On Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:21:30 GMT, petebarrett@unknown.co.uk (Pete
Barrett) wrote:
>None of that depends on Constantine (or his family, because they ruled
>the Empire for a few years after his death), so what does?
>First, the establishment of Constantinople as the eastern capital.
>Someone else might put their capital at Byzantium anyway, because it's
>a good position for a new capital, but it wouldn't be *called*
>Constantinople.
Well simply changing the name wouldn't change much if that's the only
difference.
Now if no Constantine turns out to mean no Justinian that's a big
change though Byzantium had very bad luck in having a run of poor
emperors just at the time Islam was breaking out of the Arabian
peninsula. Had the Byzantines had a Belisarius or Narses (and I would
argue some of their later generals were every bit as good) at the time
of the initial Muslim expansion things might well have been quite
different.
Certainly the Persians had been largely defanged by the Byzantines by
the time of the initial Muslim expansion. Had THOSE battles gone the
other way the early 7th century would have been quite different.
I'm suggesting as clearly as I can that the early Muslims "rolled a
lot of 6s" in their first two centuries.
>Second, some of the decisions of the early councils might be different
>with someone other than Constantine pulling strings (though the
>singular inability of Constantius II to have any effect on the later
>development of Christian doctrine suggests it might not).
>Third, the name Constantine wouldn't become a popular one.
Thirdly - you're right
Secondly - I'd argue that the real force of Constantine was on the
early councils rather than simply professing Christianity. Had
Constantine persecuted the church as did Diocletian or even to the
more limited degree of Julian the Apostate things might have changed
but I do think the influence of the emperor in enforcing Christian
doctrinal unity while leaving the church fathers to decide on what
basis that unity would be to be EXTREMELY important.
Anyone who has read the deliberations that went into the Nicaean Creed
would have no doubt at all on this point! |
