Constantine the Great General: A Military Biography

Chapter 1

Introduction

Unlike very many other Roman Emperors, whose contact with the undesirably dreary and rainy imperial backwater of Britannia was minimal, Constantine can be considered a far more integral part of British history. In modern day York, Roman Eboracum, his statue stands outside the glorious York Minster to commemorate the place where Roman history was so decisively made. It was here, in the north of the barbarous and strange country of Britannia, that Constantine was raised to emperor on the battlefield, backed by the loyalty of his father’s troops after his death which left the way clear for his son. Given the subsequent events in the life of Constantine, it is small wonder that this statue of Constantine, placed as it is outside York Minster, shows him in reflective and contemplative mood, meditating on the Christianity that was to be such a large part of his success. Unsurprisingly, this statue gives us the Constantine of the Church: the Constantine who died on the date of Pentecost in 337, who was considered uniquely favoured and divinely appointed by many of his contemporaries (Eusebius, his biographer, being prominent among them) and who possibly even thought of himself as a second Christ (his plans for his burial and honours after death included a sarcophagus modelled on that of the Holy Sepulchre, a building intended to be the resting place of Christ and contemporary to Constantine’s own building). Indeed, in the Orthodox Church, Constantine is still venerated and honoured as a saint, and in orthodox countries such as Greece, nostalgia for Byzantium and Constantine run high indeed, coupled with a strong sense of loss for the city of Constantinople, no longer Greek-speaking though with much evidence of its Hellenic culture still intact for all to see.

But that is just one Constantine. While the Constantine of the Church reminds us of his pivotal role in the history of Christianity, his piety and sincere relationship with the Christian God and his hugely influential and transformative support and patronage of the church in this regard, there are other faces of Constantine. What the statue outside of York Minster does not show is Constantine the soldier, Constantine the man of action, Constantine the statesman and Constantine the emperor. These other facets or faces of Constantine all interlock, but it is through the lens of Constantine’s military career, the successes on which all the others are built, that this history is written.

The military lens is so important because it is one that brings into clear focus the fact that the Roman Empire was built on war. Constant warfare, prowess in battle, military might and strength were essential underpinnings of Rome’s great success. Had Rome not been able to command such skilled, disciplined and feared troops, and ones which brought so many territorial gains and strategic victories, there quite simply could not have been a Roman Empire. The idea of Roman expansion and conquest would have fallen at the first hurdle; grandiose ideas all undercut by ineptitude and poor planning and tactical errors. Fortunately for Rome, it was able to rely on its supreme military might and the guarantee of success it brought for a long, long time. However, by Constantine’s own time, when he came of age to pursue the career path laid down for him by his father and by his own upbringing, Rome had lived through a period of unrest and turmoil, in contrast to the relative stability, the pax Romana, that was the upside of Roman rule. Indeed, so tumultuous and turbulent was the period of 235–284, that it has been termed an age of crisis, and in this vorago the strategic genius of a man such as Constantine was sorely required.

Constantine’s early life: the sources

In studying Constantine, the Greek language Vita Constantini (trans: the Life of Constantine) by the scholarly Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea (in Palestine) and Constantine’s contemporary, is probably among the most important of the primary sources for learning about Constantine’s formative years, to say nothing of his later career. However, it is not an unproblematic source: in terms of its historical value, there are a few key points to note. Firstly, it seems most likely that the Vita Constantini (by no means the only extant example of Eusebius’ work; he was a prolific theologian and historian, and was himself heavily influenced by the Christian apologist Origen) was in fact left incomplete by the time of his death in 339, in which case we cannot be entirely sure what Eusebius intended to be edited, changed or removed in the final version; in other words, we cannot be sure what of the extant content Eusebius himself viewed as mistaken or in need of further addition, or edition.¹

Secondly, it is certainly necessary to bear in mind the extent to which Eusebius is keen to play up Constantine’s glory, his elevated and unique status, and to minimise anything which detracted from that. For example, the Preface to Book 1 of the Vita Constantini is on the subject of Constantine’s immortality, the next chapter is on God’s achievement in Constantine, but then moving to Constantine as superior to other emperors, but with a final note on Eusebius’ own purpose and plan (an interesting commentary on Eusebius’ own reasons for recording Constantine’s life in his history). From this, we learn the following:

