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Chapter 1. Preface about the death of Constantine.
Recently, all nations solemnly celebrated the second and third decades 2 of the great basileus; recently, also, on the occasion of his twentieth birthday, we honored this valiant winner 4 with hymns, surrounded by a host of servants of God 5 , we even wove crowns of words to celebrate his thirtieth birthday and already in advance, in the palace itself, decorated his sacred head with them 6 . But now the tongue is numb in his mouth - now, with all the desire to say something ordinary, struck by one marvel of an extraordinary vision, he does not know where to turn. Wherever an intense thought rushes, to the east or to the west, to the whole earth, or to heaven itself, everywhere it sees the blessed basileus inseparable from his kingdom. His children rule over the earth, 7 and like some new stars they illuminate everything with rays of their father’s light. He lives in them with his strength and, multiplied by their succession, governs the entire Ecumene better than before. Having long ago accepted the dignity of Caesars 8, they now clothed themselves in all the greatness of their father, adorned with the signs of his honors, now they appeared as autocrators 9, Augustus 10, Caesars (Κοισαρων), basileos.
Chapter 2. Another preface - about his royal sons.
The mind is greatly amazed to see that the one who recently lived in a mortal body, who was recently with us, and now, at the end of his life, when nature denounces everything superfluous as alien, incomprehensibly remains in the same royal house 11, with the same honors and songs of praise, and meanwhile, stretching out our gaze to the vault of heaven, we imagine that his most blessed soul dwells there with God. At the thought that, having thrown off all this mortal and earthly clothing, she put on a brilliant robe of light and lives not as if abandoned for a long time among mortals, but as adorned with an unfading crown of flowers and honored by the immortality of an endless and blissful life in eternity, at this thought the mind becomes numb and remains silent, cannot utter a single word and is aware of its powerlessness; having condemned himself to silence, he leaves it to the best to decorate it with worthy praise, since one Immortal, one Word of God has the power to affirm its definitions.
Chapter 3. That God honors pious kings and destroys tyrants.
Having predicted that God rewards those who glorify and honor Him with gifts, and having revealed themselves as enemies and adversaries to Him, they will cause the destruction of their souls (1 Sam. 2:30), having predicted this, He now proved the veracity of the promises he had uttered; for he prepared a disastrous end to life for the godless and self-hostile tyrants, and for his servant, in addition to life, he also granted an enviable and much-praised death, which is worthy of imperishable and immortal tombstones. The nature of mortals, to console itself in cases of mortal and transient death, conceived the idea of perpetuating the memory of ancestors with sacred sculptures of their images 12, as if tokens of immortal honor. For this purpose, some use paint from melted wax to paint 13, others use a chisel to transform soulless matter into human likenesses, others carve inscriptions on boards and pillars and through this they try to commemorate the virtues of the persons they honor in the eternal memory of posterity 14.
But all this is mortal and is destroyed over time; because all these are images of perishable things, and not expressions of the thoughts of an immortal soul. However, such monuments seem to be sufficient for those who did not retain hope for other benefits after the end of mortal life. But God, God the common Savior of all, having prepared great and incomprehensible blessings for the lovers of piety, allows them here to sense the promise of rewards there and, before their mortal eyes, seems to confirm immortal hopes. This is predicted by the ancient sayings of the prophets, transmitted in writing, this is evidenced by the biographies of God-loving men 15, remembered by later posterity, who were famous in the old days for various virtues, 15, the truth of this has also been proven by the present time, in which Constantine 16, one of all the ever former rulers of Rome, having become a friend of the All-Tsar - God, showed people a striking example of a pious life.
Chapter 4. About the fact that God honored Constantine.
This is finally confirmed by the clearest definition of God himself, whom Constantine revered and who at the beginning, middle and end of his reign was merciful to him and showed the mortal race a man serving as a lesson of pious edification. It was he, one of all who had ever reached the ears of the autocrats, who he revealed as a great lamp 17 and the loudest messenger of infallible worship of God, showered with various blessings bestowed upon him.
Chapter 5. The fact that Constantine reigned autocratically for more than thirty years and lived for more than sixty.
God honored the time of his reign with three full decades, even a little more; and his life as a person was preserved twice as long as the entire life of the king. Moreover, having shown in him the semblance of his autocratic power, he granted him victory over the entire family of tyrants and made him the destroyer of the titans warring against him, who, in the madness of their souls, raised weapons of wickedness against the All-Tsar of all 18. These wicked people, so to speak, appeared instantly, and disappeared instantly; а слугу своего единый и единственный Бог взял одного и облек его в божественное всеоружие против многих, очистил через него смертный мир от множества безбожников и показал в нем народам учителя благочестия, который громогласно, во всеуслышание свидетельствовал, что он знает истинного Бога и отвращается от ложных.
Chapter 6. That he was a servant of God and a conqueror of nations.
As a faithful and good servant, Constantine did what he proclaimed. He openly called himself a slave and confessed himself to be the servant of the All-Tsar; for this, God soon rewarded him, made him a lord, ruler and conqueror, the likes of which had not been seen among autocrats since centuries, a conqueror who had never been insurmountable and invincible in terms of victories, created him such a basileus, which had never been heard of before, revealed him to be so God-loving and blessed, so pious and prosperous, that without any difficulty he conquered a much larger number of nations, than what the previous sovereigns owned 19, and comfortably retained his power until his death.
Chapter 7. Comparison of him with the Persian king Cyrus and the Macedonian Alexander.
Ancient history calls the Persian king Cyrus 20 the most glorious of all the sovereigns who have ever been, but if this is true, then he should have ended his life not only unsuccessfully, even shamefully and basely - he should have died at the hand of a woman 21 . The sons of the Hellenes also glorify Alexander the Great 22, the conqueror of countless tribes and peoples, but not yet reaching the age of manhood 23, he rushed to feasts and drunkenness 24, and therefore found an early death. His entire life was limited to thirty-two years, of which only the third part was the time of his reign 25. Moreover, this man, like lightning, followed the path of blood and mercilessly enslaved all cities and peoples, without distinction of age, while still in his blooming years, mourning the loss of a friend 26, did not meet an irresistible death and did not disappear childless, rootless, homeless, in an alien and hostile land 27 so that he would no longer destroy the human race. His kingdom immediately fragmented, each servant separated from him and stole some region 28. And despite this, this sovereign is praised.
Chapter 8. About the fact that he conquered almost the entire universe.
On the contrary, our basileus only began to rule in those years in which the Macedonian died, and lived twice as long as the latter, and the period of his reign lasted three times as long as him. Having strengthened the army with meek and wise rules of worship 29, he went to war against the British and people living to the west in the middle of the ocean 30, as well as conquered all of Scythia 31, which lies to the very north and was divided into many different barbarian peoples, then extended his empire to the farthest south, to Blemmya 32 and Ethiopia 33 and not alien He also considered the East to be his acquisition 34.
Spreading the bright rays of piety to the ends of the entire Oecumene, to the last borders of India 35, and all around on the inhabitants of the whole earth, he held under his power all the local rulers, people's leaders and satraps 36 over the barbarian tribes, who willingly, with love and joy sent him their gifts and considered it a high honor to take advantage of his acquaintance and friendship, so that to honor him they exhibited his picturesque images, statues were erected, and Constantine was known and proclaimed as the only autocrat over all 37. To such an extent, his royal word with perfect freedom sounded the gospel of the God he revered.
Chapter 9. About the fact that he was the son of a pious basileus and left power to the royal sons.
Впрочем, совершая это на словах, он не медлил и самыми делами. Successful in every virtue, he also abounded in the fruits of piety: he tied his neighbors to himself with generously rendered benefits, protected others with the laws of philanthropy, and made his power easy and desirable for all his subjects. Finally, having created three tribes of descendants who were to be his successors in royal power, and seeing that his long-term exploits in the public field had tired him, God, whom he revered, wanted to grant him immortality as a reward and transferred him from the mortal kingdom to the endless life prepared for holy souls. Thus, the royal throne, which he received from his father, according to the law of nature, passed to his sons and their children, and forever became a hereditary property 38. Having exalted this most blessed sovereign, still among us, with the highest honors and adorning him with his special gifts at death, God himself became his biographer, because he captured the feats of his great deeds on the heavenly tablets.
Chapter 10. That the story about him is both necessary and spiritually beneficial.
It is, of course, difficult for me to speak about this most blessed man, in accordance with his dignity; it would be much safer and more reliable to remain silent about him, but in order to ward off the reproach of laziness and negligence, I found it necessary, imitating the monuments of mortal painting, to draw for posterity a verbal image of this God-loving sovereign. I would be ashamed before myself about the basileus, who honored God with the greatest reverence, not to say at least something small and weak within his strength. I even think that this essay, describing the deeds of the great sovereign, pleasing to the All-Tsar - God, will be useful for life in general, and necessary for me. If there were zealous writers who depicted bad deeds in beautiful language and in many books set out the history of Nero 40 and other, much worse, wicked and godless tyrants, then wouldn’t it be a shame for us to remain silent, to whom God himself was pleased to grant such a basileus, which history has not announced, to see him, to know and to talk with him?
Chapter 11. The fact that Eusebius will tell only about the godly deeds of Constantine.
So, if anyone, then it is we who should preach about the great glory of the virtues and announce them to all those in whom, through imitation of wonderful deeds, a thirst for divine love is aroused. Others, guided by a feeling of benevolence or hatred, and often incited simply by the desire to show their learning, pompously and pompously, although completely unnecessarily, set forth stories about shameful deeds, describe the lives of men who do not deserve respect, and actions that are useless for improving morals, through which, in relation to people, by the grace of God, who have not yet experienced evil, they become teachers of deeds that are not only not good, but worthwhile. leave them in oblivion and darkness. On the contrary, my speech, which is of course weak for describing great events, will nevertheless be embellished even with a dry story about good deeds, especially since the recollection of godly deeds on well-minded souls produces not a useless, but a very beneficial effect 41.
So, I think to keep silent about very many state orders of the most blessed basileus, for example, about his wars and battles with enemies, about his courage, victories, trophies 42 and triumphs over them, about his decrees in favor of private individuals, about his legislation for the benefit of the public life of his subjects, and about his other countless exploits in the field of public administration, which everyone remembers. In accordance with the intended purpose of this work, we will speak and write only what relates to a life pleasing to God. And since there are a great many such objects, then, from all that have come down to us, choosing the most decent and worthy of our memories, I will present the legend about them as briefly as possible. Now is the time to glorify the truly blessed basileus with various types of speech, because it was impossible to do this before - it is not ordered to please a person until his death, for it is unknown what vicissitudes his life will be subject to 43.
Let us call on God for help, so that the Heavenly Word, which promotes our intention, will be inspired in us, and we will begin to describe our husband in this way from his very early age.
Chapter 12. That Constantine, like Moses, was brought up at the court of tyrants.
There is an ancient legend that the Jewish people suffered under a cruel dynasty of tyrants, and that God, having honored the sufferers with his favor, through the action of providence, gave the opportunity to the prophet Moses, 44, who was still an infant, to be raised in the very palaces, on the chests of tyrants, and to learn wisdom from them. When, over time, he reached manhood and the heavenly court demanded from the oppressors an account of their untruths, then the prophet of God, leaving the house of tyrants, became a servant of the will of the Most High and, refusing in word and deed from educators, recognized his true brothers and relatives as close. After that, God made him the leader of the entire people, and freed the Jews from slavery to their enemies, and brought executions sent from above on the generation of tyrants through him. This ancient legend, transmitted by many in the form of an instructive story, reached the ears of everyone. But now the same God has granted us a spectacle of much greater miracles, palpable to pure eyes and truer to all hearing, than those told in legends.
The tyrants who rebelled against us waged war against God and subjected his Church to torment 45 . Meanwhile, among them was already Constantine, later the scourge of tyrants, but then still a young man of early years, gentle, adorned with a barely visible beard. Подобно тому слуге Божьему он сидел во внутренних, принадлежавших тиранам, покоях 46 , и однако же, несмотря на свою молодость, не унаследовал ничего свойственного нравам этих безбожников. Good nature, by the power of the Spirit of God, even at that time attracted him to a pious and godly life, and the very competition with his father called on his son to imitate him in valor, because Constantine’s father (in this case one cannot help but resurrect him in memory), Constantius 47 was one of our most glorious autocrats. We consider it necessary to briefly say about him everything that relates to praise of his son.
