Constantine and the Cities: Imperial Authority and Civic Politics by Noel Lenski

Abstract

Reviewed by: Constantine and the Cities: Imperial Authority and Civic Politics by Noel Lenski Robert R. Chenault Constantine and the Cities: Imperial Authority and Civic Politics. By Noel Lenski. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 2016. Pp. ix, 404. $79.95. ISBN 978-0-8122-4777-0.) The emperor Constantine continues to engender productive debate among historians of the later Roman Empire. Noel Lenski's outstanding new study will be required reading for scholars working on Constantine, late Roman imperial administration, civic identity in the provinces, and the rise of bishops as civic leaders in the fourth century. In contrast to recent approaches that have downplayed the degree to which Christianity was the driving force behind Constantine's policies, Lenski returns to a more traditional view. What is distinctive about Lenski's approach, however, is his reliance on "secular" evidence, especially laws, to establish Constantine's Christian credentials. The heart of Lenski's study is his analysis of a number of interactions between Constantine and the cities of his empire. He argues that Constantine usually preferred carrots to sticks, skillfully leveraging imperial resources to "push cities into actualizing his own conversion at the local level" (p. 179) while largely resisting the temptation to impose his will on recalcitrant subjects. In particular, he demonstrates how Constantine promoted Christianity by using "the tools of law and normative communication available to him by virtue of his office to effect changes in the landscape and culture of cities" (p. 281). Crucial to this approach is Lenski's [End Page 330] understanding of imperial power as constituted and mediated through language; in the dialogues between Constantine and his cities, each side was obliged to take into account the expectations of the other. Such a model allows for complexity in both the messages Constantine disseminated and the responses they generated. Not only were there many different layers in the complex and evolving "archaeology of Constantine's public personality" (p. 47), but cities might engage with those messages selectively and in accordance with their own priorities. Thus Lenski is able to account for evidence that often has been used to question Constantine's commitment to Christianity. For example, Lenski argues that the famous rescript to Hispellum—by which Constantine permitted a city in central Italy to build a temple to himself and his family during the last years of his reign—exemplifies precisely the sort of compromise that was at the heart of Roman imperial governance, for the permission was paired with an important caveat, which Lenski interprets as a prohibition on blood sacrifice at the new temple. Constantine's response to Hispellum's petition was therefore consistent with both the traditional policy of emperors to favor the requests of supportive cities and his desire to chip away at traditional religious practices whenever possible (p. 127). At the same time, Lenski is careful to avoid portraying Constantine as an all-powerful mastermind. To the contrary, he characterizes Constantine's open-handed conferral of powers, privileges, and patronage on the Church and its bishops as stemming from an almost naive exuberance; many of these measures had to be scaled back by his successors because they turned out to be excessive and unaffordable (p. 206). Moreover, Lenski illustrates the degree to which Constantine's ability to bend powerful bishops to his will was inherently limited; it was often Constantine who was being manipulated as rival bishops by turns enlisted his support, defied his authority, or used him to attack each other (p. 283). In sum, Lenski's compelling interpretation of Constantine as both an energetic promoter of Christianity and a political pragmatist successfully unites two facets of this complex emperor that have often been regarded as contradictory. While ecclesiastical scholars may regret the lack of attention given to theological controversies, Lenski's study superbly elucidates Constantine's approach to ecclesiastical conflicts and his own understanding of his role as the first Christian emperor of Rome. Robert R. Chenault Willamette University Copyright © 2017 The Catholic University of America Press