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Constantine and Rome

Online ISBN:
9780300129717
Print ISBN:
9780300100433
Publisher:
Yale University Press
Book

Constantine and Rome

Published:
11 July 2004
Online ISBN:
9780300129717
Print ISBN:
9780300100433
Publisher:
Yale University Press

Abstract

Constantine the Great (285–337) played a crucial role in mediating between the pagan, imperial past of the city of Rome, which he conquered in 312, and its future as a Christian capital. This book examines his remarkable building programme in Rome. The author begins by examining the Christian Church in the period before the Peace of 313, when Constantine and his co-emperor Licinius ended the persecution of the Christians. He further focuses on the structure, style, and significance of important monuments: the Arch of Constantine and the two great Christian basilicas, St. John's in the Lateran and St. Peter's, as well as the imperial mausoleum at Tor Pignatara. The author advances a new interpretation of the archaeology of the Tomb of St. Peter beneath the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica. The tomb, he concludes, was not the original resting place of the remains venerated as those of the Apostle but was created only in 251 by Pope Cornelius. Drawing on the most up-to-date archaeological evidence, the author describes a cityscape that was at once Christian and pagan, mirroring the personality of its ruler.

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