Chapter 13. That his father Constantius did not want to persecute Christians as was the case under Diocletian 48, Maximian 49 and Maxentius 50.
When autocratic power over Rome was divided between four persons, Constantius alone shunned the immoral life of his comrades 51 and sought to express love for the God of all. They attacked the churches of God and destroyed them from top to bottom, 52 and destroyed houses of prayer to the very foundations; on the contrary, he kept his hands clean from such disastrous wickedness and was never like them in any way. They desecrated the regions under their control with domestic murders of pious husbands and wives, 53 but he kept his soul unsullied by such a crime. Those, having indulged in every evil of lawless idolatry, enslaved first themselves, and then all their subjects, to the cunning of evil demons; on the contrary, he, the guardian of the most perfect peace between his subjects, allowed them to comfortably confess their faith in God.
Others, constraining all people with the most difficult circumstances, made their life difficult, worse than death, 54 only Constantius knew how, in his power, to show his subjects a source of security and peace, because his care for them was in no way inferior to fatherly care. However, since the virtues of this man are countless, and they are all glorified, then, having brought to mind one or another of his feats, in the sense of a basis for conclusion to those about which I will remain silent, I move on to the intended purpose of my essay.
Chapter 14. About how his father Constantius, having heard from Diocletian the reproach of poverty, filled his treasuries and then returned the money to the people who brought it.
When loud rumors spread about the meekness, kindness, and God-loving qualities of this basileus, and that, sparing his subjects to the extreme, he did not even collect money into the treasuries, another basileus 55, who then occupied the first degree of power, through his ambassadors reproached him for neglect in public affairs and reproached him with poverty, confirming his words by the fact that there was nothing in his treasuries. Constantius asked those who came from the basileus to stay with him, and meanwhile, from all the peoples under his control, having called people who owned enormous wealth, he announced to them that he needed money, and that now an opportunity had arisen in which each of them must prove free devotion to the basileus. Those who heard had long wanted this in order to express their good zeal, and therefore quickly and quickly filled the royal treasuries with gold, silver and other valuables, trying to outdo each other in their donations and doing this with cheerful and smiling faces.
As soon as it was all over, Constantius asked the ambassadors of the great basileus to personally look at his wealth, and ordered them to report to the basileus what they saw. “I have now collected all this for myself,” he said, “but before I kept the money with their owners, as with faithful treasurers.” Such a wonderful thing amazed the audience. After their departure, the most philanthropic basileus, they say, called on the owners of the collected money and, praising them for their trust and goodwill towards him, ordered everyone to take back theirs and return home. This act alone serves as proof of his love for mankind, but we will also give another that clearly testifies to his piety.
Chapter 15. About the persecution raised by others.
The rulers of the regions, by order of the emperors, persecuted Christians in all countries of the earth 56. The God-loving martyrs first of all left the royal palaces and, entering the field of exploits for piety, courageously withstood the power of fire and iron, plunged into the depths of the sea and suffered all kinds of death, so that in a short time there were no God-loving men left anywhere in the royal palaces 57 . This is what especially turned God’s gaze away from the persecutors, because while persecuting Christians, they at the same time drove away their prayers for themselves.
Chapter 16. About how his father Constantius, pretending to be an idolater, rejected people who wanted to make sacrifices, and kept confessors of the Christian faith in his court.
Only Constantius had some kind of wisdom infused into his mind. He does such a thing that it is amazing to hear about him, and even more amazing to see his performance. Having given all his archons 58 the right to strive even for the power of rulers, 59 he prescribes the following condition for them: whoever makes a sacrifice to demons 60 can remain with him and enjoy ordinary honors, and those who do not do this will not have access to him, will be ordered to leave and will be deprived of acquaintance and short treatment with him. While the courtiers were divided into two parties, and some joined one, others the other, the character of each of them was more and more revealed. Then the wondrous sovereign, revealing the secret side of his thoughts, condemned some for cowardice and pride, and highly praised others for their devotion to God. The first, as traitors to God, he recognized as unworthy of the basileus himself, for how could they remain faithful to the basileus when they turned out to be treacherous in relation to the Most High? Therefore, he ordered them to be driven away from the royal palace.
On the contrary, he promised to make the latter, according to the testimony of the truth, worthy of God, and therefore worthy of the sovereign, his bodyguards and guardians of the kingdom itself. Such people, he said, should be considered the first and necessary friends and should be valued much higher than treasuries with the greatest riches.
Chapter 17. About his Christ-loving disposition.
Konstantin's father was exactly as we have briefly described him. But having shown himself this way in relation to God, how did he die? How did God, who honored him, distinguish him from other partners in the reign? Anyone who pays attention to the nature of the matter itself will recognize this. Allowing his subjects to experience proof of his royal virtue for a long time, recognizing one God above all, and despising the way of life of the atheists, he protected his home with the prayers of holy men and spent the rest of his life pleasantly and calmly. This is what happiness is believed to be, so as not to endure grief yourself and not to cause it to others. Thus, throughout his smooth and serene reign, he dedicated his entire house, together with his children, wife and household, to the King God alone, so that the society of the people gathered in his palace was no different from the Church of God. In this society there were also servants of God who constantly offered up prayers for their basileus, while usually it was impossible to utter even one word about the race of the pious 61 .
Chapter 18. That, after the abdication of Diocletian and Maximian, Constantius became the first Augustus and was adorned with good fortune.
Soon a reward from God was sent to him for this, so that he assumed the highest degree of autocratic power 62. The older sovereigns, I don’t know why, abandoned the throne 63. This unexpected change occurred after the first year of the 64 embarrassing siege of the churches. And then Constantius was proclaimed the first Augustus and Caesar. At first he was decorated with the diadem of 65 Caesar autocrators and took first place among them, and then, having distinguished himself in this rank, he was invested with the highest power among the Romans - he was named the first of the four subsequently elected Caesars 66. Moreover, he surpassed many autocrats even in good fortune and was surrounded by a large company of male and female children 67. When, finally, burdened with decrepit old age, he prepared to repay his debt to common nature and was about to leave life, God again appeared for him as the creator of wondrous deeds. For his father, who was dying, he prepared his eldest son, Constantine, to succeed the kingdom.
Chapter 19. About his son Constantine, when in his youth he lived with Diocletian before he arrived in Palestine.
Constantine was with his father’s fellow kings and lived among them, as we said, like that ancient prophet of God. Having passed from adolescence to youth, he had already received the first honor from them 68. This is how we knew him when he and the oldest of the kings 69 passed through Palestine. Standing on the right side of the basileus, to people who wanted to see him, he seemed majestic and already at that time he revealed signs of royal arrogance. In terms of the beauty of his body and the height of his stature, there was no one like him, and in bodily strength he was so superior to his peers that they were afraid of him. But even more than the perfections of the body, he was adorned with the virtues of the soul, and first of all he was distinguished by modesty, and then by learning, innate intelligence and wisdom given from God 70.
Chapter 20. Return of Constantine to his father, on the occasion of Diocletian's intention.
The rulers of that time, seeing that this young man was vigorous, strong, great and rich in mind, were filled with envy and fear and began to wait for an opportunity to waylay him and tarnish him with some kind of dishonor. But the young man, noticing this (similar intentions, by the wave of God, had already been revealed to him more than once 71), sought salvation in flight, which again made him like the great prophet Moses. God helped him in all this, preparing in him a successor to his father 72 .
Chapter 21. Death of Constantius and the will of the kingdom to his son Constantan.
Having avoided the planned intrigues, Konstantin hastily went to his father, although he did not arrive to him soon. Meanwhile, his father’s life at that very time was already on the brink of the grave 73. But beyond all hope, seeing his son in front of him, Constantius jumped out of bed, took him into his arms and, saying that, intending to leave life, he was now shaking off the last sorrow from his soul - the absence of a son, he offered a prayer of gratitude to God: from now on, death is better for me than immortality, he said. Then, having arranged his affairs, and in the presence of his sons and daughters, who surrounded him in the form of a choir 74, in the palace itself, from the royal bed, having transferred the lot of kingship, according to the law of nature, to the eldest son, he died 75.
Chapter 22. How, during the removal of Constantius, the troops proclaimed Constantine Augustus.
So, the state was not left without a basileus. Dressed in his father's scarlet robe 76, Constantine left the royal chambers and appeared to everyone, as if his father had returned to life and continued to reign in the person of his son. Then he accompanied the funeral procession, accompanied by his father’s friends who surrounded him, some of whom walked in front, others behind him, and saw off the God-loving basileus with all splendor. Everyone expressed their respect to His Beatitude with blessings and songs of praise and, unanimously glorifying the reign of their son, which by its similarity seemed to be the renewal of the power of the deceased, suddenly from the first word, with loud exclamations and greetings, they proclaimed the new basileus autocrat and revered Augustus 77 . Exclamations of praise to the son served as an adornment for the deceased, and the fact that such a father chose this particular successor for himself referred to the glorification of the son. All the peoples under his control were filled with joy and inexpressible joy, so that even for a short time they were not deprived of the royal prosperity.
This is the end of a pious and God-loving life that God showed to our generation (using the example of Basileus Constantius).
Chapter 23. Brief mention of the death of tyrants.
And what was the end of the lives of others who waged a real war against God’s churches - I considered it indecent to tell in this case: - why should the memory of the good be darkened by the story of people who were contrary to them? Experienced knowledge of affairs alone is enough to enlighten those who have learned with their own eyes and ears the history of the events that happened to each of the tyrants.
Chapter 24. About the fact that Constantine received royal power by the will of God.
So, Constantine, born of such a father, was created by the God of all and the Lord of the whole world to be an emperor and leader of nations by himself. While others are awarded this honor by human judgment, Constantine was the only basileus whose calling none of the people can boast of.
Chapter 25. Victories of Constantine over the barbarians and the British.
Having established himself in the kingdom, Constantine immediately began to care about his father’s heritage, to survey all the regions that had previously been under the rule of his father, 78 and ruled them with great philanthropy. Moreover, he subjugated the barbarian tribes along the Rhine and the western shore of the ocean, who dared to be indignant, and made them meek from wild ones, and pacified others, who resembled fierce beasts, and seeing that they were not capable of accepting the rules of peaceful life, drove them away from the borders of his empire 79 . As soon as all this was ended according to his wishes, he turned his gaze to other parts of the heritage and immediately sailed to the peoples of Britain, which lies in the middle of the ocean. Having mastered them too, he examined other areas of the state and tried to provide help where it was needed.
Chapter 26. About how he decided to rid Rome of Maxentius.
Then he imagined the entire Oecumene as one great body 80 and, seeing that the head of this body, the royal city of the Roman land, was suffering slavish oppression from the tyrant 81, he first provided its protection to the rulers over other parts of the state, as persons older than himself 82 in age. But when none of them was able to provide assistance to Rome, so that those who wanted to try ended their enterprise shamefully, 83 Constantine said that he could not live while the royal city remained under the burden of disasters, and began to prepare for the destruction of tyranny.
Chapter 27. About the fact that, admonished by the death of idolaters, he chose Christianity.
Realizing that he needed help above military means, Constantine, in order to repel the evil intentions and sorcery tricks 84 that the tyrant loved to use, sought God’s help. Considering weapons and a large army to be secondary means, he recognized only the assistance of God as insurmountable and indestructible. Therefore, I began to think about which God I would call upon to help me. In resolving this issue, it occurred to him that a considerable number of former sovereigns, having placed their hope in many gods and serving them with sacrifices and gifts, were first of all deceived by flattering oracles, deceived by favorable predictions and ended their work unfavorably. None of the gods was so merciful to them as not to subject them to disasters sent from above. Only his father followed the opposite path. Seeing their error and throughout his life honoring the one supreme God of all, he found in Him the savior of his kingdom, its guardian and guide to all good.
Constantine distinguished this to himself and thoroughly reasoned that those who relied on many gods were subjected to many disasters, so that among people there was no kindred, no tribe, no root, no name, no memory, while the God of his father gave him to feel striking and very many proofs of his power. Moreover, he observed that those who had previously entered into war with the tyrant fought under many gods, but had a shameful end: one of them withdrew in shame without even starting the job 85 , and the other, struck among the army itself, became an easy prey to death 86 . Putting all this together in his mind, he considered it madness to vainly cling to non-existent gods and, after so much evidence, to remain in error, and therefore was convinced that he must honor the God of the Fathers.