As for me, even though to say anything worthy of the blessedness of the man is beyond my power, while to be silent would be safe and peril-free; yet one must model oneself on the human painter, and dedicate a verbal portrait in memory of the Godbeloved, if only to escape the charge of sloth and idleness. I would be ashamed of myself if I did not put together what I can, little though it be and poor, for the one who out of his extraordinary devotion to God honoured us all.²

This really does give us a flavour of Eusebius’ central bias and leanings: for him, Constantine was clearly God’s elect and he always writes his history with this as his lodestar. As for his reasons for writing the Vita Constantini, these are simple. It would be ‘edifying’ for him to do so, because it occasions him to think and meditate on the works of Constantine, and besides, if the worst of the ‘godless tyrants’ (emperors such as Nero) have histories written by men in stylish prose, then so much more ought an emperor such as Constantine.³ Furthermore, Eusebius sees his role as not only to record the deeds and words of Constantine the man loved by God for posterity, but also to record these as a means of ‘moral improvement’.⁴ Thus, not only is the researching and recording to be an edification for Eusebius, but he anticipates that the resulting history will act as a paradigm, since it will be a ‘representation of noble deeds’, and so will be ‘of practical benefit to well-disposed minds.’⁵ It is wise to bear in mind this bias and stated purpose in Eusebius’ writing: since he is concerned to present Constantine as a paradigm, he is keen to smooth out any rough corners he might find in his character or in his actions, but for a historian it is good to try and read the ‘messiness’ back into the glossy account where appropriate.

Besides Eusebius, an important source both for Constantine’s personal life and his military career are the Panegyrici Latini (trans: the Latin Panegyrics). As a genre, panegyrics were often composed and delivered in great numbers for emperors (and sometimes also for other powerful men, such as literary patrons) throughout the period of the Roman Empire, though we happen to have extant examples that date from the later Roman Empire rather than at any other time in Rome’s history, meaning that, as a genre, panegyric has come to be associated with this time in particular. Thus, we have the following panegyrics which are addressed to Constantine in particular (panegyrics are typically untitled, reference to them being made by the first line or by a summary of the content):

To celebrate the Quinquennalia of Constantine’s sons; delivered at Constantinople (AD 361)

Gratiarum actio to Constantine on behalf of Autun for tax relief; delivered at Trier (AD 311)

Addressed to Constantine on his Quinquennalia at Trier after the death of Maximian (AD 310)

Epithalamium celebrating the marriage of Constantine to Maximian’s daughter Fausta; delivered at Trier (AD 307)

Panegyric to Constantine on his defeat of Maxentius; Trier (AD 313)

The author of a panegyric, by restriction of the genre, can do little but offer praise and glorification of his subject, and the topic of an emperor’s military ability (in Latin: virtus) was very much an expected one, thus making it likely that any military information to be found here could lean towards the one-sided.⁶ That being said, the panegyrics still have historical value, despite their formulaic content. For example, there are cases where the praise is not so excessive as to ruin the sense of its author also being fair-minded, or others where contrary viewpoints, or information that is not quite so flattering to the subject in question, is still included. For this reason, and for the fact that they do contain much battle information useful for reconstructing Constantine’s early life and career, they are included here.⁷

The next source to consider is the Latin language Anonymus Valesianus (as its titling suggests, of unknown and uncertain authorship), the first part of which document is known as the Origo Constantini Imperatoris (trans: the Lineage of the Emperor Constantine). Obviously it is problematic that little is known of the authorship and origins of this source (though it has been dated to circa 340–390, but any more specific date is harder to pin down), since it therefore makes it very difficult indeed to ascertain its historical value, but nevertheless it cannot be ignored precisely because it does give us an account of Constantine’s early years. This is not the only reason why it is important not to exclude it: compared to the other two primary sources discussed above (the Vita Constantini and the Panegyrici Latini) it is exempt from the tendency to an excessive, overt bias that, for differing reasons, characterise both those two sources.

