign of
Trajan in 117 AD
The 500-year-old
Roman Republic, which preceded it, had been
weakened and
subverted through several
civil wars. Several events are commonly
proposed to mark the transition from Republic to Empire, including
Julius Caesar’s appointment as perpetual
dictator (44 BC), the
Battle of Actium (2
September 31 BC), and the Roman Senate’s granting to
Octavian the
honorific
Augustus (16 January
27 BC).
Roman expansion began in the days of the Republic, but the Empire reached its
greatest extent under Emperor
Trajan: during his reign (98 to 117 AD) the
Roman Empire controlled approximately 6.5 million km2
of land surface. Because of the Empire’s vast extent and long endurance, the
institutions and culture of Rome had a profound and lasting influence on the
development of language, religion, architecture, philosophy, law, and forms of
government in the territory it governed, particularly Europe, and by means of
European expansionism throughout the modern world.
In the late 3rd century AD,
Diocletian established the practice of dividing
authority between four co-emperors (known as the
tetrarchy) in order to better secure the vast
territory, putting an end to the
Crisis of the Third Century. During the
following decades the Empire was often divided along an East/West axis. After
the death of
Theodosius I in 395 it was divided for the last
time.
The
Western Roman Empire
collapsed in 476 as
Romulus Augustus was forced to abdicate to the
Germanic warlord
Odoacer. The Eastern Roman or
Byzantine Empire ended in 1453 with the death
of
Constantine XI and the
capture of Constantinople to
Mehmed II, leader of the
Ottoman Turks.
Government
Emperor
The powers of an emperor (his
imperium) existed, in theory at least, by
virtue of his “tribunician powers” (potestas tribunicia) and his
“proconsular powers” (imperium proconsulare). In theory, the tribunician
powers (which were similar to those of the
Plebeian Tribunes under the old republic) made
the Emperor’s person and office sacrosanct, and gave the Emperor authority over
Rome’s civil government, including the power to preside over and to control the
Senate.
The proconsular powers (similar to those of military governors, or
Proconsuls, under the old Republic) gave him
authority over the Roman army. He was also given powers that, under the
Republic, had been reserved for the
Senate and the
assemblies, including the right to declare war,
to ratify treaties, and to negotiate with foreign leaders.
The emperor also had the authority to carry out a range of duties that had
been performed by the
censors, including the power to control Senate
membership. In addition, the emperor controlled the
religious institutions, since, as emperor, he
was always
Pontifex Maximus and a member of each of
the four major priesthoods. While these distinctions were clearly defined during
the early Empire, eventually they were lost, and the emperor’s powers became
less constitutional and more monarchical.
Realistically, the main support of an emperor’s power and authority was the
military. Being paid by the imperial treasury, the legionaries also swore an
annual military oath of loyalty towards him, called the
Sacramentum.
The death of an emperor led to a crucial period of uncertainty and crisis. In
theory the Senate was entitled to choose the new emperor, but most emperors
chose their own successors, usually a close family member. The new emperor had
to seek a swift acknowledgement of his new status and authority in order to
stabilize the political landscape. No emperor could hope to survive, much less
to reign, without the allegiance and loyalty of the
Praetorian Guard and of the legions. To secure
their loyalty, several emperors paid the
donativum, a monetary reward.
Senate
While the
Roman assemblies continued to meet after the
founding of the Empire, their powers were all transferred to the
Roman Senate, and so senatorial decrees (senatus
consulta) acquired the full force of law.
In theory, the Emperor and the Senate were two equal branches of government,
but the actual authority of the Senate was negligible and it was largely a
vehicle through which the Emperor disguised his autocratic powers under a cloak
of republicanism. Although the Senate still commanded much prestige and respect,
it was largely a glorified
rubber stamp institution. Stripped of most of
its powers, the Senate was largely at the Emperor’s mercy.
Many emperors showed a certain degree of respect towards this ancient
institution, while others were notorious for ridiculing it. During Senate
meetings, the Emperor sat between the two
consuls,[18]
and usually acted as the presiding officer. Higher ranking senators spoke before
lower ranking senators, although the Emperor could speak at any time.[18]
By the 3rd century, the Senate had been reduced to a glorified municipal body.