Chapter 28. About how during prayer he received a vision from God, that is, in the middle of the day he saw in the sky a cross made of light with an inscription commanding him to conquer.
And he began to call upon Him, to ask and beg that He would appear, teach him about Himself, and extend His right hand to him in the upcoming task. Diligently offering his prayers and petitions about this, the basileus received the most amazing sign sent from God, so that it would not have been easy to believe if someone else had spoken. But the victorious basileus himself assured us of this with an oath, when, long after that, we were writing this essay and were honored with his acquaintance and conversation; Therefore, who will doubt the truth of this legend, especially since subsequent times witnessed its truth? “Once, at midday, when the sun began to lean towards the west,” said the basileus, “with my own eyes I saw with my own eyes the sign of the cross made of light and lying in the sun, with the inscription: “With this conquer!” (τουτω νικα). This sight filled with horror both himself and the entire army, which, without knowing where, followed him and continued to contemplate the miracle that had appeared.
Chapter 29. About how Christ appeared to him in a dream and commanded him to have a banner depicting a cross in the war with his enemies.
Konstantin was, however, at a loss and said to himself: “What would such a phenomenon mean?” But while he was thinking and reflecting on it for a long time, night came. Then the Christ of God appeared to him in a dream with a sign seen in heaven and commanded him, having made a banner similar to the one seen in heaven, to use it for protection from the attacks of enemies 87 .
Chapter 30. Making such a sign of the cross.
Rising with the onset of day, Constantine told his friends his secret and then, calling the craftsmen who knew how to handle gold and precious stones, sat down between them and, having described to them the image of the banner, ordered, in imitation of him, to make the same from gold and precious stones. We once happened to see this banner with our own eyes.
Chapter 31. Description of the cross-shaped banner, which the Romans now call the banner.
It had the following appearance: on a long spear covered with gold there was a transverse yard, which formed the sign of a cross with the spear. On top of the end of the spear, a wreath of precious stones and gold lay motionless, and on it was a symbol of the saving name: two letters showed the name of Christ, indicated by the first lines, from the middle of which “ρ” came out. The basileus subsequently had the custom of wearing these letters on his helmet. Then, on the transverse yard nailed to the spear, hung a thin white cloth - royal fabric 88, covered with various precious stones and sparkling with rays of light. Often embroidered in gold, this cloth seemed inexpressibly beautiful to spectators, hanging from a yardarm, it had the same width and length. On a straight spear, the lower end of which was very long, under the sign of the cross, at the very top of the described fabric, hung a chest image made of gold of the God-loving basileus and his children 89 .
The basileus always used this saving banner, as a defensive weapon, to overcome opposing and hostile forces, and he ordered all troops to wear similar ones 90.
Chapter 32. About how Constantine, having been announced, read the Divine Scripture.
But that was a little later. At the time described, struck by a wondrous vision and deciding not to honor any other God except what he saw, Constantine called to him the secret people (μιστας) of His words and asked them who that God was, and what was the meaning of the sign that he saw? They answered that that God is the only begotten Son of the one and only God, and the sign that appeared was a symbol of immortality and a solemn sign of the victory over death that he won when he came to earth. Then, having revealed in detail the doctrine of the incarnation, they explained to Constantine the reasons for his coming. Constantine, although he was enlightened by their words, nevertheless had before his eyes the miracle of the epiphany given to him and, comparing the heavenly vision with the verbal explanation, he was confirmed in his thoughts. He was convinced that knowledge of these subjects was sent to him from above, and he even began to read the divine Scriptures 91. Moreover, he commanded God’s priests to be with him with the thought that the seen God should be honored in all ways of service.
Having thus secured himself with good hopes for Him, he hastened to finally extinguish the flame of the tyrant's fire 92 .
Chapter 33. About the fornication of Maxentius in Rome.
And indeed, having taken possession of the predatory royal city, the tyrant constantly ventured into wicked and villainous acts, so that there was no insolence that he did not allow himself in vile and wicked deeds. He took away their legitimate wives from their husbands and, having dishonored them, sent them back to their husbands in disgrace. He committed such violence not against insignificant and unimportant people, but against those who occupied the first places in the Roman Senate. But no matter how many noble women were shamefully insulted by him, his intemperate and voluptuous soul could not get enough. However, having begun to bother Christian women, he could not succeed in his plans, because Christian women would rather give up their souls to death than their bodies to corruption.
Chapter 34. About how the eparch’s wife, in order to maintain chastity, killed herself.
For example, one woman, who was married to one of the local senators who had the power of the eparch 93, as soon as she learned that the tyrant’s servants in such matters were standing at her house (and she was a Christian), and that her husband himself, out of fear, allowed them to take and take her away, she begged for a minute of time, as if to decorate her body with decent clothes, then she entered her bedroom and, left alone, pierced her chest with a sword. Death followed instantly, and those who accompanied her found only her corpse. With this act, louder than any words, she expressed to everyone, both present and future people, that Christians alone are famous for their invincible and indestructible chastity 94 . This is what this woman turned out to be.
Chapter 35. Massacre of the Romans at the behest of Maxentius.
Everyone was embarrassed by such insolence of his cruel tyranny: commoners and leaders, noble and ignorant. No matter how calm they were, no matter how they endured bitter slavery, they could not get rid of the bloody cruelty of the tyrant. For example, once, under some insignificant pretext, he handed over the people to be killed by his spearmen, 95 and whole thousands of Romans fell in the midst of the city, not from the Scythians or barbarians, but from the spears and weapons of their fellow citizens. А скольких сенаторов он допустил убить по навету, чтобы завладеть имуществом каждого из них, – и перечислить невозможно. Quite a few of them were killed under various fictitious pretexts.
Chapter 36. The sorcery of Maxentius and the famine in Rome.
But the end of the tyrant’s atrocities was that he indulged in sorcery. For the purposes of magic, he either dissected pregnant women, or examined the insides of newborn babies, or killed lions and committed other unspeakable abominations in order to summon demons and ward off the coming war. By these means he hoped to win. By tyrannizing in this way in Rome, it is impossible to say how he did not oppress his subjects. In the most necessary food they suffered extreme need and such a shortage that our contemporaries will not remember in Rome 96.
Chapter 37. Defeat of Maxentius' troops in Italy.
Grieving over all this, Constantine armed himself against tyranny by all means. Recognizing the God of all and calling on His Christ as a savior and helper, also placing the victorious topheus (νικητικον τροπα) with the saving banner in front of his hoplites 97 and spearmen 98, he set out with his entire army on a campaign and decided to return to the Romans the freedom they had received from their ancestors. Meanwhile, Maxentius, relying more on the cunning of magic than on the love of his subjects, did not even dare to go beyond the gates of the fortress, but defended every place, every country, every city under his control with many hoplites and countless detachments of troops - the basileus, hoping for the help of God, attacked the tyrant’s troops once, twice and three times and, defeating them the first time, occupied most of Italy 99 .
Chapter 38. Death of Maxentius on the bridge of the Tiber River.
Finally, he was already near Rome. But in order not to force him to fight with the Romans for the sake of the tyrant, the latter, as if by some chains, God himself carried away very far from the city gates 100 and, generally speaking, to all the faithful and the unfaithful, who personally saw the wondrous events, he actively proved that the ancient events described in the sacred books, for many the wicked seeming like mythology, are true for the believers. Just as in the time of Moses and the once pious Jewish people, God plunged the chariots of Pharaoh and his troops into the sea, and plunged the chosen horsemen of the tristats into the Red Sea 101 (Ex. 15:45), so, like a stone, Maxentius and the hoplites and spearmen who were with him fell into the depths 102. Put to flight by Constantine, reinforced by the power of God, Maxentius had to cross the river on his way. Having connected the ships, he made a bridge 103 out of them and, thanks to this art, prepared his death, although he hoped to use it for the death of God's friend (εω φιλον). While the latter was helped by God himself, that pitiful man, deprived of His help, destroyed himself by his secret cunning.
Therefore, we can say: “a pit of destruction and fossils, and it will fall into the pit that it made. His illness will turn on his head, and his unrighteousness will come down on his top” (Ps. 7:16-17). Namely: since the tricks secretly contained in the connections of the bridge, by the will of God, acted at an unexpected time; but the bridge disappeared, the ships with all the people suddenly plunged into the depths of the river 104 - and the poor man himself first of all, and then his shield-bearers and spear-bearers 105, according to the expression of divine prophecies, “sinking like tin in green water” (Ex. 15:10); so that the victors, assisted by God, like the people who were under the leadership of the great servant of God Moses, if not in words, then in deeds repeated the song sung against the ancient wicked tyrant, and exclaimed: “We will drink to the Lord, for gloriously we have been glorified: horse and rider were cast into the sea. Helper and protector be my salvation.” And again: “Who is like you in God, Lord, who is like you? Glorified among the saints, wondrous in glory, performing miracles” (Ex. 15:1–2, 11).
Chapter 39. Entry of Constantine into Rome.
Like the great servant of God (Moses), having actually chanted this and the like, in honor of the Lord of all and the Author of victory, Constantine triumphantly entered the royal city. Immediately all the members of the Senate, and other high and noble dignitaries (Επιφανες), with the entire Roman people, as if freed from shackles, received him with cheerful faces and hearts, with blessings and inexpressible joy. At the same time, husbands with wives, children and countless slaves loudly and irresistibly proclaimed him as their deliverer, savior and benefactor. However, possessing, as it were, innate piety, he was not at all vain with these exclamations and was not proud of the praises, but, conscious of God’s help, he immediately offered a prayer of gratitude to the Author of the victory.
Chapter 40. About his statue with a cross in his hands and about the inscription.
And he announced to all people about the saving banner through the great scripture and pillars, namely, in the midst of the royal city, he erected this sacred symbol against the enemies and inscribed definitely and indelibly that this saving banner is the guardian of the Roman land and the entire kingdom. When a statue of him was erected in the most crowded place in Rome, he immediately ordered that tall spear in the form of a cross to be set in the hand of his image and the following inscription to be inscribed in Latin word for word: “With this saving sign, a true proof of courage, I saved and freed your city from the yoke of the tyrant and, upon its liberation, returned the Roman Senate and people to their former splendor and glory.”
Chapter 41. The joy of the regions and forgiveness granted by Constantine.
Thus, the God-loving basileus, famous for his confession of the victorious cross, very decisively preached the Son of God to the Romans themselves. And all the inhabitants of the city, the entire senate and people, as if having rested from the bitter and tyrannical rule, seemed to suddenly begin to enjoy the purest rays of light and accepted the lot of rebirth into a new life. At the same time, all the peoples bordering the western ocean celebrated. Freed from previous evils and having bright fun on the occasion of great celebrations, they glorified the valiant winner, worshiper of God and common benefactor; everyone unanimously and with one voice recognized that Constantine, by the grace of God, shines for people with the common good. In addition, the royal letter was read everywhere, by which the confiscated property was returned to their owners, those who had innocently suffered exile were called back to their homeland, and in general, those who had been subjected to any cruelty of the tyrant were freed from their bonds and freed from all danger and fear 106 .
Глава 42. Уважение епископов и созидание церквей.
Meanwhile, convening the servants of God, the basileus expressed to them his helpfulness and excellent respect, and humbled himself before them in word and deed, as before men dedicated to God. These men, who in their clothes seemed insignificant, but were not so perceived by Constantine, shared a meal with him, because in man he looked not at the person whom many see, but at God. Likewise, wherever he went, he took them with him in the conviction that God, whom they served, would at least be merciful to him for this. Moreover, with his wealth he also helped the churches of God, either expanding and raising houses of worship higher, or decorating the holy altars of churches with many offerings.
Chapter 43. About the benefits of Constantine to the poor.
Moreover, he distributed more or less money to the poor, he was also philanthropic and showed benefits to those of other faiths who came to him, the poor and outcasts, collecting alms in the squares, he ordered to provide not only money and necessary food, but also decent clothing, but also to those who, having previously lived well, subsequently experienced an unfavorable change in circumstances, helped with even greater generosity, provided great, truly royal good deeds: he gave lands to some, distinguished others with various signs of honor. He took care of children exposed to the misfortune of orphanhood instead of his father, 107 he alleviated the fate of wives who had experienced helpless widowhood with his own patronage, and he even married off virgins who had lost their parents and were orphaned to well-known and rich people, and he did this by giving in advance to the brides everything that they had to bring to the persons who married them.
