Constantine’s conversion to Christianity was a pivotal turning point in the highly pagan regime of the Roman Empire (Afoldi, 1948). There has been much speculation by historians and scholars surrounding whether the conversion to Christianity was a carefully articulated political maneuver by Constantine, for military supremacy of the Roman Empire.
Historically, scholars suggest that the context in which Constantine was said to have converted to Christianity was a militaristic based context, with the military being a recurring prominent theme throughout the conversion story.
Furthermore, we must remember that prior and during the reign of Constantine, the religious context of the Roman Empire was highly polytheistic. It is evident, that the …show more content…
How might these differences be accounted for?’
Two separate accounts of Constantine’s conversion survive in works written by Constantine’s contemporaries. There are no considerable distinctions between the two recounts, as both detail Constantine seeking the divine for answers to a military conquest.
Lactanius, a Christian rhetorician wrote one of the accounts, in his work titled De Mortibus Persecutorum. This is a reliable source, as it is believed that Lactanius had close ties with Constantine’s family (Drake, 2006). However, the classic account of Constantine’s conversion is documented in the Life of Constantine written shortly after the emperor’s death by his older contemporary Eusebius, a long while after from the emperor himself who states that he heard the recount, from the emperor himself (Drake, 2006).
An important clue for understanding Constantine’s conversion lies embedded in Eusebius’ narrative in his Life of Constantine at the point where he states that the emperor told the story a quite some time after the event. Eusebius states that it happened when Constantine was with his army at some point prior the battle of Milvian Bridge . Conversely, Lactantius’ account is far sparser in detail, places the vision to have occurred the night prior to the military
Historically, scholars suggest that the context in which Constantine was said to have converted to Christianity was a militaristic based context, with the military being a recurring prominent theme throughout the conversion story.
Furthermore, we must remember that prior and during the reign of Constantine, the religious context of the Roman Empire was highly polytheistic. It is evident, that the …show more content…
How might these differences be accounted for?’
Two separate accounts of Constantine’s conversion survive in works written by Constantine’s contemporaries. There are no considerable distinctions between the two recounts, as both detail Constantine seeking the divine for answers to a military conquest.
Lactanius, a Christian rhetorician wrote one of the accounts, in his work titled De Mortibus Persecutorum. This is a reliable source, as it is believed that Lactanius had close ties with Constantine’s family (Drake, 2006). However, the classic account of Constantine’s conversion is documented in the Life of Constantine written shortly after the emperor’s death by his older contemporary Eusebius, a long while after from the emperor himself who states that he heard the recount, from the emperor himself (Drake, 2006).
An important clue for understanding Constantine’s conversion lies embedded in Eusebius’ narrative in his Life of Constantine at the point where he states that the emperor told the story a quite some time after the event. Eusebius states that it happened when Constantine was with his army at some point prior the battle of Milvian Bridge . Conversely, Lactantius’ account is far sparser in detail, places the vision to have occurred the night prior to the military