by Michael Grant (Macmillan Publishing, 1994, ISBN 0-684-19520-8)

Of all the Roman emperors, Constantine I "The Great* has long held a fascination for me. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that I was unable to resist the temptation to snatch up Michael Grant's latest work, a biography of Constantine.

As the emperor who "Christianized" the Roman empire, and who founded the great city of Constantinople, Constantine I "the Great" had many admirers among his contemporaries who chose to put down their thoughts. An almost equal number absolutely detested him. Unfortunately for historical veracity, this hodge podge of conflicting sources forms much of what we know about him. Michael Grant has attempted to cut through this web of intense bias evident among the writings about Constantine by the ancient historians, and come to a balanced assessment of Constantine as a man, and of his achievements.

The first part of this work is devoted to cataloging the ancient sources we have on Constantine, both those who adored him and those who detested him, and an assessment of his early life. Not much is known about this portion of Constantine's life, and Grant summarizes the available evidence and reaches logical conclusions about it.

The second part covers Constantine at war, from 311-312 AD when he invaded Italy to seize Rome from Maxentius, until the end of his death in 337 AD on the eve of a campaign against Persia. This section will hold the most interest for the militarily minded reader. Throughout his career, Constantine was above all things an extremely able commander and strategist, and the course of his various campaigns is charted in an easy. readable style. Fairly little, though, is present on a tactical level regarding the battles themselves, but the strategic and campaign considerations are well documented and thoroughly analyzed.

The second part is split between coverage of Constantine's campaigns during civil wars within the empire, and those against foreign enemies.

Grant then goes on to cover Constantine and the state (part three), Constantine and Christianity (part four), and concludes with the end and aftermath (part five). Ample coverage is given to Constantine's impressive building program throughout the empire, and his interactions with state institutions. The section on Christianity is extremely interesting and thought-provoking, and will probably cause Christian readers to see Constantine in a new a rather different light as a Christian. Certainly the manner in which he treated his close family will not inspire a warm feeling from modern readers. Though not strictly of military interest, these sections make very interesting reading none the less.

Grant's analysis of the significance of Constantine in history wraps up the work. Grant does not subscribe to Edward Gibbon's belief that Constantine's Christianization of the empire was a principal reason for its later downfall, but he also points out that it didn't work out nearly the way Constantine had intended either. In the end, Grant cannot reconcile himself with Constantine's great faults, yet he acknowledges the success that he had both as a military and civil leader, and as an organizer.

The reader will emerge from this work much better acquainted with Constantine the man, and with a significantly better feel for the period (I know my own gaming version of Constantine's army seems a little bit closer to historical to me). I would recommend this work to anyone interested in the late Roman period on anything greater than a tactical level.