Just as the sun, rising over the earth, generously sheds the rays of its light on everyone, so Constantine, leaving the royal palace with the sunrise and keeping pace with the heavenly body, abundantly shed the bright rays of his charity on everyone he met. There was no person who, approaching him, would not have received some benefit, and there were no people who, expecting help from him, would have been deceived in their good hope.
Chapter 44. How he was present at the councils of bishops.
This was how Konstantin treated everyone in general. But having special concern for the Church of God, he, in the event of mutual disagreement between bishops in various areas, acted as a general bishop appointed by God, and established Councils of God’s servants, did not even refuse to appear and sit among their hosts and, caring for the peace of God between all, took part in their deliberations 108 . And he sat in the middle, as one of many, having removed from himself the spearmen, hoplites and all the bodyguards, and protected only by the fear of God, protected by the love of his faithful friends. Whoever he found inclined to accept a more sound opinion and ready for peace and harmony, he especially approved and showed that he was glad to see general unanimity, and turned away from those who were stubborn 109 .
Chapter 45. About how he was patient even towards the insane.
Some were even indignant at him, but he bore it kindly and in calm, meek expressions commanded them not to be indignant, but to be more reasonable. Some of these people, enlightened by his convictions, changed, and he let others go, who did not want to come to a sound way of thinking, for the sake of God, but he himself did not offend anyone in any way. That is probably why those who were indignant in one region of Africa 110 reached such a terrible madness that they dared to commit some insolence. It seems that the demon himself, envious of the abundance of real blessings, incited these people to such absurd actions as to irritate the heart of the basileus against them. However, the hatred did not succeed: the basileus found their actions ridiculous and said that they were carried out under the influence of the evil one, for such insolence is not characteristic of sane people, but either completely insane or incited by an evil demon. These people should be pitied more than punished: punishing the insane would be much more reckless than having any humane compassion for them.
Chapter 46. His victories over the barbarians.
Thus, with every act, the basileus served God, the guardian of all, and kept his care for His churches invulnerable. Воздавая ему за это, Бог покорил под ноги его все племена ( γενη ) варваров, так что его знаменам доставлял повсюду торжество над врагами, везде провозглашал его победителем ( νικητην ) и его имя сделал страшным для всех неприятелей и противников, хотя по природе он был не таков, но самый миролюбивый, самый кроткий и человеколюбивый, какого never happened 111.
Chapter 47. Death of the plotter, Maximian and others, whom God himself revealed to Constantine.
While Constantine was doing this, another, who had renounced the throne, was convicted of an insidious plot against his life and died a shameful death 112. He is considered the first, and other monuments of honor assigned to him, as signs of a wicked and godless man, were overthrown everywhere 113. After him, others from the same family were taken, secretly plotting intrigues against Constantine, because God marvelously revealed to his servant the intentions of all of them, 114 through visions, and in general, repeatedly honored him with theophany, allowing him to miraculously contemplate His face and granting foreknowledge of various future events. However, the indescribable miracles of grace that God himself honored his servant cannot be described in words. Protected by them, he spent his life comfortably and rejoiced, seeing that his subjects loved him, and they themselves all lived complacently, but most of all he rejoiced that the Churches of God were prospering.
Chapter 48. Feast of the tenth anniversary of Constantine.
Thus ended the decade of his reign. On this occasion, he celebrated national holidays and sent thanksgiving prayers to the All-Tsar, God, as sacrifices made without fire or incense 115. All this made Constantine happy, but the rumors about the disasters of the eastern peoples were not such for him.
Chapter 49. About how much evil Licinius 116 caused to the East.
They said that there both the Church and other regional residents were tormented by some terrible beast, that, as if competing with the God-loving basileus, the evil demon there was doing something completely contrary to his deeds 117; so that the Roman land, divided into two parts 118, seems to everyone to be divided into day and night: that is, those who inhabit the east are enveloped in the darkness of the night, while the inhabitants of the other half of the state are illuminated by the light of the clearest day. The spectacle of countless blessings bestowed by God on the latter was unbearable both for the hater of all good, the demon, and for the oppressor of the other part of the empire, the tyrant, who, seeing his affairs in good condition and, having been honored to enter into kinship with such a basileus as Constantine, did not want to imitate this God-loving sovereign, but competed in malice and intentions with wicked: he tried to follow better the thoughts of those whose destruction he saw with his own eyes, rather than the friendly love of the most excellent of sovereigns.
Chapter 50. About how Licinius wanted to intrigue Constantine himself.
Without bringing to mind either the laws of nature, or oaths, or kindred blood, or treaties, Licinius launched an irreconcilable war against his benefactor. Constantine, the most philanthropic basileus, showed him signs of his sincere goodwill, introduced him into kinship with his ancestors, honored him with participation in a blood union with the ancient royal house 120 and, by giving him a sister in marriage, thereby gave him the right to enjoy hereditary power over the entire empire. Meanwhile, Licinius, keeping the opposite in mind, prepared intrigues for the best of the sovereigns and came up with one or another way of threatening him, how to pay his benefactor with evil. At first, pretending to be a friend, he acted under the suggestion of deceit and deceit, and decided to do this in the hope of achieving his goal. But God revealed to his servant all the intrigues 121 arranged in the darkness.
Caught in his first attempts, Licinius turned to the second means - to deception: he either testified to friendly goodwill, then asserted trust in himself with oath agreements, then suddenly rejected the established articles, and meanwhile, through ambassadors, he again spoke the opposite, again poorly concealed his deceit 122, and finally, he directly declared war, in a fit of madness, he hurried to fight with God himself, whom, as he knew, the basileus paid respects.
Chapter 51. Licinius’ intrigues against bishops and the prohibition of councils.
But in advance, using villainously invented pretexts, Licinius began to very secretly attack the servants of God who were under his control, who had never offended his authority in any way 123. Not having any reason in mind and not knowing how to reproach these men, he issued a law prohibiting everywhere and all mutual communication between bishops, the journey of each of them to the neighboring Church, the drawing up of councils or councils, and consultations about the benefits (of Christians). This served as a reason for him to attack us: for if we break the law, then it will be necessary to subject us to punishment, and when we want to obey the decree, we will weaken the decrees of the Church, because disputes of particular importance can only be reconciled without a council 124. Constantine, in reverence for the saints and zealous for peace and unanimity, gathered the saints of God into one place: on the contrary, Licinius, plotting to destroy everything beautiful, tried to upset the agreement of people of one mind.
Chapter 52. Expulsion of Christians and confiscation of their property to the treasury.
While the God-loving (Constantine) favorably received the servants of God into the royal palace, the God-hater thought the opposite: he expelled all the worshipers of God under his control from the royal palace, and expelled men, especially those who were true to themselves and the most well-intentioned, into exile, and those who for their previous exploits received signs of honor and dignity from him, he subordinated to others and ordered them to correct their servile positions. Moreover, trying to steal everyone's property as if it were a godsend 125, he began to threaten people with death who ascribed to themselves a saving name 126. Himself, a man with a passionate, intemperate soul, defiled by many fornications and unspeakably shameful deeds, he did not recognize chaste beauty in people and defined everything by the poor measure of his own nature.
Chapter 53. Commandment for women not to go to church with men.
With this thought in mind, he issued another law that prohibited men from being with women when offering prayers to God, and women from attending venerable schools of virtue. It was also forbidden for bishops to teach women the doctrine of reverence for God, and it was required that women be chosen to instruct women. While everyone laughed at this, he also invented something else to destroy the churches: he ordered ordinary meetings of the people to be held outside the city gates, in an open place, under the pretext that the air outside the city was generally much cleaner than in the city chapels.
Chapter 54. Commandment for those who do not offer sacrifices not to serve in the army, and for those imprisoned not to bring food.
When he saw that (the Christians) did not obey him in this either, he openly ordered that those city warriors who would not make sacrifices to demons be excluded from the troops (ταγματον) of the military leaders (ηγεμονιχων). Thus, the troops of the city government 127 lost their worshipers, and the publisher of these laws (νομοθετης) himself lost his saints’ prayer books. Why mention his decrees in relation to external objects, for example, his command that no one, out of a sense of philanthropy, should bring food to those suffering in prison and should not show pity for prisoners dying of hunger, in a word, that no one should be kind or do any good, even if nature itself draws someone to compassion for their neighbors? It was, of course, the shameless and most lawless of laws, completely suppressing nature. Punishment is also added to it, that is, people who have compassion must suffer an equal fate with those with whom they had compassion, and those who commit acts of philanthropy must undergo the punishment that those who are punished suffer.
Chapter 55. About the iniquities and covetousness of Licinius.
Such were the decrees of Licinius. Is it necessary to count his innovations regarding those getting married or dying - innovations that he dared to abolish the ancient Roman, well and wisely drawn up laws, and instead introduced some barbaric and cruel ones. To the detriment of his subjects, he came up with thousands of claims: he came up with the alternation of lands so that, due to an insatiable desire for excessive harassment, a larger measure (of bread) could be placed on a smaller plot (of land) 128; He also came up with the idea of making a census of farmers who no longer existed, who had died long ago, in order to derive shameful benefit from him, for his baseness had no measure, his greed knew no saturation 129. Therefore, suffering in his soul from the disease of Tantalus 130, he filled everything with gold, silver, and immense property, and still complained with a groan about poverty.
And what kind of exiles did he invent for people who were completely innocent, how did he confiscate their property, how did he imprison noble and most worthy husbands, and gave their brides over to shameful abuse by insignificant servants, how many married wives, virgins and young women did he rape himself, having already reached old age? But why talk a lot when the gravity of his recent deeds exposed the unimportance and insignificance of his former ones?
Chapter 56. About the fact that he finally decided to begin the persecution of Christians.
The end of his madness was to arm himself against the churches and attack the bishops, in whom he saw special resistance. He considered the friends of the great and God-loving basileus his enemies. Therefore, having lost his mind, he sharpened his anger mainly at us, and did not let go of the memory of the persecutors who preceded him, who were destroyed and executed by him for their wickedness, whom he knew personally and among whom the leader of atrocities (Πρωτωτατην) 131 - who he was and how he was struck by the scourge sent from above, stood as if alive before his eyes.
Chapter 57. That, humbled by fistula and worms, Maximian issued a decree in favor of Christians.
For as soon as he decided to attack churches and was the first to stain his soul with the blood of the righteous and worshipers of God, he immediately suffered the punishment sent by God, which, starting from the flesh, penetrated into his soul. In the very middle between the secret pains of his body, an abscess suddenly appeared, then a deep fistula ulcer formed, from which the incurable dismemberment of the most distant insides began, and through this an uncountable number of worms multiplied and a deadly stench began to spread, because the entire mass of his body, from gluttony, turned into a huge pile of fat. All this now began to rot and presented, they say, an unbearable and terrible sight to those approaching. Struggling with such torment, he lately admitted that he was suffering this for the oppression of the Church, confessed to God, stopped the persecution of Christians, forced them to build churches by laws and royal decrees, commanded them to perform ordinary services in them and send prayers for themselves.
Chapter 58. The fact that Maximin, who persecuted Christians, himself became a fugitive and hid in the clothes of a slave.
Such a punishment was suffered by such a basileus, who began the persecution. But the eyewitness of these events 133, the one who will now be discussed and who definitely knew this from his own experience, suddenly forgot about everything, did not recall either the execution assigned to the first, or the punitive trial of the second 134. Trying to surpass the first in the field of atrocities, he even took pride in inventing new torments for us. Fire, iron and nailing, wild animals and the depths of the sea were not enough for him. In addition to all this, he also invented some strange execution: he established the disfigurement of the organ of vision 135, and suddenly many not only husbands, but also children and women, with their right eyes darkened and with joints of their legs weakened by iron and nailing (ηρσηαωδις), were handed over to torture in the ore mines (θαλαττης βυθοι). For this he soon suffered the judgment of God.
