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Christian Roman Emperors and Paganism
Dissertation - Histoire Ancienne - 11 pages - Format Microsoft Word
This paper aims to explain the progressive shift of the Christian emperors’ attitude toward paganism throughout the fourth century AD from toleration under Constantine to proscription under Theodosius.
Although the switch in the imperial legislation relative to paganism is the core of this paper, it is also essential to highlight the evolution of its actual application and of local resistance to it throughout the empire. That will lead us to show that the growth of the Church’s influence over the emperors has been an important factor of the hardening of the imperial legislation and that the growth of the Church at the local level has been even more decisive to make it enforced.
Plan du document :
1. Paganism, a secondary issue under Constantine?
2. AD 337-78, a continuous and progressive hardening of anti-pagan legislation?
3. Toward the Interdict
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