The Age of Constantine the Great

First published in German in 1853, this is Jacob Burckhardt's study of the Roman world in the third and early fourth centuries, centred on Constantine's rise and the public establishment of Christianity. Burckhardt describes the late empire's court, army, cities, pagan cults, and the Church as it moved from persecution to imperial favour. Constantine appears as a political actor in a decaying antique order rather than as a saint. The book is a cultural and political history of a turning age, not a purely military life of the emperor.

Bound in light brown image blocked cloth. Pale brown endleaves with a map by Piggott in dark brown. Brown slipcase.