It is wrong to assume that with the privileged position Christianity attained in the imperial house under Constantine (after 312), and before its proclamation as state religion under Theodosius I (395 ad), the army’s pagan tradition from the time of the principate met with a swift end.13 Admittedly, from the later second century onward, a growing number of Christians, apparently less at odds with idolatry, the army’s icon-worship, than the church fathers, entered the army (Tertullianus, Apol. 37.4). There was not an ethical problem to start with, and military service was by and large an accepted way of life. For many Christians it sufficed to remain silent during public ceremonies or clandestinely cross themselves (Tertullianus, Cor. 12.3; Lactantius, Mort. Pers. 10). Nevertheless, at the beginning of the Constantinian epoch, and for some time after, the widespread pagan element within the army, indifferent to religious change at the top, still determined not only the outlook of the army itself, but the behavior of the princeps as well (Eusebius, Vit. Const. 2.6 and 4.20; Zosimus 2.29.5). Before the battle of the Milvian Bridge, the place of the imperial court’s bishops was
- like that of the soldiers’ private cults of centuries ago (e. g. the oriental religions)
- outside the military camp (Eusebius, Vit. Const. 2.12.14 and 4.56). Tradition and novelty abided side by side; changes took place but gradually. Nothing illustrates early conditions better than the silver medallion of the Ticinum mint (315 ad), showing on the obverse Constantine’s helmet bearing a christogram, besides a shield with the Roman She-Wolf and her twins. On the reverse, the imperator is receiving a wreath from the Goddess Victoria (RIC 7.36). The christogram-adorned “labarum,”
Plate 25.6a From the god of the legion to the tutelary god of the entire metropolis, and the guarantor of the city’s security: The bust of Zeus-Ammon-Sarapis, god of Legio III Cyrenaica on the reverse of an urban coin-issue from its garrison town Bostra, capital of provincia Arabia (second century ad). Kadman Numismatic Pavilion, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel-Aviv
Plate 25.6b Zeus-Ammon-Sarapis, god of Legio III Cyrenaica, on the reverse of an urban coin-issue from Bostra: The god, clad in armor, shaking hands with the city-goddess Tyche, is now the guarantor of the city’s peace, unity and security (third century ad). The legend is: CONCORDIA BOSTRENRUM (sic). Kadman Numismatic Pavilion, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel-Aviv
The imperial standard introduced by Constantine, bore the image of the emperor and his sons (Eusebius, Vit. Const. 1.31.1f.). This example and others, like the overall status ascribed to the standards in “Christian late antiquity” or the general focus of the army on the person of the emperor, as shown for example by the continuance of the service oath - which now included the invocation of the holy trinity as witnesses (Vegetius 2.5.3-5) - illustrate the legacy of pagan antiquity. The doctrine of divine rights demanded absolute devotion to the person of the emperor “as to a god present in person,” and determined the soldiers’ religiosity, although many servicemen of the fourth century, especially those from Gaul, Illyricum, and from outside the empire, like Germans in Roman services, continued their heathen practices to a very high degree. The reign of Theodosius (379-395 ad), with its executive measures aimed at making Christianity the sole religion and displacing pagans from public office, is generally regarded as a turning point in the breakthrough of Christianity also within the army. Eventually, in 416 ad, pagans were formally excluded from military service (Cod. Theod. 16.10.21). Consequently, from the fifth century onward one finds evidence for the office of “military chaplain.” Now, even soldiers of barbaric origins increasingly became subjects to Christianization. Without disavowing them completely, the now omnipresent state religion henceforth robed the lingering pagan traditions in Christian garb.
World History
