mountainman

You will note that circa 324-330 CE Constantine thought
of himself not as an emperor, but as a king.

(325AD) Letter of Constantine the King, summoning the bishops to Nicaea.

Synopsis: This is translated from a Syriac ms. in the British Museum, written in 501. Gives as reason for the choice of Nicæa the convenience for the European bishops and “the excellent temperature of the air.” This, if genuine, is the letter mentioned by Eusebius in his Life of Constantine but it looks suspicious.

"That there is nothing more honourable in my sight than the fear of God, I believe is manifest to every man. Now, because the Synod of Bishops at Ancyra, of Galatia, consented at first that it should be, it now seems on many accounts that it would be well for a Synod to assemble at Nicea, a city of Bithynia, both because the Bishops of Italy and the rest of the countries of Europe are coming, and also because of the excellent temperature of the air, and also because I shall be present as a spectator and participator of what is done. Wherefore I signify to you, my beloved brethren, that I earnestly wish all of yon to assemble at this city which is named, that is at Nicea. Let every one of you therefore, considering that which is best, as I before said, be diligent without any delay speedily to come, that he may be present in his own person as a spectator of what is done. God keep you, my beloved brethren."

(From B. H. Cowper’s, Syriac Miscellanies, The Council Of Nicea. Extracts From The Codex Syriacus 38 In The Imperial Library At Paris, p.249)

You will note that he does not mention any eastern bishops.
That all the bishops of the new and strange religion were
from his western empire.

We believe he is writing to important, probably patrician-level
people (landholders, administrators, civilian leaders and others)
of the eastern empire which he had just made his own.

Nicaea was the place selected by Constantine to haul everyone
in from the eastern empire who was important (318 people?)
and then tell them how the new regime was going to operate
now that he was the boss.

A perusal of The Letters of Constantine
should find that he writes as a "King" also after the council.

But perhaps the greatest iota of historical evidence that Constantine
saw himself as a King and not an emperor is a coin he had issued from
his Constantinople mint, called the Daphne, from 327-330 CE.

Of this coin, McGregor, John. "Constantiniana Dafne: A Different Point of View". Journal for the Society of Ancient Numismatics Vol. XV, No. 3 (Fall 1984): 44-46. convincingly shows how this coin is a rejection of paganism and translates the reverse legend, loosely, as INFORMATION ABOUT, OF OR FROM DAPHNE PERTAINING TO CONSTANTINE. This coin is a personal statement from Constantine explaining why he gave up the laurel headress and replaced it with the diadem.

For further information see http://www.constantinethegreatcoins.com/hist/hist.html or http://www.constantinethegreatcoins....tml/dafne.html




Pete Brown
The Authors of Antiquity

Clivedurdle

What is this word "Europe" above and when was it first used?

mountainman

Good question, the answer to which I have no idea whatsoever.
However I'd guess it is what Constantine means as "his own empire"
in the west, which would have included all of lower Europe through
to the British Isles. That land was already his, and very securely
held in his power. To him it was one land --- his own.

Constantine wrote in Latin, but I have no idea whether you'd
find the Latin of this letter anywhere. On the other hand, if
you find it somewhere, I'd be interested in its translation.

Also, a little on the use of the word "King", which is how
Constantine is clearly seeing himself at and around the time
of the Council of Nicaea. The Daphne coinage reinforces this
circa 327-330.



Pete