Trusting in the demons, whom he revered as gods, and relying on countless thousands of hoplites, he entered the battle, but since he was alien to hope in God, he lost his indecent royal dignity, timidly and unworthily intervened in the crowd and sought salvation in flight. Then, hiding in towns and villages, he thought of hiding in the clothes of a slave, 136 but could not escape from the great and all-seeing eye of Providence. Believing his life was finally out of danger, he was suddenly struck by a fiery arrow from God and lay face down. His body was depleted by a blow sent from God, so that all the features of his former image disappeared, and only a ghost-like skeleton of dry bones remained from him 137 .
Chapter 59. About the fact that, having lost his sight due to illness, Maximian issued a decree in favor of Christians.
When the arm of God weighed him down even more, his eyes rolled out and, coming out of their places, left him blind. Thus, by fair definition, he suffered exactly the execution that he first invented for the martyrs of God. However, even after such a defeat, the tyrant still breathed and, although late, nevertheless confessed to the Christian God, admitted his fight against God and, like the first, changing his way of thinking, in laws and decrees he expressed in writing his error regarding the gods he had previously revered and in his own experience found the conviction that the true God is only the Christian God. Having learned this from the deeds themselves, and not from others through hearing, Licinius nevertheless remained the same, his mind was surrounded by some kind of darkness.
Caesarea Palestine is a city on the Mediterranean coast of Palestine, the capital of the province since 6 AD, a bishopric since the 2nd century. from R.H. Eusebius was Bishop of Caesarea from 313 until his death in 339.
The tradition of celebrating ten years of reign dates back to the first Roman emperor, Augustus. Formally, Augustus asked every ten years to resign his emergency powers, and the Senate begged the emperor to continue his reign.
This does not mean, of course, religious hymns, but traditional hymns to the emperor, chanted during triumphs and celebrations of decades of reign.
The date of the twentieth anniversary of the reign of Constantine is sometimes considered to be July 25, 326, although according to Eusebius (3.15; 4.44), it should be 325, since Eusebius says that the First Ecumenical Council took place during this celebration, and the Council of Tire during the celebration of the thirtieth anniversary. V.V. Bolotov, for example, also adheres to the date of 325 (V.V. Bolotov. Lectures on the history of the ancient church. M., 1994, vol. IV. p. 46.) This error is explained by the fact that the date of the decade of reign was calculated from the moment of appointment by Caesar, i.e. 305 (in our case), when Constantius became Augustus, and not with the adoption of the title of Augustus after the death of his father in 306. Usually, the years of reign were counted precisely from the time the title of Caesar was adopted, for example, Eutropius in “A Brief History from the Founding of the City” (X.1.3.) considers the years of reign of Constantius exactly this way.
It is precisely because Emperor Constantine tried to combine the holidays of his reign with the convening of councils that Eusebius speaks of “hosts of God’s servants” i.e. bishops and presbyters.
Eusebius points to his words of praise to Constantine, which have come down to us, and in editions of his works are placed after Constantine’s speech to the council of saints.
Namely: Constantine, Constantius and Constant.
According to the reform of the administration of the empire carried out by Emperor Diocletian, the empire was divided into two: at the head of each was Augustus as the senior ruler, under him was Caesar, his deputy and future successor. It is traditionally believed that this system also assumed the voluntary removal of the Augusti from power after some time and their resignation, although, for example, Lactantius’ story about the abdication of Diocletian allows one to doubt this (“De mort. pers.”, 18). The institution of Caesars itself dates back to the reign of Hadrian, who first honored his future successor with the title of Caesar.
Autocrator is an extremely important concept in the political theory of antiquity; it implies the complete independence of the ruler from any external or internal force.
Augustus is the name of the first emperor, which became part of the imperial title, added to the name. Also see note. 4
It is not entirely clear what Eusebius means. Constantine died in the Aquirion Palace in Nicomedia. After his death, his body was transported to Constantinople and there he was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles. The only time when his body was in the royal palace was the moment between his bringing from Nicomedia and the arrival of his sons, i.e. a very short period of time (see book IV, 67–68 that Eusebius either began to write his work at this time, or added this introduction to the already finished work.
Images of ancestors - patrons of the hearth - were highly revered both in Greece and Rome. They made sacrifices to them, burned incense, every full-fledged citizen of this or that city was always a priest of the ancestral god - the ancestor. Of course, at the beginning of the 4th century. this veneration was no longer so universal, but remnants of it undoubtedly remained among the pagan aristocracy, as indicated, for example, by the decree of Maximin Daia, mentioned by Lactantius (“On the Death of the Persecutors,” XXXVI), which obliges the decurions to persecute Christians and make annual sacrifices in addition to the “old priests.”
Images of gods in Greece and Rome were painted, the paints being prepared using melted wax. The dead were often depicted not as busts or statues, but as wall paintings.
This refers to the widespread practice in Greece of inscribing epitaphs on the graves of the dead, praising their deeds and usually written in the first person.
Most likely, Eusebius means the Acts of the Apostles (eg Acts 7, 55–56).
Flavius Valerius Constantine I the Great (27.02.272(?) - 22.05.337), Roman Emperor from 25.07.305.
Titans - in Greek mythology, the children of Gaia and Uranus, constituted the pre-Olympic generation of gods. The main mythological plot about the titans is the titanomachy - the revolt of the titans against the gods.
Apparently, Eusebius means the rulers of the empire from Diocletian, since from his reign until the victory of Constantine over Licinius, the administration of the empire was divided between different persons. The right to make such an assumption is given by the absence of any extensive external conquests during the reign of Constantine, although it is quite possible that these words are simply praise befitting a panegyric.
Cyrus the Great - Persian king (559-530 BC), founder of the Persian state, under him Media, Lydia and Babylonia were conquered by the Persians. Interestingly, Sextus Aurelius Victor, a pagan historian and younger contemporary of Eusebius, also compares Constantine and Cyrus (On the Caesars, XL, 13–14).
This refers to the queen of the Massagets, Tomyris. (Herodotus, “History”, I, 205–214.) Although, according to Herodotus’ story, Cyrus died not “by the hand of a woman,” but simply in a battle with the Massagetae, Eusebius, to enhance the effect of his rhetorical composition, presents the death of the Persian king as more inglorious than in reality.
Alexander the Great (356–13.06.323 BC) became king in 336.
Male age in classical Greece began at 30 years. In Sparta, a “young man” became a man and could take part in the national assembly from this age. During the time of Eusebius in the Roman Empire, a young man was considered fit to serve in the army at the age of 21.
Regarding Alexander's drunkenness, the ancients differed greatly in their opinions. Arrian ("Alexander's Campaign", VII, 29) claims (from the words of Aristobulus) that Alexander drank little, and held frequent feasts out of affection for his friends. The same point of view is supported by Plutarch (“Alexander and Caesar,” XXIII.) But, of course, this question is difficult to prove and to a large extent its resolution depended on the disposition or disposition of the writer towards the Macedonian king. Pagan authors, of course, admired Alexander, marveling mainly at the size of his conquests. For the Christian Eusebius, thinking about the meaning of these campaigns, there is not only no subject for admiration, but, on the contrary, only senseless and bloodthirsty ambition.
Alexander lived 32 years and 8 months and reigned for 12 years and 8 months.
Shortly before Alexander's death, his closest friend Hephaestion died.
Alexander died in Babylon, his son from Roxana Alexander was born after his death.
After the death of Alexander, his closest associates - the Diadochi - divided his kingdom: Antipater got Macedonia and Greece, Antigonus - Phrygia, Lycia and Pamphylia, Ptolemy - Egypt, Seleucus - Babylonia and Syria, Lysimachus - Pontus and Thrace.
Eusebius is referring to the Picts and Scots, during the campaign against which Constantius Chlorus, Constantine's father, died. Apparently, after the death of his father, he himself ended this campaign. It is also possible that Constantine arrived to his father at the very beginning of the campaign, before crossing to Britain, and then participated in his father’s entire campaign - see note. 66
This refers to the war with the Goths in 322. Eutropius mentions several battles in which Constantine defeated the Goths. (“A Brief History from the Foundation of the City,” X, 7, 1.) Sextus Aurelius Victor also mentions the victory over the hordes of Goths and Sarmatians (“On the Caesars,” XLI, 13–14). Photius, retelling Philostorgius, also mentions the migration of the Goths to Moesia during the reign of Constantine. (“A brief summary of the “Ecclesiastical History” of Philostorgius,” II, 5.) Jordanes reports that the auxiliary detachment put up by the Goths against Licinius became one of the reasons for the victory of Constantine. After the war, this detachment (40,000 people) was retained by the emperor in service and subsequently received the name federates. (Jordan. “On the origin and deeds of the Getae,” 111–112). The expression “all Scythia”, which allowed E.
Gibbon’s extremely harsh response to the historical value of Eusebius’s work, of course, should not be taken literally, but firstly, it is quite befitting of a panegyric written at a time when the memory of Constantine’s campaigns was still alive and there could be no talk of an attempt at falsification, and secondly, such a generalization was quite common in the historical tradition of antiquity. Caesar in his Notes on the Gallic War allows himself a similar expression about the conquest of “all Germany.”
The Blemmyes are an Ethiopian tribe that troubled the borders of the empire even during the time of Diocletian, who, having pushed the borders of the empire to Elephantine, ordered an agreement to be concluded with them on the regular payment of money under the condition of stopping the raids. (Procopius of Caesarea. “War with the Persians,” I, 28–33.)
In this case, Eusebius calls conquest the reflection of the attacks of the barbarians, however, it is not entirely clear what he means, since no information has reached us about Constantine’s stay in Egypt, whose neighbors were these barbarian tribes. Perhaps, by rhetorically outlining the entire empire that was under Constantine's rule, he is simply indicating the extreme limits of his power. It is also possible that Constantine or his subordinates had to repel the next raids of the warlike Blemmyes; finally, perhaps Eusebius is referring to the order that Diocletian established in the empire’s relations with them, and which Constantine approved.
Eusebius is referring to the expansion of Constantine's power over the eastern part of the empire after the victory over Licinius, and not to external acquisitions. Almost during the entire reign of Constantine, the empire did not wage war with Persia, and only at the end of his reign the emperor began a campaign against the Persians, but died at the beginning of this campaign.
In this case, as in almost the entire history of Eusebius, when mentioning India, one should understand “inner” India, that is, the kingdom of the Omirites (Abyssinia).
In Achaemenid Persia, a satrap is the ruler of a province. Here Eusebius deliberately uses anachronism to decorate his work; usually minor rulers in the time of Eusebius were called kings.
This refers to small border tribes: Trans-Rhine, Trans-Danubian, Numidian and Arab, who retained their rulers, but were dependent on the empire. The custom of erecting statues and images of the Roman emperor is directly related to the deification of rulers, since these statues served as objects of cult worship.
This remark of Eusebius is very curious from the point of view of the political theories of that time. During the late empire, the main reproach by historians and writers against the “ideal emperor” Mark Antoninus was precisely that, in violation of the established tradition of adopting the most worthy, the latter transferred power to his own son. Против наследственной передачи власти была направлена и система Диоклетиана. In Eusebius, we see one of the first completely categorical statements in favor of a hereditary monarchy, although it is possible that the time of writing this work - the period of the reign of the children of Constantine - played an important role here.
It is interesting that for ancient historians exalting their work in writing was almost a rule, Eusebius discovers another form, which later also became traditional in Byzantine historiography - the tradition of pointing out the lack of proper skill when describing such significant events and considering one’s work as a religious duty. It is interesting that at the same time he preserves (in a veiled form) the ancient form, in his original introduction or prologue praising Constantine and pointing out his uniqueness and greatness, he continues the tradition of the “History” of Thucydides and other ancient historians, glorifying the subject chosen for the story.
Claudius Nero Tiberius - Roman emperor from 54 to 68 AD, one of the few Roman emperors in whose assessment both pagan and Christian authors agreed. The first to carry out persecution against Christians for allegedly setting fire to Rome. Among pagan historians, his name became an example of a cruel, immoral and inactive emperor. By “zealous writers” Eusebius most likely means Tacitus and Suetonius.
All this reasoning of Eusebius in the course of thought is identical to Plato’s reasoning in the State about the benefits and harms of myths (“State”, II. 337–338).
A trophy is originally a structure made from enemy weapons, dedicated to the gods in honor of victory and constructed on the battlefield. Here it’s just captured enemy weapons. When later in the text Eusebius calls the banner of Constantine a trophy, then this word, most often a victorious trophy or a saving trophy, should be understood only as an epithet of a sign of victory.