Lastly, and again contrasting against the first two sources that both run the risk of offering only fulsome praise to Constantine, we have the defiantly anti-Constantine, anti-Christian, pagan historian Zosimus, whose Greek language Nea Historia (trans: New History) is our next important primary source. We know very little about Zosimus the man, such as his place or date of birth, but we do know from a ninth century man of letters that Zosimus mainly relied on Eunapius, whom he is said to have copied from extensively. What Zosimus tells us about his own goals as a historian is also a little limited and unclear; he states that he sees a period of roughly fifty years from around the late fourth century to 410 (the year of the sack of Rome, and an entirely unforgettable date for anyone around at the time or afterwards) as being the one in which things fell apart, where the Romans managed to lose the empire ‘by their own crimes’.⁸ In which case, counting back from 410, we arrive at a date roughly around 360. What makes 360 notable as a date is that it ties in with the reign of Julian, the pagan blip on an otherwise unblemished record of Christian emperors post-Constantine. But if this is the case, then it is certainly unclear indeed how Constantine (definitely predating Julian, after all) fits in with this narrative of collapse and the undoing of the Roman Empire.

Furthermore, Zosimus himself seems to have something of an internal intellectual division: although a self-designated historian, keen to record important events as he sees them (and implicit in this is the understanding that human affairs have causality) he yet has a strong belief in fate and thus in the lack of personal, individual or human control over events. For example:

Now no-one will attribute all this [the Romans’ sudden and meteoric rise to prominence] to mere human strength. It must have been the necessity of Fate, or revolutions of the stars, or the will of the gods which favours our actions if they are just. Such actions impose a ‘series of causes’ on future events so that they must turn out in a certain way, and make intelligent men realise that the management of human affairs has been entrusted to some divine providence . . . I must, however, demonstrate the truth of what I say from events themselves.⁹

This leads us to speculate how Zosimus internally reconciles the ‘point’ of history (that is, to explain human events through human, rather than divine, causality) with this tendency towards fatalism.¹⁰ Nevertheless, Zosimus is an important remedy to the praise of the panegyricists and the hagiographical designs of Eusebius, and thus is also a source historians cannot ignore.

Constantine’s family

In the Vita Constantini, Constantine’s family background, starting with Constantine’s father Constantius, is understood by Eusebius as a means to explain Constantine’s own merit. Eusebius therefore reads Constantius as a god-fearing man also, in stark comparison to the other three members of the Tetrarchy. While it is not too hard to see what the aim of Eusebius’ rhetoric is, it does read as a little unlikely. An example of this glorification of Constantine’s family:

When four men shared power in the Roman Empire, this man [Constantius] was the only one who adopted an independent policy and was on friendly terms with the God over all. They besieged and ravaged the churches of God and demolished them from top to bottom, removing the houses of prayer right to their foundations; he kept his hands clean of their sacrilegious impiety and did not resemble them at all.¹¹

Eusebius’ authorial aim is made manifest. Constantine was a glorious follower of God and founder of the faith; because this was so his father was also a righteous man. But Eusebius’ rhetorical goals aside, what do we actually know about Constantine’s parents?

Despite Eusebius’ best efforts at playing up Constantine’s background, especially the piety of his father, it is hard to escape the fact that in reality it was not all that noble or auspicious. Constantine’s father, Constantius Chlorus, was an Illyrian soldier from around the region of Naissus (most likely Constantine’s birthplace). He was a good soldier and had some campaign success in Britain (crushing a revolt against Roman rule there) but was certainly not an aristocrat by any stretch of the imagination, nor was he a cultured man of letters. Having said that, he is also alleged to have had some interest in philosophy, and it seems that monotheism as a concept attracted him. Perhaps, in common with many other Roman soldiers, he had dealings with the cult of Mithras, and there are some overlaps between this and Christianity; enough for him to be able to think himself around to Christianity, though this is speculation.¹² However, this possible sympathy to Christianity, or Christian leanings, clearly provided enough material for Eusebius to be able to write up Constantius as a full Christian, as the quote above makes clear.

With regards to Christianity, Constantine’s mother Helena is rather different, although with regard to her status and background, she did share a little with Constantius. She was from a fairly ignominious background, a low-status young woman whose alleged occupation of stabularia (from the Latin root word stabulum: tavern or inn) probably best translates as ‘tavern woman’ or ‘barmaid’ or ‘guest-house owner’; though possibly there is some implication that this ‘stabulum’, a word with very low connotations, could also be translated as ‘brothel’. If this were the case, it would naturally alter our understanding of the occupation of ‘stabularia’ in this particular context, though again, this is speculative.¹³ Whatever Helena’s actual occupation, there can be no doubt that she came from a low-status background. As a young woman in the Roman Empire of child-bearing age and of limited status, she was also in the ‘target demographic’ for Christian conversion.