Senators and
equestrians
No emperor could rule the Empire without the Senatorial order and the
Equestrian order. Most of the more important
posts and offices of the government were reserved for the members of these two
aristocratic orders. It was from among their ranks that the provincial
governors, legion commanders, and similar officials were chosen.
These two classes were hereditary[citation
needed] and mostly closed to outsiders. Very
successful and favoured individuals could enter, but this was a rare occurrence.
The career of a young aristocrat was influenced by his family connections and
the favour of patrons. As important as ability, knowledge, skill, or competence,
patronage was considered vital for a successful career and the highest posts and
offices required the Emperor’s favour and trust.
Senatorial order
The son of a senator was expected to follow the
Cursus honorum, a
career ladder, and the more prestigious
positions were restricted to senators only. A senator also had to be wealthy;
one of the basic requirements was the wealth of 12,000 gold
aurei (about 100 kg of gold), a figure which
would later be raised with the passing of centuries.
Equestrian order
Below the Senatorial order was the Equestrian order. The requirements and
posts reserved for this class, while perhaps not so prestigious, were still very
important. Some of the more vital posts, like the governorship of
Egypt (Latin Aegyptus), were even
forbidden to the members of the Senatorial order and available only to
equestrians.
Military
Legions
During and after the civil war, Octavian reduced the huge number of the
legions (over 60) to a much more manageable and
affordable size (28). Several legions, particularly those with doubtful
loyalties, were simply disbanded. Other legions were amalgamated, a fact
suggested by the title Gemina (Twin).
In AD 9, Germanic tribes wiped out three full legions in the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. This disastrous
event reduced the number of the legions to 25. The total of the legions would
later be increased again and for the next 300 years always be a little above or
below 30.
Augustus also created the
Praetorian Guard: nine
cohorts ostensibly to maintain the public peace
which were garrisoned in Italy. Better paid than the legionaries, the
Praetorians also served less time; instead of serving the standard 25 years of
the legionaries, they retired after 16 years of service.
Auxilia
While the
auxilia (Latin: auxilia=supports) are
not as famous as the legionaries, they were of major importance. Unlike the
legionaries, the auxilia were recruited from among the non-citizens. Organized
in smaller units of roughly cohort strength, they were paid less than the
legionaries, and after 25 years of service were rewarded with
Roman citizenship, also extended to their sons.
According to
Tacitus there were roughly as many auxiliaries
as there were legionaries. Since at this time there were 25 legions of around
5,000 men each, the auxilia thus amounted to around 125,000 men, implying
approximately 250 auxiliary regiments.
Navy
The
Roman navy (Latin: Classis, lit.
“fleet”) not only aided in the supply and transport of the legions, but also
helped in the protection of the frontiers in the rivers
Rhine and
Danube. Another of its duties was the
protection of the very important maritime trade routes against the threat of
pirates. Therefore it patrolled the whole of the Mediterranean, parts of the
North Atlantic (coasts of Hispania, Gaul, and
Britannia), and had also a naval presence in the
Black Sea. Nevertheless the army was considered
the senior and more prestigious branch.
Provinces
The
Temple of Bacchus in
Baalbec,
Lebanon
Until the
Tetrarchy (296 AD) Roman provinces (lat.
provincae) were administrative and territorial units of the Roman Empire
outside of
Italy. In the old days of the Republic the
governorships of the provinces were traditionally awarded to members of the
Senatorial Order. Augustus’ reforms changed
this policy.
Imperial provinces
Augustus created the
Imperial provinces. Most, but not all, of the
Imperial provinces were relatively recent conquests and located at the borders.
Thereby the overwhelming majority of legions, which were stationed at the
frontiers, were under direct Imperial control. Very important was the
Imperial province of Egypt, the major
breadbasket of the Empire, whose
grain supply was vital to feed the masses in
Rome. It was considered the personal fiefdom of the Emperor, and Senators were
forbidden to even visit this province. The governor of Egypt and the commanders
of any legion stationed there were not from the Senatorial Order, but were
chosen by the Emperor from among the members of the lower
Equestrian Order.
Senatorial provinces
The old traditional policy continued largely unchanged in the
Senatorial provinces. Due to their location,
away from the borders, and to the fact that they were under longer Roman
sovereignty and control, these provinces were largely peaceful and stable. Only
a single legion was based in a Senatorial province:
Legio III Augusta, stationed in the Senatorial
province of
Africa (modern northern Algeria).