Eusebius recalls the story, widely known in antiquity, about Solon, who addressed these words to Croesus, who, in turn, retold them to his conqueror, Cyrus. (Herodotus, History, I, 29–33; Plutarch, Solon, 37–38.)
Eusebius is referring to the persecution of Diocletian, opened by him in 303 and signed with the names of all the then tetrarchs - Diocletian, Maximian Herculius, Constantius Chlorus and Maximian Galerius. This persecution was one of the most terrible, both in its universality and in the consistency with which it was carried out. After the abdication of Diocletian and Maximian Herculius, on May 1, 305, Maximinus Galerius became Augustus in the East, and Constantius Chlorus in the West. After this, persecution ceased in the West, but flared up with renewed vigor in the East. Eusebius describes this persecution in detail in book 9 of his Ecclesiastical History.
It is very curious that throughout almost all of his work, he calls persecuting emperors tyrants. The term “tyrant” during the late empire had a very specific meaning - a sovereign who rules unlawfully, who seized power by force, or, alternatively, a cruel and unjust ruler. From a purely legal point of view, all these rulers are legitimate emperors. Eusebius’s use of words indicates that what makes them tyrants is not their dubious rise to power or even immoral or cruel behavior, which he often does not mention, but a very specific sign - their attitude towards the Church. Thus, he calls Licinius emperor during his struggle against Maximin Daza and tyrant at the opening of the persecution.
According to Sextus Aurelius Victor (“On the Caesars,” XL, 2) “...Galerius kept him as a hostage under the pretext of fatherly care for him.” Before this, he was at the court of Diocletian, who, according to Lactantius (“On the Death of the Persecutors,” XVIII), elevated him to the rank of tribune of the first class for his participation in the company in Palestine and Egypt, where Eusebius saw Constantine as a young man.
Constantius Chlorus (c. 250 - 07.25.306), Caesar from 03/1/293, August from 05/1/305. This ruler equally admired pagan authors, this is how Eutropius characterizes him (“A Brief History from the Foundation of the City”, X, 1, 3.): “He was a great man and the greatest benevolence, he was zealous in enriching himself provincials and private individuals, not striving for the same increase in the state treasury, and said that it was better to keep public wealth with private individuals than to store it in one chest. He lived so modestly that on holidays, when he wanted to throw a feast for his many friends, he borrowed silverware from private individuals to decorate his table. He was not only loved, but in Gaul he was even revered on a par with the gods, especially because during his reign they finally got rid of Diocletian’s dangerous madness and Maximian’s bloodthirsty recklessness.”
Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletian (245 – 12/03/316), Roman emperor from 11/17/284. to 05/01/305
Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximian (Herculius), c. 250–310, from 285 Caesar, from 286 Augustus and co-ruler of Diocletian.
Marcus Aurelius Maxentius (c. 280 – 10/28/312), son of Maximian Herculius, seized power in Rome and proclaimed himself Augustus (10/28/306) some time after his father’s abdication. Eusebius mentions him as a comrade of Constantius Chlorus, not historically, because of the simultaneity of his reign, since they did not rule at the same time: Constantius died three months before Maxentius proclaimed himself emperor. In addition, he does not mention, for example, Galerius, who played a much larger role and was for a long time the co-ruler of Constantius, even when both of them were Caesars. His contrast between the emperors who patronize Christians and those who fight against them is based neither on the order of precedence nor on chronology, although, of course, it is bound by the framework of a certain period. Therefore, Galerius was not included in the list opposed to Constantius, as he wrote the decree ending the persecution.
Constance's comrades before 305 were the Augustans Diocletian and Maximian and Caesar Galerius. From 305, Constantius and Galerius became Augusti, and Flavius Severus, Constantine and Maximinus Daza became Caesars. Pagan authors also testify to the moral vices of Constantius’ co-rulers. Thus, Victor (Sextus Aurelius Victor, “Extracts on the Life and Morals of the Roman Emperors,” XL, 18–19) speaks about the drunkenness of Maximin Daza, about Maximian Herculius writes that he “... had an unbridled disposition, burned with voluptuousness, was stupid...” (Ibid., XL, 10) Eutropius writes about Diocletian that he “was cunning, but shrewd, He had a very sharp mind and tried to suppress other people’s anger with his severity” (“A Brief History from the Foundation of the City”, IX, 26).
One of the distinctive features of Diocletian's persecution was the destruction or confiscation of Christian churches. It is also possible that Eusebius is hinting at the destruction of the church in Nicomedia at the very beginning of Diocletian's persecution. The church was indeed destroyed “from top to bottom,” since Diocletian was afraid to burn it, fearing fires in the city (Lactantius, “de Mort. Pers.”, 12). According to Lactantius, who also does not classify Constantius as a persecutor, he allowed the destruction of several churches in Gaul, which could easily have been built over time, but did not suffer the death of a single Christian (ibid., XV). V.V. Bolotov, however, believes that during his reign, but perhaps without his knowledge, the famous Hosius of Cordoba suffered during this persecution, but Lactantius clearly reports that Spain belonged to the territory ruled by Herculius, and not by Constantius.
By “domestic” murders, Eusebius apparently means the brutal execution of courtiers: St. Gorgonia, Dorotheus, Peter and many others, which he talks about in his “Ecclesiastical History” (VIII, 2.4–6.5; also see Lactantius “de Mort. Pers.”, 13, 14, 15.) The latter describes in detail numerous cases of execution among the courtiers. Относительно гибели жен, известна, например, св. Martyr Juliana, whose martyrdom dates back to 304, she was betrothed to the eparch of the city of Nicomedia.
According to Lactantius, the decrees of Diocletian and Galerius prescribed sacrifices in any contact between residents and authorities, in any judicial and legal action, which actually put Christians in a position of outlaws.
This means Diocletian.
On February 23, 303, the church in Nicomedia was destroyed, and the next day an edict of general persecution was promulgated.
Lactantius reports (“On the Death of the Persecutors,” XV) that due to the huge number of Christians subject to death, in addition to mass burnings, they were executed in other ways: “Others were thrown into the sea, with a stone tied around their neck.”
Eusebius designates bosses in general with this word - since he is writing a panegyric and does not aim to accurately describe titles and ranks, preferring to decorate his work with a wide use of archaic terms.
It is not entirely clear what Eusebius means, because civil positions were usually available to people of the upper classes; only the army was closed to service, and even then only to senators.
A common form of testing for Christians is the requirement to make a sacrifice to the gods or the genius of the emperor.
That is, he became Augustus (May 1, 305).
Eutropius (“A Brief History from the Founding of the City,” IX, 27, 1) talks about it this way: “But when Diocletian, under the weight of his years, felt it was impossible to rule the Empire, he persuaded Herculius to retire into private life and transfer state affairs to younger people.” Victor (Sextus Aurelius Victor, “On the Caesars,” XXXIX, 46–48) names another reason: “Despite such management, the rulers still did not remain untainted by vices. Herculius was overwhelmed by such voluptuousness that he could not restrain himself from encroaching even on the bodies of the hostages. Galerius was not sufficiently faithful even in relation to his friends, undoubtedly due to fear of quarrels, since his accomplices in the government believed that revelations could violate their common agreement. So, the forces of the city of Rome were, as it were, cut down: the number of praetorian cohorts and the number of soldiers under arms were reduced, and the majority believes that it was for this reason that he (Diocletian - A.K.) resigned.
He understood well the surrounding dangers, and when he saw that fate itself was preparing internal disasters and, as it were, the collapse of the Roman state, he celebrated the twentieth anniversary of his power and, being in good health, laid aside his concern for governing the state.” Lactantius says that Galerius forced the seriously ill Diocletian and Herculius to renounce supreme power, and threatened the latter with war if they refused (“On the Death of the Persecutors,” XVII, XVIII).
Eusebius is mistaken; Diocletian abdicated in 305, almost two years after the start of the persecution. This is all the more strange since in his Church History he indicates the correct period - two years (VIII, 13, 11).
The diadem is the head decoration of emperors, originally Persian kings; it was borrowed from them by Hellenistic rulers. It was already used as royal decoration by Heliogabalus (218–222), then by Diocletian, who introduced for emperors a silk robe embroidered with gold, a diadem and sandals decorated with precious stones.
Constantius was still not proclaimed the first Augustus; for example, Augustus Galerius ignored his appointment of Constantine as Caesar and appointed Severus in his place. It is curious that Gibbon (“The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” Part 1, Chapter XIV) also calls Constantius Chlorus the main Augustus, without noticing that this contradicts all further events - Galerius appoints Severus to Italy and Africa, and Maximinus to the East without the will of Constantius, and is going to appoint Licinius after the death of Constantius to Gaul, Britain and Spain. That is, he behaves like a completely full-fledged Augustus, who is rightfully superior to Constantius. At the same time, it is even unlikely that under the nominal leadership of Constantius, Galerius had great forces and therefore had the opportunity to neglect this leadership; this assumption also contradicts subsequent events: the Rhine army was traditionally very strong and the control of Gaul and Britain alone did not subsequently prevent either Constantine from conquering the rest of the empire, or Julian from deciding to usurp.
Finally, it is hardly possible to explain this behavior of Constantius by his softness, reluctance to civil war, etc. The appointment of Severus in this case would be such a flagrant violation of subordination and such a clear disregard for the rights of Constantius that it is hardly possible to assume such spinelessness in Caesar and Augustus, who grew old in campaigns. Therefore, the message of Lactantius (““De mort. pers.”,” XVIII-XX) looks much closer to the truth, according to the story of which Galerius introduced the future Caesars - Severus and Maximinus - to Diocletian and forced him to recognize them, despite Diocletian’s warning that these people are not capable of governing the state. At the same time, the obvious candidates of Maxentius and Constantine were rejected by Galerius, about the first Galerius said that he was too disrespectful and disobedient, and about the second that he was too good and Galerius would be embarrassed by him. He also reports that “After the abdication of Diocletian and Maximian the Elder, Galerius considered himself the ruler of the Ecumene.
Although Constantius should have taken first place; but he did not respect him because of his meekness and poor health.”
Constantius had two wives - Helena, whose son was Constantine and Theodora, the daughter of Maximin Herculia, from whom he had three sons: Julius Constantius, Annaballian and Dalmatius and daughters - Eutropia, Anastasia and Constantius. Diocletian had only one daughter, Valeria, while Maximian Herculius had a son, Maxentius, and a daughter, Faust.
Constantine’s good education confirms his “Word...”, and in this regard, E. Gibbon’s numerous statements about Constantine’s lack of at least some education look very strange. Apparently, Gibbon either simply ignores the existence of this text, or does not believe that Constantine was its author. Heikel expresses the idea only of partial authorship of Constantine. In his opinion, the commentary on Virgil belongs to the pen of the secretary (see com. to Sl. Cons.). True, Heikel does not express doubts about the emperor’s education; rather, on the contrary, he emphasizes his thoroughness.
Lactantius (“De mort. pers.”, 24) talks in detail about these intrigues, although attributing them to Galerius: “He (Galerius - A.K.) plotted various intrigues for him, not daring to attack him openly, for fear of incurring an internecine war and arousing the hatred of the army, whom he feared most of all. One day, under the pretext of amusement, he pointed it at a lion, over which, however, Constantine triumphed.”
Apparently, Constantine's flight from Galerius coincided with his appointment as Caesar by Constantius and Galerius' appointment of Severus to the same place. Obviously, in such an ambiguous situation, remaining at the court of Galerius was mortally dangerous. Thus, Theophanes in his “Chronography” under 293 says that Galerius was plotting the murder of Constantine. Victor does not mention the danger threatening Konstantin and explains his escape this way: “Not wanting to put up with this (with the appointment of the North - A.K.), Konstantin, with his strong and indomitable character, then, from a young age, seized by a passionate desire for power, decided to flee and, in order to throw off his pursuers, everywhere where his path lay, he killed government pack cattle and reached Britain;” (Sextus Aurelius Victor.
