Constantine the Great is a fascinating and in depth historical examination of the reorganisation of the Empire after its catastrophic fall, and the subsequent triumph of the Christian Church.
Firth, in a grounded approach to the period, questions whether Constantine really did deserve his epithet âthe Greatâ in real life, leaving it to his readers to make up their own minds.
What he does assert, though, is that under Constantineâs auspices, one of the most momentous upheavals in history took place. Constantineâs conversion to Christianity â the first of any Roman Emperor â caused shockwaves across the Roman world, and it is this that makes this period such an exciting and important area of study.
John B. Firth, a scholar of Queenâs College, Oxford, authored several other titles including Augusts Caesar, studied closely vast and numerous original authorities, all of whom, he jokes, âwere bitter and malevolent partisansâ. With the truth thus so distorted by personal agendas and decayed through the annals of time, Firth made it his priority to meticulously research with an impartial eye in order to produce the most historically accurate account. Constantine the Great is wonderful feat of scholarship, and a must-read for any Roman enthusiast.