The status of a province was subject to change; it could change from
Senatorial towards Imperial, or vice-versa. This happened several times
[26] during Augustus’ reign. Another
trend was to create new provinces, mostly by dividing older ones, or by
expanding the Empire.
Religion
The
Pantheon, the present structure
built during
Hadrian’s reign, was dedicated to
the worship of all Roman deities.
As the Empire expanded, and came to include people from a variety of
cultures, the worship of an ever increasing number of
deities was tolerated and accepted. The
Imperial government, and the Romans in general, tended to be very tolerant
towards most religions and cults, so long as they did not cause trouble. This
could easily be accepted by other faiths as Roman liturgy and ceremonies were
frequently tailored to fit local culture and identity. Since the Romans
practiced polytheism they were also able to easily assimilate the gods of the
peoples the Empire conquered.
An individual could attend to both the Roman gods representing his Roman
identity and his own personal faith, which was considered part of his personal
identity. There were periodic persecutions of various religions at various
points in time, most notably that of Christians. As the historian
Edward Gibbon noted, however, most of the
recorded histories of Christian persecutions come to us through the Christian
church, which had an incentive to exaggerate the degree to which the
persecutions occurred. The non-Christian contemporary sources only mention the
persecutions passingly and without assigning great importance to them.
Imperial cult
The
Augustus of Prima Porta,
showing
Augustus in military outfit holding
a consular baton (now broken off)
In an effort to enhance loyalty, the inhabitants of the Empire were called to
participate in the
Imperial cult to revere (usually deceased)
emperors as
demigods. Few emperors claimed to be Gods while
living, with the few exceptions being emperors who were widely regarded at the
time to be insane (such as
Caligula). Doing so in the early Empire would
have risked revealing the shallowness of what the Emperor
Augustus called the “restored Republic” and
would have had a decidedly eastern quality to it. Since the tool was mostly one
the Emperor used to control his subjects, its usefulness would have been
greatest in the chaotic later Empire, when the emperors were often Christians
and unwilling to participate in the practice.
Usually, an emperor was deified after his death by his successor in an
attempt by that successor to enhance his own prestige. This practice can be
misunderstood, however, since “deification” was to the ancient world what
canonization is to the Christian world. Likewise, the term “god” had a different
context in the ancient world. This could be seen during the years of the
Roman Republic with religio-political practices
such as the disbanding of a Senate session if it was believed the gods
disapproved of the session or wished a particular vote. Deification was one of
the many honors a dead emperor was entitled to, as the Romans (more than modern
societies) placed great prestige on honors and national recognitions.
The importance of the Imperial cult slowly grew, reaching its peak during the
Crisis of the Third Century. Especially in the
eastern half of the Empire, imperial cults grew very popular. As such it was one
of the major agents of
romanization. The central elements of the cult
complex were next to a temple; a
theatre or
amphitheatre for gladiator displays and other
games and a
public bath complex. Sometimes the imperial
cult was added to the cults of an existing temple or celebrated in a special
hall in the bath complex.
The seriousness of this belief is unclear. Some Romans ridiculed the notion
that a Roman emperor was to be considered a living god, or would even make fun
of the deification of an emperor after his death.
Seneca the Younger parodied the notion of
apotheosis in his only known satire
The Pumpkinification of Claudius, in which
the clumsy and ill-spoken
Claudius is transformed not into a god, but a
pumpkin or
gourd. An element of mockery was present even
at Claudius’s funeral, and
Vespasian’s purported last words were Væ,
puto deus fio, “Oh dear! I think I’m becoming a god!”.
Absorption of
foreign cults
Since Roman religion did not have a core belief that excluded other
religions, several foreign gods and cults became popular.
The worship of
Cybele was the earliest, introduced from around
200 BC.
Isis and
Osiris were introduced from Egypt a century
later.
Bacchus and
Sol Invictus were quite important and
Mithras became very popular with the military.
Several of these were
Mystery cults. In the 1st century BC
Julius Caesar granted Jews the freedom to
worship in Rome as a reward for their help in Alexandria.
Controversial
religions
Druids
Druids were considered as essentially
non-Roman: a prescript of
Augustus forbade Roman citizens to practice
“druidical” rites.