“On the Caesars,” XL, 2.) But the very nature of his message contradicts his assessment of these actions of Constantine, firstly, the presence of pursuers indicates the real danger that threatened him, and secondly, since Victor knows the appointment of Constantine as Caesar and, as a result, his ambiguous position under Galeria, who appointed another Caesar for Italy, this assessment can be explained by the obvious hostility of the pagan Victor to Constantine. In addition, Photius (“Summary of the “Ecclesiastical History” Philostorgius”, I, 5), for example, speaks of intrigues against Constantine on the part of Diocletian. But if these events occurred before Diocletian’s abdication, then it is not clear why after this the relationship between them was so good that Constantine invited him to the wedding of Licinius with his sister Constance (Sextus Aurelius Victor, “Extracts on the life and morals of the Roman emperors,” XXXIX, 7). And why would Diocletian, retiring, consider himself calm, making the father of the murdered Constantine August. Finally, there is a detailed account by Lactantius (“De mort.
pers.», 24) об этих событиях: «Между тем, как эти жестокости им (Галерием – А.К.) производимы были, он не помышлял о свержении Констанция, выжидая его смерти и полагая ее близкою. This sovereign, having become dangerously ill, demanded his son Constantine to come to him for consolation. This was not the first time he had asked for this. Galerius feared nothing more than Constantine's departure. ... Having used many twists and turns against him to no avail, Galerius finally released him, and signed his release with his own hand at sunset, allowing him to set off on the road tomorrow morning, upon receipt of his orders. He had the intention of either keeping him again under some pretext or sending a courier to the North with orders to detain him in Italy. Constantine, foreseeing this intention, that same night after dinner mounts his horse and leaves.” He also reports about Galerius’s terrible rage at this news and about the cutting of the veins of the post horses by Constantine in order to avoid persecution.
Anon., p. 710. and Panegyr. Veter., VII, 4 claim that Constantine arrived at the port of Constantius before sailing to Britain. The opinion of Eusebius is confirmed by Zosimus, book 2, p. 79; and Lactantius, de Mort. Pers., ch. 24.
This refers to the chorus of an ancient tragedy or comedy, which, according to the laws of the genre, did not interfere with the unfolding events, and only commented on what was happening.
Lactantius (“De mort. pers.”, 25) and Libanius (“Oration”, 1) also speak about Constantius’ appointment of Constantine as his successor. Constantius died in Eborac (York), the residence of the ruler of Britain, which is why Eusebius speaks of a royal palace.
Crimson - a purple cloak that distinguished emperors. Putting it on meant accepting the imperial title. The expression “fatherly” should most likely be taken literally, since the production of the imperial vestments took place under strict supervision, and attempts to produce them outside the fiscus were persecuted. There are numerous cases of difficulties in proclaiming emperors an army, and not a predecessor who had the opportunity to prepare it in advance. For example, the problem with the imperial diadem during the proclamation of Julian the Apostate as emperor, described by Ammianus Marcellinus (Ammianus Marcellinus, “Roman History”, XX, 4, 17–18.).
According to Eumenius (VII, 8), Constantine refused to accept the title (Augustus or Caesar?) and even tried to gallop away, giving his horse spurs. In general, such a proclamation by the army should not be understood as some kind of sign of rebellion. The usual form of legal proclamation is the declaration of Caesar as Augustus, with the approval of the army and its participation in the proclamation ceremony. In this case, there were certain difficulties in carrying out such a ceremony due to the death of Constantius. Apparently, this is precisely why the proclamation by the army followed at the funeral, where Constantius seemed to be present. The very proclamation of emperor was initially carried out by the army; the troops gave this name as a solemn title to the commanders of the late Republic (for example, Cornelius Sulla). According to the story of Lactantius (“De mort. pers.”, 25), upon his elevation to the throne, Constantine sent a letter to Galerius notifying him of his accession to the throne. Galerius became furious and threatened to burn both the letter and the messenger.
But after some time, apparently taking into account the coup of Maxentius in Rome (which occurred two months after the death of Constantius), he agreed to the title of Caesar for Constantine (at the same time proclaiming Severus Augustus) and sent him a scarlet robe. Galerius proclaimed Constantine Augustus already at the end of 307 or at the beginning of 308. Lactantius (“De mort. pers.”, 32) reports that by proclaiming Licinius directly Augustus, bypassing the title of Caesar, Galerius had to somehow promote the Caesars, Maximinus and Constantius. He came up with a new title for them - children of the Augustans. But Maximin informed him that the army had already proclaimed him Augustus. Apparently, without waiting for such a message from Constantine, in order to save face, Galerius declared Maximin and Constantius equal emperors - Augusti.
Constantius, while still Caesar, ruled Gaul and Britain. Then, according to the title of August, he was still entitled to Italy, Spain and Africa, but he ceded them to the creature of Galerius - the North, being content with the title of August and without expanding his actual power. See also note. 64.
Eutropius (“Brief History from the Foundation of the City”, X, 3, 2), calls these barbarians - they were Franks and Alemanni. He also mentions that Constantine captured their leaders. What is strange and curious is the fact that Victor (Sextus Aurelius Victor, “Extracts...”, XLI) calls the Alemanni king Erocus, who “accompanied Constantius for his protection” and assisted Constantine in proclaiming him Caesar. Eutropius (X, 3) and Panegyr. Veter., VII, 10–12. It is reported that the leaders captured in this campaign and many young prisoners were sent to gladiatorial fights with animals in the Trier amphitheater.
The comparison of the state (or universe) with man was widespread as far back as classical Greece. It is based, of course, on pagan ideas about the structure of the world. So, for example, Plato in the Republic (II, 368 d-e) easily moves from considering justice in an individual to considering it in the state. Here Eusebius uses this comparison simply to decorate his work.
Flavius Severus, appointed Caesar to Italy, retained this title for only a short time. The Praetorians rebelled against him and proclaimed Maxentius, the son of Maximian Herculius, Caesar.
That is, Maximian Gallery and Flavius Severus.
According to Victor's story (Sextus Aurelius Victor, Extracts on the Life and Manners of the Roman Emperors, XL, 3), Severus was killed at the Three Taverns by Herculius Maximian, after the troops abandoned him. Eutropius, (“A Brief History from the Founding of the City,” X, 2, 3–4) talks about these events as follows: “Meanwhile, in Rome, the Praetorians, having started a riot, elected Maxentius (306–312), the son of Herculius, who lived near the city in a state villa, as Augustus. Having learned about this, Maximian Herculius, in the hope of regaining his former power, which he left against his will, hurried from Lucania to Rome... Against the rebellious Praetorians and Maxentius, Galerius sent Caesar Severus to Rome with an army, where he arrived, but during the siege of the City he was betrayed by his soldiers. Maxentius, having increased his army, strengthened his power. Severus fled to Ravenna and was killed there (307).” In another of his works, Victor talks about these events differently: “Meanwhile, in Rome, the mob and detachments of the Praetorians declare Maxentius emperor, despite the stubborn protests of his father, Herculius.
When Armentarius (Galerius - A.K.) found out about this, he ordered Caesar Severus, who happened to be near the city, to hastily move against this enemy. But while he was operating under the walls of the capital, he was abandoned by his soldiers, bribed by Maxentius with the promise of rewards; Having escaped, he found himself locked in Ravenna and died there. Having become even more embittered, Galerius, resorting to the advice of Jovius (Diocletian - A.K.), declares Caesar Licinius, known to him from an old friendship, Augustus; leaving him to guard Illyricum and Thrace, he himself heads to Rome. There he delayed the siege [of the city] and, since his soldiers began to be seduced in the same way as the previous ones, he, fearing that they would leave him, left Italy;" (Sextus Aurelius Victor, “On the Caesars,” XL, 5–9.) Lactantius (XVII), reports that at this Herculius threw himself on his knees in front of the army, begging not to hand him over to his enemies.
In his “Ecclesiastical History,” Eusebius reports in more detail about the sorcery of Maxentius: “... for his sorceries, he either cut the wombs of pregnant women, or rummaged through the entrails of newborns, and sometimes killed lions and with vile prayers begged the demons to avert war” (VIII, 14, 5). Pagan historians, for example Victor, also report on the unworthy rule of Magnetius: “... for he oppressed them (the inhabitants of Rome) so much that he once gave permission to the Praetorians to beat people and was the first, on the basis of an unworthy custom, to force senators and farmers, under the guise of a gift, to collect money for him for his waste.” (Sextus Aurelius Victor, “On the Caesars,” XL, 24).
Lactantius (XLIV) reports the monogram of Christ depicted on the shields of soldiers, while Lactantius places this event immediately before the battle of the Milvian Bridge.
Eusebius most likely refers to silk as “royal fabric,” which was very expensive and sold for its weight in gold.
At this time, Constantine had only one eldest son, Crispus - Constantius and Constantine were born in 317, Constantine - in 322. Perhaps Eusebius describes the labarum in the form in which he himself saw it, already with the image of all the children of the emperor.
Instead of legion eagles. The description of the labarum itself in almost every way repeats the appearance of ordinary legionary badges - eagles, with one exception: instead of the eagle itself, on the top of the badge there is a monogram of Christ in a laurel wreath.
The reading of the divine Scriptures, like many other episodes in the book of Eusebius, seems to indicate that Constantine had already been baptized. Since before baptism, reading the Scriptures at this time (and for a long time after) was forbidden (see, for example, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, “Pre-confessional Teaching,” 12.). The same consideration applies to the presence of Constantine at councils and solemn services. But the fact that Constantine was baptized just before his death is beyond doubt, and both Eusebius and Theodoret of Cyrus report this so confidently that an error here is unlikely. The reports about the baptism of Constantine by Pope Silverius have long been firmly rejected by historians. Moreover, it can hardly be assumed that Constantine simply took advantage of his position to violate church rules; this is contradicted by all his further behavior both in the dispute with the Donatists and in the Arian disputes.
The confusion, however, is completely resolved by the given message of Eusebius, about the catechumen of Constantine around 312, and the postponement of baptism until a later time, since the catechumens, but not yet baptized, were already allowed to read Scripture (see St. Cyril of Jerusalem, “Pre-Catechetical Instruction,” 14) and attend the divine service.
According to Lactantius (XLIII), Maxentius declared war on Constantine in retaliation for the execution of his father Herculius.
This story is also contained in Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History (VIII, 16–17
By this time, Rome and Italy had long been subsisting on imported bread from Egypt and Africa. Apparently, with the usurpation of Maxentius, this supply stopped. But Panegyr. (“Vet.” IX, 16) reports huge reserves of grain collected in Africa and the islands. Gibbon reconciles these two accounts by suggesting that this bread was intended only for soldiers. But these two messages are consistent in another way - it is possible that Maxentius had problems with the delivery of grain from Africa in connection with the war there against the vicar Domitius Alexander, who proclaimed himself emperor in 308, at the same time the supply from Egypt could have been stopped by order of Galerius, as a logical measure against the usurper. After Alexander's defeat by the praetorian prefect Rufius Volusianus in 310 and the establishment of an alliance with Maximinus Daza, this problem was resolved.
Constantine’s army, of course, did not consist of heavily armed infantry - hoplites; Eusebius here again uses an archaic term; in a broader sense, hoplites mean soldiers.
Here and further – bodyguards, a selected detachment attached to the person of the emperor (but not praetorians).
According to Eutropius, the war lasted two years - from 310 (the 5th anniversary of the reign of Constantine, as he writes) to 312. Perhaps he considers one war against Maxentius and a company in Gaul against Herculius, who was trying to return to power, and the company itself in Italy against Maxentius himself. He, like Eusebius, mentions the defeats of Maxentius “in many battles” (“A Brief History from the Foundation of the City”, X, 4, 3). Of the three battles that Eusebius talks about, two are the battles of Turin and Verona. It is not entirely clear what Eusebius means by the third: a small battle at Brescia in the interval between two large battles or the last battle of this war - at the Milvian Bridge. Lactantius believes that two battles in Italy before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge were lost by Constantine: “Often both armies engaged in hand-to-hand combat, and the party of Maxentius almost always had the advantage.” (“De mort. pers.”, 44), but this is an obvious mistake.
According to Lactantius (“De mort. pers.”, 44), Maxentius did not intend to leave Rome and was actually forced to do so by the Romans, who gathered in crowds near his palace and noisily reproached him for cowardice.
Tristat- τριστατης, military leader (Ex. 14:17, 15:4; Kings 7:2, 17, 9:25, 15:25). The first person after the sovereign. By tristati are meant either the main military leaders or selected chariot warriors.
The Battle of the Milvian Bridge took place on October 28, 312.
