d:/3cameron/pre.3d ± 6/7/99 ± 14:51 ± disk/mp CLARENDON ANCIENT HISTORY SERIES General Editors Brian Bosworth Miriam Grin David Whitehead Susan Treggiari d:/3cameron/pre.3d ± 6/7/99 ± 14:51 ± disk/mp The aim of the CLARENDON ANCIENT HISTORY SERIES is to provide authoritative translations, introductions, and commentaries to a wide range of Greek and Latin texts studied by ancient historians. The books will be of interest to scholars, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates. d:/3cameron/pre.3d ± 6/7/99 ± 14:51 ± disk/mp e u s e b i u s Life of Constantine Introduction, translation, and commentary by Averil Cameron and Stuart G. Hall C L A R E N D O N P R E S S ´ O X F O R D 1 9 9 9 d:/3cameron/pre.3d ± 6/7/99 ± 14:51 ± disk/mp 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford and furthers the University's aim of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogota Buenos Aires Calcutta Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Paris SaÄ o Paulo Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York # Averil Cameron and Stuart Hall 1999 The moral rights of the authors have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 1999 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organizations. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose the same conditions on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Eusebius, of Caesarea, Bishop of Caesarea, ca. 260±ca. 340. [Life of Constantine. English] Life of Constantine / Eusebius; introduction, translation, and commentary by Averil Cameron and Stuart G. Hall. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Constantine I, Emperor of Rome, d. 337. 2. EmperorsÐRomeÐ Biography. 3. RomeÐHistoryÐConstantine I, the Great, 306±337. I. Cameron, Averil. II. Hall, Stuart George. III. Title. DG315.E8913 1999 937'.08'092±dc21 99±21397 ISBN 0-19-814971-4 ISBN 0-19-814924-7 pbk 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 Typeset by Joshua Associates Ltd., Oxford Printed in Great Britain on acid-free paper by Bookcraft (Bath) Ltd., Midsomer Norton d:/3cameron/pref.3d ± 6/7/99 ± 14:51 ± disk/mp P R E F A C E The work known as the Life of Constantine is the most important source for the reign of Constantine the Great and particularly for his support of Christianity. It is, however, controversial. Its author, Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, is often, though mistakenly, regarded on the strength of it as Constan- tine's ocial propagandist; in contrast some have thought the work so distorted and unfair that they have denied that Eusebius could have written it. Surprisingly, however, while there is a long bibliography of studies devoted to the question of its authenticity, no English commentary exists, and no English translation has been attempted for over a century. It is the aim of the present work to make the Life accessible to students and scholars alike, and to make use of the large amount of recent work on Constantine's reign and especially on the particular aspects described there. We are fortunate in that there is an excellent recent critical edition of the Greek text by Friedhelm Winkel- mann, and this is the basis of our translation and commentary, with only a few variations, all of which are discussed in the appropriate places. Eusebius' Greek is often obscure and equally often pretentious; we have not tried to gild the lily but to stay close to the original in the hope of conveying its very character- istic tone. The commentary seeks to explain and elucidate the content; it could of course have been very much more detailed. The present work is the result of a collaboration between two scholars with somewhat diering approaches, drawn from the history of late antiquity and the history of the early Church respectively. We consider this to be a great advantage in under- standing Eusebius' manner of writing, and while some parts of what follows may owe more to one of the authors than to the other, we haveÐperhaps surprisinglyÐsucceeded in reaching agreement on all matters of substance. Perhaps the most striking result of working on the project has been the full realization of the complex relation between Eusebius' own writings, and between the Life and the ecclesiastical and theological context in which it was written. Thanks and