mountainman

Introduction

The following brief sketch of the life and times of Constantine has been prepared based on a number of sources for the purpose of providing a background to perhaps the most intelligent supreme imperial mafia thug that the world had ever seen, or has ever seen since. It is our thesis that Constantine sponsored a number of initiatives during his reign, including the creation from the whole cloth the gospels, the acts of the apostles and the entire new testament, equipped with quick-reference canon tables, a comprehensive history of the new Roman religion, and a host of other fictitious literature to support many of the various events mentioned in the history.

Additionally, our thesis is that Constantine sponsored the perversion of the extant patristic literature and manuscripts, of Jewish and Roman historians and writers, by the fraudulent interpolation of "christian references" into these extant manuscripts, during the early part of the fourth century.

The purpose of this sketch is to provide a background to some of the more relevant initiatives that Constantine implemented, that are accepted more or less by most modern historians.

Here is a very brief summary time-line for Constantine:

Event-Date Description of Event ........................................


272-282? Born son of Constatius Chlorus ("Son of a goat-herder from the Danube lands")
293 Father ascends to Tetrarchy (293-306) ... Briton
306 Acclaimed as "Augusta" by his army in Briton.

312 Defeats Maxentius and takes Rome.
313 Edict of Christianity first appears in Rome as a beta-site.
311-317 Massive literature generation program for new Roman religion
318 Literature and propaganda sent to the Eastern empire - Arian Controversy

324 Defeats Lucinius - becomes supreme imperial ruler of the empire.
325 Personal summons issued by Constantine to attendees at Council of Nicaea.
325 Council of Nicaea.

326 Founding of Constantinople - "The City of Constantine" (remained unconquered 1453 CE)
337 Death of Constantine (Buried in his Church of the Holy Apostles)



Breaking of Traditional Political Order

Constantine wanted to reform the entire Roman political system
into a new order and arrangement which was suitable for himself
at the time and set about achieving this by a number of reforms:


Separation of Military and Civilian management

Under the traditional political order, power was distributed across many provincial regions of the empire, by means of provincial governors, who reported directly to the emperor. These governors previously were responsible for both the civilian and the military matters within that province. Constantine separated the civilian and military management at the provincial level by creating a separate position for each task, both of whom reported separately and directly to the emperor. The regional imperial power was purposefully thus divided by Constantine in order to rule and at the same time strengthen the empire from siezure (challenges from other mafia thugs with large armies).


Dismantled the Praetorian Guard

The Praetorian guard traditionally protected the emperor, and represented one of the top echalons of service in the system of the Roman army. This system was disbanded by Constantine, and prefects who once acted as Constantine's personal bodyguard were deployed in these roles of civil administration across the empire. A new select number of personal bodyguards were appointed, largely from his mercanery barbarian chieftans, to surround him on practically all occassions.


Newly created Civil Service posts

An entirely new series of personal "Counts" (comites) were appointed throughout the empire who personally reported to Constantine, in various matters. A Count of the Private Purse managed Constantine's private revenue, while Counts of the Church Purse managed income from the newly created churches throughout the empire (See below). A Master of Offices was required to manage the explosion of imperially appointed administrative positions created by Constantine. A further series of Counts were appointed to posts of spies and agents throughout the empire, and beyond, while another series of Counts were commissioned to administer the function of tax collectors. (See TAX below). Additionally, Constantine increased the number in the Rome Senatorial class from 600 to 2000. The net effect of all this was a massively increased administration layer, within which corruption was inevitable. These changes thus had within them the seeds of an inevitable breakdown of the traditional law and order of the empire.


New Personal Taxation initiatives

The traditional system of taxation under Diocletian involved a fixed annual payment assessed according to the amount of land, which was payable each four years. To this tax Constantine introduced a new poll tax per citizen of the empire. The newly expanded and wealthy Senatorial class was also subjected to an extra tax. Tax collection officials were thus required to police the new taxation system. The tax evasion penalties were severe: 5 times the required amount became payable on failure to pay the default tax, and in other cases, the penalty was death.

Additionally, Constantine required payment of all taxes in either gold or silver, which forced great hardship on the lower classes, whom traditionally traded in bronze coins. Constantine melted down gold from the traditional Hellenic temples and sanctuaries to make gold coins. He devalued gold from 60 gold pieces per pound (under Diocletian) to 72 gold pieces per pound. Bronze coins lost all value in the empire, and in many parts of the empire the economy became devastated. In Campania, Italy, there were massive instances of bankruptcy and dispossession of lands.

A tax free status was enjoyed by all the new bishops and priests
of the new Roman religion, and in respect of all lands associated
with the new Roman religion.