This method of building bridges across the river is described in detail by Arrian ("Alexander's Campaign", V, 7, 3-5); his message relating to the reign of Hadrian speaks of this method as generally accepted in the Roman army.
The circumstances of the death of Maxentius are very vague. Thus, Eutropius simply reports about the battle at the Milvian Bridge, in which Maxentius was defeated (“A Brief History from the Foundation of the City,” X, 4, 3). Victor in one place (“On the Caesars,” XL, 23.) writes that after a lost battle, Maxentius “himself fell into an ambush that he had prepared for the enemy near the Milvius Bridge at the crossing of the Tiber [and died] ...”, and in another (“Extracts on the life and morals of the Roman Emperors,” XL, 7.), writes this: “Maxentius, having encountered Constantine slightly above the Milvius Bridge, he hurried to step onto the bridge made of rafts, but his horse stumbled, and he fell into the river depths, his body was covered with silt under the weight of his shell, he was barely found.” Judging by Arrian's report, such bridges were always equipped with railings, while the parts connecting it were tied with ropes, and could well come undone or become disheveled. According to Lactantius, Maxentius himself destroyed the bridge behind him after crossing, so that the army knew that there was nowhere to retreat and drowned, carried away by the many running to the river in the hope of swimming across it.
In any case, all historians agree that this happened during the flight, when the battle was already lost. Eusebius does not describe the battle and barely even mentions it because he compares his hero with Moses and in this story strives to achieve the greatest similarity in plot.
It is not for nothing that Eusebius mentions the praetorians of Maxentius here. These troops, significantly reduced in number and transferred to a lower salary by Diocletian, had every reason to be dissatisfied with the North, therefore all ancient writers mention them as active participants in the coup of Maxentius, which actually increased their numbers, restored their salaries and impunity. However, speaking about their death in the river, Eusebius again does not follow historical truth, but obeys the laws of a work of art. Therefore, the words of the panegyrist quoted by Gibbon about their death in the place where they stood during the battle do not at all contradict Eusebius: Exceptis latrocinii illius primis auctoribus, qui desperata venia, locum quem pugnae sumpserant texere corporibus. Panegir. Vet., X, 17.
This refers to an amnesty for all supporters of Maxentius and all those who suffered from him, and not any decree in favor of Christians, although it is obvious that with the liberation of Italy and Africa from Maxentius, the position of Christians there improved significantly.
In the empire of that time, the terrible custom of killing or leaving newborn children to their fate, whom their parents could not or did not want to feed, was extremely widespread. A separate decree of Constantine was dedicated to combating this phenomenon, not just with the help of a ban, but with a well-thought-out system of providing assistance to parents (“Code. Feod.,” IX, 27, 2).
Eusebius is referring to the Council of Rome in 313 against the Donatists and the Council of Arles in 314.
Eusebius, who did not take dogmatic disputes seriously and considered all dogmatic issues resolved by Origen, himself valued “unanimity” most of all. Constantine quickly had to distinguish between the Orthodox and various kinds of heretics and schismatics, this is also shown by his decrees against the Donatists and Gnostic sects.
Eusebius is referring to the Donatists who broke away from the Church around 307. Constantine was by no means as indifferent to this schism as Eusebius describes. His attitude is indicated by the fact that in his earliest decrees on the return of confiscated property to churches and assistance from civil officials for the construction of new churches, it was firmly stipulated everywhere that only Orthodox Christians were subject to the decree, excluding heretics and schismatics. Moreover, from 316 to 321, laws directed against the Donatists were in force in Africa.
The invasion of the Germans and Franks into Gaul and its repulsion by Constantine occurred in 313.
Eusebius is referring to Maximian Herculius, who, after his son Maxentius was proclaimed emperor by the Praetorians in Rome, tried to return to power - as Augustus over the Caesars Constantine and Maxentius (Gibbon claims that Maximian was proclaimed as such, but we do not find solid evidence in favor of this opinion, however, even if this is so, all subsequent events show the complete fictitiousness of this title of his: he had neither his own army nor the territory under his control; the proclamation itself, if it took place, was done with the help of a handful of supporters who had no power), and participated in the siege of Ravenna, where the North fled, and in the murder of the latter. He then tried to persuade Constantine to take part in the war against Galerius - preventing his retreat from Italy. After some time, either having quarreled with his son, or by prior agreement with him, he fled to Gaul to Constantine, where he began to plot against him. His own daughter and wife of Constantine Faust, revealed her father's plans to Constantine.
Further, Herculius was captured after the siege of Massilia, where he tried to defend himself against Constantine and was executed. By shameful death, Eusebius means hanging. In this message, Eusebius again violates the chronology of his narrative; these events date back to 310.
Eusebius is mistaken, according to Suetonius (“Life of the Twelve Caesars,” Domitian, 23.), the Senate ordered after the death of Domitian to destroy all inscriptions and statues dedicated to him. Although it is possible that by “first” he does not mean emperors in general, but opponents of Constantine, since indeed, the struggle and overthrow of Maxentius and Licinius happened later. It is curious that, according to Lactantius, the statues of Diocletian (XLII) were also destroyed, because of which the latter took his own life.
Apparently, Eusebius is referring to a conspiracy against Constantine by the husband of his sister Anastasia, elevated to the rank of Caesar Bassian, who, having not received real power in accordance with his title, began correspondence with Licinius, who recognized him as Caesar.
Judging by one message from Philostorgius (Photius, “A Brief Summary of the “Ecclesiastical History” of Philostorgius,” II, 17), it is possible that incense was already used by Christians at this time. Philostorgius reports that after the death of Constantine, Christians lit candles for him and smoked incense. However, judging by the nature of this message, this may well be simply Philostorgius’s slander against the Orthodox, in any case, this is how Photius understands this passage. An indication of a similar cult among the pagans (which was very widespread, and even Eusebius himself mentions the inclusion of Constantius Chlorus among the gods), which Philostorgius refers to Christians. The latter, however, is unlikely, firstly, due to the firmness of Philostorgius’ message, and secondly, because during the reign of Constantius, open veneration of pagan gods was already difficult, and even more so in the main square of Constantinople, perhaps, completely impossible.
Valerius Licinian Licinius (c. 265–325), August from 11.11.308 to 18.09.324
The persecution in the East did not actually stop with the decree of Diocletian, since his successor Galerius persecuted Christians with even greater zeal, and Maximin Daza did not pay any attention to the decree of Galerius in 311 to stop the persecution, so the decree concerned only Illyricum. After the victory over Maximinus, Licinius extended (in June 313) the decree of Galerius to the prefecture of the East by a separate decree in Nicomedia, which he himself actually canceled in 320, starting the persecution.
Eusebius misses the events that took place at that time in the East. After the death of Galerius from illness in 311, there remained two rulers: Licinius, who ruled in Illyria, and Maximin Daza, who ruled the prefecture of the East. A war began between them, during which Maximin was defeated in the battle of Tziralla (03/1/313) and died in Tarsus. After which Licinius became the sole ruler of the East, in 314, perhaps after a short war, an agreement was concluded between him and Constantine on a new division of the empire, according to which Illyricum was given to Constantine, in addition to the rest of his possessions, and Licinius was left with the entire prefecture of the East.
Licinius was married to Constantine's paternal sister, Constance.
Constantine's family descends from the Flavians, who ruled Rome from 69 to 235.
See note. 97 One of the reasons for Constantine’s war against Licinius was the latter’s refusal to hand over the people who fled to him after the discovery of Bassian’s conspiracy.
Eusebius does not adhere to chronology in his work, since he does not aim to describe the sequence of events. Therefore, here, when characterizing Licinius, he mentions the events of the 20s, skipping the time of the alliance with Constantine. However, judging by “Ecclesiastical History,” he fully understands this sequence. Although, of course, the desire to present Constantine’s opponents not just as tyrants and worthless rulers, but also as persecutors of Christians, often forces him to speak vaguely and violate the chronology of events. Thus, with the story about Maxentius, he presents him as a persecutor, although he was simply a tyrant who did not persecute Christians, but persecuted everyone over whom he had power. Also with Licinius, Eusebius does not mention in his work the Edict of Milan, since he would have to talk about the role of Licinius in signing it. At the same time, he almost does not talk about the most severe persecution of Maximin, well known to him, again because then the victory of Licinius over him would have placed the latter too highly and would have made him the savior of Christians.
Although Maximin did not comply with Galerius’ decree to stop the persecution. However, all these remarks do not at all indicate deliberate falsification, because almost all of these events are told or mentioned in the “Church History”. But “The Life of Constantine” was written as a panegyric, and in form and content its author sets himself different goals than in his own work of historical content.
Eusebius describes in detail the persecution of Licinius against Christians in his “Ecclesiastical History” (X.8.).
In addition to the authority of the New Testament, where the book of the Acts of the Apostles describes the first council, Eusebius apparently has in mind the 37th apostolic canon, which commands councils to be held twice a year, on October 12 and on the fourth week of Pentecost.
Victor also speaks about the cruel rule of Licinius (“On the Caesars,” XLI, 4.): “Licinius had no limit to torture and executions, on the slave model, even for innocent and famous philosophers.” Confiscation of property was a common practice for those convicted of insulting the imperial dignity, and this is the most common charge against Christians.
This phrase, Των κατα παν εονος αξιωματωναι ταξεις, in the parallel Latin text sounding like: praesidaslis officii, Min interprets as magistrum officia.
Eusebius twice insistently points out that this decree of Licinius applied to “urban” warriors. During the reign of Diocletian, the army was finally divided into two parts - the border troops (limetarii) and the active, field army. Limetarii were located along the border, had wives, children and property, usually a land plot. The active army was located inside the country, in cities, close to the intended theater of military operations. Most likely, these actions of Licinius were directed specifically against the active army; in view of the alleged persecution and war with Constantine, he had reason to believe that the Christians would not be faithful to him.
From Diocletian to Anastasius, land taxes were collected from landowners in kind, not in money. The alternation of lands immediately before Licinius was carried out by Diocletian and Galerius. By interleaving, Eusebius means the revaluation of land subject to taxation. The tax was collected from the landowner depending on the quality of the soil and the crops planted on it. The amount of conventional tax units - kaputs - was the landowner's share in taxes collected from the district or province. Therefore, to increase the tax it was enough to simply revaluate the land. From September 1, 312, the custom was established to revaluate the land every 15 years, and from this date the counting of years according to indictions began. Moreover, most likely, even before this date, Diocletian’s land reform should have provided for such a revaluation; then Eusebius speaks of the revaluation carried out by Constantine.
Therefore, most likely, in this case, the usual revaluation of the land was carried out, but this revaluation was accompanied by all sorts of oppression caused by the greed of Licinius. As Victor says about him (“Extracts on the life and morals of the Roman emperors”, XLI, 8): “With his greed for money he surpassed everyone...”.
Eusebius here means a system of collecting land taxes that was very widespread in ancient times, in which taxes were levied on the land of a province or tax district, without taking into account the specific number of workers. In this situation, if the owner of the land left his plot, the burden of the tax burden on others increased.
Tantalus is a hero of Greek mythology, a Phrygian king. Eusebius calls greed Tantalus’ disease, apparently based on the punishment he suffered in Hades - unquenchable thirst and unsatisfied hunger (Apolodorus, “Mythological Library”, “Epitome”, II, 1.). Actually, Tantalus’s offense, for which he was punished, had nothing to do with greed.
Eusebius is referring to Maximian Galerius, Πρωτωτατην, translated in Greek as advanced, chief, first.
After Diocletian's abdication, Galerius continued the persecution of Christians until April 30, 311, when he issued a decree ending the persecution. Eusebius cites the text of the decree in his “Ecclesiastical History” (IX, 10
Eusebius is referring to Licinius.
Eusebius means by the first and second Galerius and Maximinus Daza.
According to Lactantius, Maximinus was the first to blind and self-mutilate Christians: “... instead of condemning Christians to death, he ordered them to be mutilated. Some had their eyes gouged out, others had their arms, legs, noses, and ears cut off.”
This flight of Maximina is also mentioned by Lactantius (XLVII).
According to Lactantius (XLIX), Maximin tried to poison himself in Tarsus, but after taking poison on a full stomach, he acquired a stomach ulcer and died for a very long time and painfully: “... he hit his head against the wall with such force that his eyes rolled out of his head.”
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