Pliny reports that under
Tiberius the druids were suppressed-along with
diviners and physicians-by a decree of the Senate, and
Claudius forbade their rites completely in
AD 54.
Judaism
While Judaism was largely accepted, as long as Jews paid the
Jewish Tax after 70 AD, there was
anti-Judaism in the pre-Christian Roman Empire
and there were several
Jewish-Roman wars.
The Crisis under
Caligula (37-41) has been proposed as the
“first open break between Rome and the Jews”, even though problems were already
evident during the
Census of Quirinius in 6 and under
Sejanus (before 31).
Until the rebellion in Judea in AD 66, Jews were generally protected. To get
around Roman laws banning secret societies and to allow their freedom of
worship, Julius Caesar declared Synagogues were colleges. Tiberius forbade
Judaism in Rome but they quickly returned to their former protected status.
Claudius expelled Jews from the city; however, the passage of Suetonius is
ambiguous: “Because the Jews at Rome caused continuous disturbances at the
instigation of Chrestus he [Claudius] expelled them from the city.” Chrestus
has been identified as another form of Christus; the disturbances may
have been related to the
arrival of the first Christians, and that the
Roman authorities, failing to distinguish between the Jews and the early
Christians, simply decided to expel them all.
Historians debate whether or not the Roman government distinguished between
Christians and Jews prior to Nerva’s
modification of the
Fiscus Judaicus in 96. From then on, practising
Jews paid the tax; Christians did not.[34]
Christianity
The Christian Martyrs’ Last Prayer, by
Jean-Léon Gérôme (1883). Roman
Colosseum.
Christianity emerged in
Roman Judea as a
Jewish religious sect in the 1st century AD.
The religion gradually spread out of
Jerusalem, initially establishing major bases
in first
Antioch, then
Alexandria, and over time throughout the Empire
as well as beyond.
Christianity shares numerous traits with other mystery cults that existed in
Rome at the time. Early Christianity placed a strong emphasis on baptism, a
ritual which marked the convert as having been inducted into the mysteries of
the faith. The focus on a belief in salvation and the afterlife was another
major similarity to other mystery cults. The crucial difference between
Christianity and other mystery cults was the
monotheism of Christianity. Early Christians
thus refused to participate in civic cults because of these monotheistic
beliefs, leading to their persecution.
For the first two centuries of the
Christian era, Imperial authorities largely
viewed Christianity simply as a Jewish sect rather than a distinct religion. No
emperor issued general laws against the faith or its Church, and persecutions,
such as they were, were carried out under the authority of local government
officials. A surviving letter from
Pliny the Younger, governor of Bythinia, to the
Emperor
Trajan describes his persecution and executions
of Christians; Trajan notably responded that Pliny should not seek out
Christians nor heed anonymous denunciations, but only punish open Christians who
refused to recant.
Suetonius mentions in passing that during the
reign of
Nero “punishment was inflicted on the
Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous
superstition” (superstitionis novae ac
maleficae). He gives no reason for the punishment.
Tacitus reports that after the
Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, some among the
population held Nero responsible and that the emperor attempted to deflect blame
onto the Christians.
One of the earliest persecutions occurred in
Gaul at
Lyon in 177. Persecution was often local and
sporadic, and some Christians welcomed
martyrdom as a testament of faith.[39]
The
Decian persecution (246-251) was a serious
threat to the Church, but while it potentially undermined the religious
hierarchy in urban centers, ultimately it served to strengthen Christian
defiance.[40]
Diocletian undertook what was to be the
most severe and last major persecution of Christians,
lasting from 303 to 311. Christianity had become too widespread to suppress, and
in 313, the
Edict of Milan made tolerance the official
policy.
Constantine I (sole ruler 324-337) became the
first Christian emperor, and in 380
Theodosius I established Christianity as the
official religion.
By the 5th century Christian hegemony had rapidly changed the Empire’s
identity even as the Western provinces collapsed. Those who practiced the
traditional polytheistic religions were persecuted, as were Christians regarded
as heretics by the authorities in power.
Languages
The language of Rome before its expansion was
Latin, and this became the empire’s official
language. By the time of the imperial period Latin had developed two
registers: the “high” written
Classical Latin and the “low” spoken
Vulgar Latin. While Classical Latin remained
relatively stable, even through the
Middle Ages, Vulgar Latin as with any spoken
language was fluid and evolving. Vulgar Latin became the
lingua franca in the western provinces, later
evolving into the modern
Romance languages:
Italian,
French,
Portuguese,
Spanish,
Romanian, etc. Greek and Classical Latin were
the languages of literature, scholarship, and education.
