Political Memory and the Constantinian Dynasty : Fashioning Disgrace

This book is an exploration of political memory and disgrace in the reigns of Constantine and his sons. It uses the conditions of the early to mid-fourth century to argue that the deconstruction of political legitimacy should be viewed, first and foremost, as a collective phenomenon, the result of the actions of a diverse range of people responding to political change. It also challenges many positivist and teleological narratives of the ‘Age of Constantine’. Shifting the focus from the emperor and his sons onto their rivals and opponents, the Constantinian dynasty is placed back into the messy and ambiguous political environment from which it emerged. Acknowledgements 7 Contents 9 Abbreviations 11 List of Figures 12 List of Tables 15 1 Introduction 16 Political Memory, Disgrace, and Oblivion 22 Terminology 26 Discourses of Disgrace 28 Agency in Iconoclasm Discourses 29 Political Disgrace in Christian Discourse 34 Central Direction and Local Action 36 The Materiality of Disgrace 41 Portraits 41 Coinage 43 The Power of the Imperial Name 45 Erasing Inscriptions 47 Milestones 51 A Note on Epigraphic Methodology 52 References 54 2 Maximian 64 The Fall of Maximian 65 Disgrace and Iconoclasm 69 Maximian’s Disgrace in Constantine’s Territories 73 Civil War and the Spectre of Maximian 82 Maximian’s Disgrace in the Wider Roman World 90 The Overall Picture 91 The Diocesis Italiae and the City of Rome 95 The Diocesis Africae 102 The Rest of the Empire 104 Rehabilitating Maximian? 110 Conclusion: The Blurred Lines of Disgrace 120 References 121 3 Licinius 126 Licinius and Constantine 127 Civil War and a New Alliance 133 Licinius and the Law 143 The Disgrace of Licinius 147 The Overall Picture 147 Licinius Iunior 150 The Western Empire 152 The Central Empire 157 The Eastern Empire 162 Conclusion: The Emperor Vanishes 171 References 172 4 Crispus 177 Crispus and Constantine 179 Silence and Scandal: Crispus’ Downfall in Ancient Accounts 185 Treason and Condemnation: Modern Interpretations 192 Crispus as a Disgraced Figure 196 Crispus and the Licinii 197 Crispus and the Constantinian Family 202 Conclusion: Constantinian Disgrace 221 References 222 5 Magnentius 226 Magnentius’ Supporters 230 The Disgrace of Constans 246 The Disgrace of Magnentius 263 Conclusion: The Limits of Disgrace 273 References 274 6 Epilogue 279 References 282 Appendix 1: Maximian 284 Appendix 2: Licinius 298 Appendix 3: Crispus 314 Appendix 4: Dating Decentius’ Elevation as Caesar 323 Bibliography 325 Index 350