Romans + Christianity

[Theodosius the Great]

Although I must further reduce my personal activities, I'll continue to study early Christianity & Late Roman art/homes/clothing/etc., and keep related website link lists in my personal website: 3a66db63]http://home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-Restitvtvs[/url]. Hope these websites help you & your good works. Pax vobiscvm, +r

I really dig this image of Christ - it's so unconventional even in Roman art to my knowledge. We see him from time to time in Imperial (purple) robes but not in Imperial military garb. 8)

I just think it was incredibly foolish of Constantine to move the capital of Rome from Rome to what he called Constantinople.

I, too, would have preferred that Rome would've remained the capital of the Empire (not just the symbolic capital), but I hardly think it's fair to blame Constantine for moving it "from Rome" since he wasn't the one who actually did this. Rome ceased to be the functioning capital in the third century AD. When Constantine refounded Byzantium as "New Rome" no one thought it would become a permanent capital. In fact, he didn't spend too much time in the city and very few senators accepted his invitation to transfer their residence there. It became the real capital of the Eastern Empire and only after his death since his son and successors decided to make the city their seat of power.

Since the empire split permanently between East and West I don't think it really matters. Diocletian had his way in the end and Constantine's reunification of the Empire was only temporary. Ultimately, it turned out ot be a good thing for Western Europe that the East survived with its own capital since the latter was the main shield or buffer zone between it and the onslaught of the armies of Islam, IMO.

what a humble guy huh?

He didn't name it "Constantinople" but "Nova Roma." It was renamed after his death, but you're right nevertheless. He was considered vain even in his own time, but most Emperors were - in this respect he was not the exception :wink:

but anyways, anything Roman is good, that's why I joined this forum

Glad to have you here.