New Personal and Geographical Restrictions

Constantine's new policies resulted in a great restriction of movement within the empire, such that geographic and social fixity was promoted by the policies mentioned above, particularly taxation, and the availability of new vocations to the people of the empire. Family jobs were inherited. The positions of the fathers being filled by their sons, in trade, in administration and in the army. Movement within the empire was essentially forbidden. In this manner Constantine wished to seek an imperial controlled stability in the social order, to maximise the new taxation regimes, and to minimise the evolution of power which might rise up against his regimes.

Constantine enjoyed imperial power in the western empire for some 19 years before his supremacy over the entire east-west empire in 324 CE. At this time, he then summoned the Council of Nicaea, and set in place a supreme imperial administrative regime which was to remain and establish itself for the next 13 years until his death, and then be carried on by his son Constantius II, who ruled the empire, sometimes with assistance, for the next 24 years, when in 361 CE, the emperor Julian briefly ruled. These time spans represented a number of generations for the people of the empire, and during this period, the new political and social and religious orders initiated by Constantine, were imposed and maintained by imperial power.



Breaking of Traditional (Hellenic) Religious Order

Constantine wanted to reform the traditional Hellenic religious order
into a new Roman religious order and set about achieving this
by converting his subjects to the new Roman religion
by means of appeal to the people
in a number of very concrete ways:


Building of Churches (Basilicas)

Constantine constructed hundreds of brand new churches throughout the empire, usually on separate lands outside the walls of existent cities and towns. Examples of these brand new churches constructed by Constantine are:

* Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, Israel
* Basilica of the Holy Apostles, Constantinople
* Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, Rome
* Basilica of St. Peter, Vatican Valley, Rome
* Basilica of St. Lorenzo, Rome
* Basilica of St. Sebastiano
* Basilica of St. Marcellino
* Basilica of St. Pietro
* Basilica of St. John, Laterano (over barracks of Maxentius' soldiers)
* Basilica of St. Maxentius
* Basilica of Santa Sophia
* Basilica of St. Constantine, Rome


Personal Appointment of his Bishops

Constantine personally appointed his Bishops in the new Roman religion. Each Bishop was responsible for a small region called a diocese, and enjoyed the local control of the area in all matters of Roman religion. The more important administration responsibilities was work involving financial and administration duties. In total it has been estimated that the empire hosted in this fashion as many as 1800 of Constantine's new bishops. Constantine often referred to himself as "Bishop of bishops", the reference having two-fold significance in that the Greek "episkopos" (bishop) also means "spy".

That he was perceived to be involved in their activities, was also associated with the extremely desireable tax-free status that this new Roman religious order enjoyed. Promotions to the positions available in the new Roman religious order were thus advantageous for the wealthy.


Bribery to accept the new Roman religious order and Roman rule

When he came into conflict with barabarians such as the Samatians Constantine bribed them with gold to accept the new Roman religion and Roman rule. These tactics were very expensive and rarely succeeded in preventing trouble. This conversion to the new Roman religious order (ie: christianity) of the barbarians gave them automatic admission into Constantine's armies. As a result the Roman armies consisted of an increasing number of Germanic tribesmen.


Plunder of traditional Hellenic temples and shrines

Constantine needed gold to pay for his construction of new churches for his new Roman religious order, for the construction of his new imperial city Constantinople, for the massive empire wide administration payroll for both the civilian posts and the military posts, for the bribes in gold given to the barbarians, and for other general expenses.

Constantine commenced a plunder on the ancient Hellenic traditional temples, shrines, lands and literature, which was to last well beyond his lifetime. The gold was melted down to gold coins. Further details, tracking the continued plunder of the ancient traditional Hellenic religious order and its treasures, from Constantine through the next few hundred years, by the new Roman religious order, may be found here:
http://www.mountainman.com.au/essenes/article_060.htm


Execution of Hellenic priest/philosopher and others ...

Constantine had the Hellenic philosopher Sopater executed in 332 CE in the new city of Constantinople. In 310 he was responsible for the suicide of his father-in-law Maximian, in 325 he had his brother-in-law Lucinius strangled. In 326, within a year of the Council of Nicaea, he ordered the killing of his eldest son Crispus, and then in the same year, had his wife Fausta strangled.

The reason for the murders is unclear, but what is clear is the fact
that Constantine's authority over all other people in the empire
was total and that, during his supremacy, he wielded
an absolute power.




Pete Brown
http://www.mountainman.com.au/essenes/article_002.htm

No Robots

Let us not forget that Constantine's legislation includes:

• universal religious toleration (Edict of Milan)
  
• abolition of crucifixion
  
• prohibition on branding of the face
  
• access to sunlight for prisoners
  
• prevention of cruelty to animals
  
• Sunday made a legal holiday
  
• transition from empire to federation

See The Christianity of Constantine the Great (or via: amazon.co.uk) / T.G. Elliott.