acknowledgements are due to colleagues and d:/3cameron/pref.3d ± 6/7/99 ± 14:51 ± disk/mp vi p r e f a c e friends. Several seminars have contributed to the work's gesta- tion, at King's College London (where the authors were col- leagues until Averil Cameron moved to Oxford and Stuart Hall retired to Scotland), the Institute of Classical Studies, the University of California at Berkeley, Macquarie University, the ColleÁ ge de France, and the University of Warwick, as well as audiences at the Oxford Patristic Conference, and the Triennial Conference at Oxford and at the University of Bergen. Stuart Hall would also like to thank King's College London for a term's study-leave to work on the Life. Among individuals we would like to thank J. J. Arce, T. D. Barnes, whose important book Constantine and Eusebius (1981) has done so much to stimulate a new interest in the subject, Andrew Burnett, Paul Cartledge, Hal Drake, Jan Willem Drijvers, Sam Lieu, Raoul Mortley, Samuel Rubenson, Hans-Ulrich Wiemer, Brian Warmington and Anna Wilson. Richard Burgess kindly allowed us to see work in advance of publication and we are especially grateful to Martin Biddle for his advice, and for allowing us to see the proofs of his forthcoming book. Brenda Hall provided the excellent index. Finally, our grateful thanks are due to the various members of the seminars, especially Charlotte Roueche , Richard Price, Scott Bradbury, Judith Evans-Grubbs, and Michael Hollerich. A.C., S.G.H. Keble College, Oxford Elie, Fife July 1998 d:/3cameron/pre2.3d ± 6/7/99 ± 14:51 ± disk/mp C O N T E N T S List of Illustrations viii Abbreviations ix Note to Translation xv Introduction 1 Chapter Headings 54 TRANSLATION Book I 67 Book II 94 Book III 120 Book IV 153 COMMENTARY Book I 183 Book II 230 Book III 253 Book IV 308 Bibliography 351 Index 365 d:/3cameron/pre2.3d ± 6/7/99 ± 14:51 ± disk/mp L I S T O F I L L U S T R A T I O N S Figures 1. Gold medallion from Arras, showing the entry of Constantius Chlorus into London, ad 293. Trustees of the British Museum. 194 2. Constantinople, ad 326±7. Labarum piercing a serpent. Trustees of the British Museum. 209 3. Ticinum, silver medallion of Constantine with chi-rho, ad 315. Staatliche MuÈ nzsammlung, Munich. 211 4. Arch of Constantine, Rome, ad 315. Courtauld Institute of Art. 216 5. Colossal head of Constantine. Rome, Palazzo dei Conservatori. 218 6. Silver dish with inscription of Licinius. Trustees of the British Museum. 225 7. Mosaic map from Madaba, Jordan, 6th century, showing church of Holy Sepulchre. Courtesy of Fr M. Piccirillo. 286 8. Constantine's complex at the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, with the Rotunda of the Anastasis (the Resurrection) as completed in the later 4th century, after V. C. Corbo, Il Santo Sepolchro di Gerusalemme (1981) and R. Ousterhout, `The Temple, the Sepulchre and the Martyrion of the Saviour', Gesta, 29/1 (1990), 44±53, with modi®cations. Drawn by Steven Ashley. Courtesy of Professor M. Biddle. 288 9. Siscia, gold medallion of Constantine with uplifted head, ad 326. Trustees of the British Museum. 316 10. (a) Nicomedia, ad 336±7, gloria exercitus type, obv. (b) Same, rev. Trustees of the British Museum. 336 11. (a) Consecratio coin of Constantine, obv., Constantine with veiled head. (b) Rev., with chariot ascending to heaven and hand of God descending. Byzantine Collection, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC. 346 Map General map of the Empire under Constantine xvi d:/3cameron/pre2.3d ± 6/7/99 ± 14:51 ± disk/mp A B B R E V I A T I O N S I. Eusebius, Vita Constantini: Editions and Translations Heikel I. A. Heikel, Eusebius Werke I. UÈ ber das Leben Constantins, Constantins Rede an die heilige Versammlung. Tricennatsrede an Constantin, GCS Eusebius, i ( Leipzig, 1902). Winkelmann F. Winkelmann, UÈ ber das Leben des Kaisers Konstantins, GCS Eusebius, 1/1 (Berlin, 1975, rev. 1992). Bagster/ The Life of Constantine by Eusebius, together with the Oration Richardson of Constantine to the assembly of the Saints and the Oration of Eusebius in Praise of Constantine, rev. translation, with prolegomena and notes by E. C. Richardson, NPNF 2/1 (New York, 1890), 405±632. Tartaglia L. Tartaglia, Eusebio di Cesarea, Sulla Vita di Costantino, introd., trans., and notes, Koinonia, 8 (Naples, 1984).