The fall of the house of Constantine (c. 330-363 A.D.)
This thesis is a revisionist account of the political history of the Roman Empire, from the later years of Constantine to the eve of Rome's disastrous invasion of Persia. It is a study of the reigns and governments of Constantius II, Constans, and Julian: of what they hoped to do and what they actually succeeded in doing. Necessarily, it is also the story of the men who staffed their administrations and led their armies, and of how emperors interacted with their servants. It is an attempt to probe the limits of what Roman rulers might achieve and understand the nature of the constraints under which they laboured: a study of political action and the context of political action. It is based on a comprehensive re-examination of the source material for the period: on the detailed work of re-dating, of re-categorising, and of critical analysis. At its simplest, its argument is very simple indeed: these three decades and their political history have been misunderstood. Constantius II and Constans were much more capable, much more interesting rulers than their caricatures in the sources, and cooperated successfully for their decade of diarchy. The terrible crisis which engulfed the Roman world after 350, reveals
Woudhuysen, George
The fall of the house of Constantine (c. 330-363 A.D.). This thesis is a revisionist account of the political history of the Roman Empire, from the later years of Constantine to the eve of Rome's disastrous invasion of Persia. It is a study of the reigns and governments of Constantius II, Constans, and Julian: of what they hoped to do and what they actually succeeded in doing. Necessarily, it is also the story of the men who staffed their administrations and led their armies, and of how emperors interacted with their servants. It is an attempt to probe the limits of what Roman rulers might achieve and understand the nature of the constraints under which they laboured: a study of political action and the context of political action. It is based on a comprehensive re-examination of the source material for the period: on the detailed work of re-dating, of re-categorising, and of critical analysis. At its simplest, its argument is very simple indeed: these three decades and their political history have been misunderstood. Constantius II and Constans were much more capable, much more interesting rulers than their caricatures in the sources, and cooperated successfully for their decade of diarchy. The terrible crisis which engulfed the Roman world after 350, reveals
fall house constantine revisionist account political_history roman_empire constantine eve rome disastrous invasion persia study reign government julian hop actually succeed necessarily also story men staff administration lead army emperor interact servant attempt probe limit roman ruler might achieve nature constraint labour study political_action context political_action base comprehensive re_examination source_material period detailed work dating critical_analysis argument simple indeed political_history misunderstood much capable much interesting ruler source cooperate successfully decade crisis roman_world reveals