Roger Pearse

Also making it illegal to rape your female slaves, although whether that will gain him much goodwill among posters here may be queried.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

mountainman

Elliott provides plenty of scholarship to consider the
importance of his (Constantine's) religious service,
but fails to countenance the religious disservice
enacted upon the empire by the intelligent thug
in the fraudulent misrepresentation of the scholarship
of the ancient authors of antiquity.


Pete Brown
AUTHORS of ANTIQUITY:
http://www.mountainman.com.au/essenes/article_029.htm

Gamera

No Robots, you're going to make mountainman's head hurt with real facts. Conspiracy theorist are required to take facts and somehow weave them into the conspiracy. So he's going to have to work on this for a while and figure out a way to show that these valuable progressive policies were in fact a trick to further the great decievers larger scheme. Let's all sit back and watch it happen.

arricchio

My trouble with arguments like these is that they give Constantine far too much credit. They assume that Constantine had a firm knowledge of theology and a clear agenda for advancing it. Neither of which I think he had.

I had the privilege of having Professor Warren Treadgold as a history instructor at Saint Louis University for a number of courses including Early Medieval History and Byzantine History (his specialty). He is the author of this book (or via: amazon.co.uk): A History of the Byzantine State and Society, among others.

Dr. Treadgold describes Constantine as militarily and politically skilled, but as having neither the intellect, nor the patience for understanding theological complexities.

On Constantine at his conversion, he says:
On Constantine's character and educational background, he says:
On Constantine' handling of the Arian controversy he says:
During the Council of Nicea, Constantine was indecisive. Less concerned with theological correctness, his primary goal was to keep the peace within the church. He at first sought to appease both sides, then sided with the faction that seemed the more powerful.
Constantine would later reverse himself and allowed Arius to return, only to reverse himself again, and order Arius exiled once more.

Dr. Treadgold concludes:
If Dr. Treadgold seems hard on Constantine, consider that his view is much more moderate than that of the great Jacob Burkhardt's, a generaton earilier. Treadgold at least accepts that Constantine was a true, if somewhat bewildered, convert to Christianity. Burkhardt didn't:
Rather than being highly intelligent, Constantine seems to have had no skills as a theologian whatsoever. When presented with differing arguments, he couldn't decide which was best based on the theological merits of the arguments alone. And so, he waffled between Eusebius' views and Hosius'. When he behaved like a "thug" it was because he had grown impatient with troublesome bishops (like Arius) whose problem was not so much that they were wrong, but that they refused to be agreeable.

GakuseiDon

Perhaps it wasn't Constantine who was the imperial thug. Julian was supposedly a very intelligent guy. I suggest that it was Julian who was the intelligent supreme mafia thug.

Consider that Julian restored pagan temples and worship. It makes sense that, at the same time, he tried to destroy Christianity's past. Early Christian architecture -- pulled down! Papias's works -- destroyed! All of Paul's letters where he talks about "Jesus of Nazareth", Calvery, etc -- shredded! Jesus' letters to the King Agbar -- gone! He had the means, the motive and the opportunity. It all makes sense! (Well, as much sense as the Constantine Conspiracy)

There is no evidence of Julian destroying early Christian literature, because the later Christians were too embarrassed to mention it. Fortunately, some copies of Eusebius's work survived.

It makes more sense that Julian was the highly intelligent supreme imperial mafia thug. So, MountainMan, what do you think of my Julian Conspiracy?

youngalexander

I would like to see some archeological evidence.
As it happens, in the case of MM's conspiracy, it seems that I already have.
a question of objectivity

Newton's Cat

I wonder if Constantine and his crowd were aware that the earliest Christian texts (e.g. The Gospel of Mark, Romans, etc.,) were created by the interpolation of references to Jesus Christ, etc., into pre-existing non-Christian texts - by a single individual?

Did Constantine know who started Christianity, who invented the character Jesus Christ?

mountainman

IMO Constantine started christianity in order to break
the grip of the traditional Hellenic religious orders upon
the empire, to provide a true and correct supreme and
imperial ROMAN religion, which was not new and strange,
but was really ancient and traditional.

In this way, he justified plunder of the traditional temples
and treasures, and got an opportunity to burn and/or
repackage all thr Second Sophistic greek religious and
philosophical revival literature (eg: recycled the gnostic
writings). Particularly targetted were the extant writings
of Apollonius of Tyana, and his biographies, and letters.

IMO Constantine sponsored what Julian later called
"the fabrication of the Galiliaeans - a fiction of men
composed by wickedness", out of the whole cloth, and
used non christian philosophical writings to do so.





Pete Brown