Besides questions of meaning and etymology, there is more reason to think, from the original sources, and from what we know about the harsh realities of the Roman Empire, that Constantius and Helena were not married at the time of Constantine’s conception, and so Constantine was illegitimate. From the Origo:

Constantius, a grand-nephew of the divine Claudius [Gothicus] the best of princes, through his brother first became protector, then tribune, and finally governor of the Dalmatians. Then he was made Caesar by Diocletian alongside Galerius. For having left Helena his previous wife, he married Theodora, daughter of Maximianus, by whom he then had six children, who were the brothers of Constantine.¹⁴

Speculation that Constantine was illegitimate is based on the following: Constantius was a higher-ranking, free-born Roman (in his position as an officer in the Roman army) and Helena was certainly not high-ranking socially, so this may well have made it harder for them to marry, or perhaps even unlawful in and of itself. Furthermore, although Helena is referred to as an uxor (trans: lawful wife) or coniunx (trans: consort, spouse) in the epigraphical tradition, and there are historians who follow the implication of this and read Constantine as legitimate, there are other references to her status that are less flattering.¹⁵ For example, the Origo uses the damning superlative adjective vilissima (trans: most base, most vile, most dishonourable) to describe her with regards to her family background, which certainly fits with her class origins and occupation if Ambrose is to be believed.¹⁶ Zosimus, given his bias, reliably accords with this by calling Constantine ‘a son of a harlot’, and the term concubine, which very much does not mean a lawful wife, is also used to describe Helena’s status, though the practice of keeping concubines was certainly not uncommon among high-ranking military men who needed to father a son and preferred not to go to the trouble of remarrying, for whatever reason.¹⁷

Moreover, as the Origo suggests, and as is still a matter of much historical debate, Helena and Constantius’ union seems to have been somewhat brief, from which we can infer that it is possible they were never married in the first place, since Constantius moved on to a far more august marriage in the form of Theodora. Thus, the charge that Constantine was illegitimate certainly carries some weight, though naturally this is something that historians who wish to elevate Constantine for whatever reasons of their own either try to gloss over or brush out entirely. (As a corollary, it is important to recognise that the family connection to Claudius II Gothicus is entirely false and is simply another example of genealogical propaganda, or wishful thinking.)

Among the historians, the continuing debate over the marriage (or not) of Constantine’s parents is made murkier still by the unclear dating of the following marriage between Theodora and Constantius. The proposed date of 293 for the marriage of Constantius (and also for that of his fellow Caesar, Galerius) is not now considered to be all that possible, and the actual date for Constantius’ marriage is to be a few years earlier. The historical source evidence for this is convoluted to say the least, but it would seem that the marriages of both Galerius and Constantius did come before their promotion to high rank, but that having this kind of connection to the purple still brought with it the possibility of advantage.

Theodora was the step-daughter of Maximian (in Latin: privigna rather than filia–daughter–though it is possible she could have actually been the latter rather than the former), and clearly this was more auspicious for Constantius since Theodora was of a better background than Helena. As the Origo also notes, the young Theodora proved herself to be an ideal Roman wife, to say nothing of her family connections: she gave birth to six children, and she was most likely only around age seventeen when she started doing this.

Meanwhile, Helena was not exactly forgotten, though she was out of the way with her son Constantine, both in Nicomedia, where they were dispatched and where he grew up. In this time, Helena probably became a Christian convert; a decisive occurrence which if indeed the case would prove to be formative on Constantine’s own upbringing, his early years and thus his subsequent military career.

Women and Christianity

What is the evidence that Helena’s conversion may have predated Constantine’s? There are some Roman sociological realities to consider; Helena fell into the ideal target demographic for Christian conversion, and some examination of the reasons why are worth delving into here. Firstly, the most important factor is certainly gender. Although there are no hard and fast census data to validate this proposition, it was women who made up the majority of Christian converts in the early Church, and they were certainly crucial in the spread of Christianity, from family member to family member.¹⁸ Indeed, early detractors of Christianity before Constantine’s time pointed to this fact as supporting evidence for the inferiority of Christian doctrine and practice. It was an old piece of Greco-Roman misogyny to portray women as more credulous or less rational than men. For example, the pagan firebrand Celsus, quoted by the Christian apologist Origen in the Contra Celsus writes:

By the fact that they themselves [Christians] admit that these people [any member of an out-group] are worthy of the God, they show that they want and are able to convince only the foolish, dishonourable and stupid, and only slaves, women and little children.¹⁹

What is notable here from