A Tale of Two Cities

Abstract

As Constantine’s interests shifted eastward following his defeat of Licinius in 324 CE, he invested heavily in two cities. On the one hand, Constantinople, ancient Byzantion, was a city without a significant history that needed to resonate as the capital of an empire. Jerusalem, on the other hand, was a city with too much history, but without a visible Christian presence. Both cities were desperately in need of makeovers to situate them politically, religiously, and ideologically at the heart of Constantine’s evolving concept of empire.