A radical and powerful reappraisal of the impact of Constantine.s adoption
of Christianity on the later Roman world, and on the subsequent development
both of Christianity and of Western civilization.When the Emperor Contstantine
converted to Christianity in 368 AD, he changed the course of European history
in ways that continue to have repercussions to the present day. Adopting those
aspects of the religion that suited his purposes, he turned Rome on a course
from the relatively open, tolerant and pluralistic civilization of
the Hellenistic world, towards a culture that was based on the rule of fixed
authority, whether that of the Bible, or the writings of Ptolemy in astronomy
and of Galen and Hippocrates in medicine. Only a thousand years later, with
the advent of the Renaissance and the emergence of modern science, did Europe
begin to free itself from the effects of Constantine's decision, yet the effects
of his establishment of Christianity as a state religion remain with us, in many
respects, today. Brilliantly wide-ranging and ambitious, this is a major work of
history.

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