Although Latin remained the most widely spoken language in the West, through
to the
fall of Rome and for some centuries afterwards,
in the East the
Greek language was the literary language and
the lingua franca. The Romans generally did not attempt to supplant local
languages. They generally left established customs in place and only gradually
introduced typical Roman cultural elements including the Latin language.[43]
Along with Greek, many other languages of different tribes were used but almost
without expression in writing.
Greek was already widely spoken in many cities in the east, and as such, the
Romans were quite content to retain it as an administrative language there
rather than impede bureaucratic efficiency. Hence, two official secretaries
served in the Roman Imperial court, one charged with correspondence in Latin and
the other with correspondence in Greek for the East.[44]
Thus in the Eastern Province, as with all provinces, original languages were
retained.
Moreover, the process of hellenisation widened its scope during the Roman
period, for the Romans perpetuated
“Hellenistic” culture,[47][48][nb
4] but with all the trappings of
Roman improvements. This further spreading of
“Hellenistic” culture (and therefore language) was largely due to the extensive
infrastructure (in the form of entertainment, health, and education amenities,
and extensive transportation networks, etc.) put in place by the Romans and
their tolerance of, and inclusion of, other cultures, a characteristic which set
them apart from the xenophobic nature of the Greeks preceding them.
Since the Roman annexation of Greece in 146 BC, the Greek language gradually
obtained a unique place in the Roman world, owing initially to the large number
of Greek slaves in Roman households. In Rome itself Greek became the second
language of the educated elite.It became the common language in the early
Church (as its major centers in the early
Christian period were in the East), and the language of scholarship and the
arts.
However, due to the presence of other widely spoken languages in the densely
populated east, such as
Coptic,
Syriac,
Armenian,
Aramaic and
Phoenician (which was also extensively spoken
in North Africa), Greek never took as strong a hold beyond Asia Minor (some
urban enclaves notwithstanding) as Latin eventually did in the west. This is
partly evident in the extent to which the derivative languages are spoken today.
Like Latin, the language gained a
dual nature with the literary language, an
Attic Greek variant, existing alongside spoken
language,
Koine Greek, which evolved into
Medieval or Byzantine Greek (Romaic).
By the 4th century AD, Greek no longer held such dominance over Latin in the
arts and sciences as it had previously, resulting to a great extent from the
growth of the western provinces. This was true also of Christian literature,
reflected, for example, in the publication in the early 5th century AD of the
Vulgate Bible, the first officially accepted
Latin
Bible. As the Western Empire
declined, the number of people who spoke both
Greek and Latin declined as well, contributing greatly to the future
East-West
/
Orthodox-Catholic
cultural divide in Europe.
Important as both languages were, today the
descendants of Latin are widely spoken in many
parts of the world, while the Greek dialects are limited mostly to Greece,
Cyprus, and small enclaves in
Turkey and
Southern Italy (where the
Eastern Empire retained control for several
more centuries). To some degree this can be attributed to the fact that the
western provinces fell mainly to “Latinised”
Christian tribes whereas the eastern provinces
fell to Muslim Arabs and Turks for whom Greek held less cultural significance.
Culture
Life in the Roman Empire revolved around the city of Rome, and its famed
seven hills. The city also had several
theatres,
gymnasia, and many
taverns,
baths and
brothels. Throughout the territory under Rome’s
control, residential architecture ranged from very modest houses to
country villas, and in the
capital city of Rome, to the residences on the
elegant
Palatine Hill, from which the word “palace”
is derived. The vast majority of the population lived in the city centre, packed
into apartment blocks.
Most Roman towns and cities had a
forum and temples, as did the city of Rome
itself.
Aqueducts were built to bring water to urban
centres[55]
and served as an avenue to import
wine and
oil from abroad. Landlords generally resided in
cities and their estates were left in the care of farm managers. To stimulate a
higher labour productivity, many landlords freed a large numbers of slaves. By
the time of Augustus, cultured Greek household slaves taught the Roman young
(sometimes even the girls). Greek sculptures adorned Hellenistic landscape
gardening on the Palatine or in the
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