The Death of Constantine
The Death of Constantine
Politics is the corner that receives the most attention from rulers. Do not make the mistake of only taking care of politics to the extent that you ignore everything else or your box will collapse. Be ruthless with your enemies. Eliminate them before they can eliminate you. Do not be afraid to eliminate enemies from within your own family. Suspect everybody until they prove their loyalty. My father, Constantius, put aside my mother Helena to marry his ally’s daughter because that was best for his politics. It helped pave the way for his eventual ascension to Emperor. He could not have been in the line of succession if he had not married Theodora (Burckhardt 1983). I do not blame my father for doing so. In fact, I applaud his wisdom and highly suggest that you do the same, my sons. Do not be afraid of making drastic changes in order to better solidify your rule – even if the necessary changes to be me made are within the family.
Art and architecture is another often neglected corner of your box. It is not a waste of money. It is an investment for your future and for your present. In this way, use beautiful art in order to make changes to help your ability to rule. I had to make a whole new city. Rome is still the greatest city in the world deep in the hearts of all Romans. Rome, however, is a terrible place to conduct politics. It is falling apart. What kind of impression will that leave on a people or from foreign visitors that you rule in a crumbling old city? I made the difficult choice to leave Rome and found Constantinople. It was as if I had founded a new Rome (Barnes 2013). Ignore tradition only if it is in the best interest of your politics.
Art can also be used to remind the people of who they have to thank for living in civilization as opposed to ignorant barbarian backwaters. I am especially proud of the statues placed of me in all corners of the empire. Some Christians, especially those tainted with the Jewish persuasion, may argue that to make such large statues of oneself is committing the sin of pride. Do not listen to such nonsense. Do these same Christians not clamor for great churches filled to the golden brim with artworks of their Jesus and his disciples? There is only one god in their minds. So it is in heaven and so it should be on earth. Be the one ruler or three rulers or however many number of rulers that you need be in order to perfectly reflect the rule of god or the Trinity or whatever in heaven. It is heaven and Power that allow you to be the ruler and ordains that you are to rule. Do not risk angering Power by failing to do whatever is necessary in order to rule. Make eccentric proclamations every now and then. The people expect mysteries from their gods and so they will expect it of their Emperors.
One corner of your box most prone to damage is the corner named religion. If you want to stay in power and keep our family as the imperial family, then you must abandon all gods and worship only one – Power. Power is everything. All else is worthless. Worship whatever god you need to in order to get your power. Do not worry about being a hypocrite. No one can see inside of your innermost desires. Appearance is all they see and you can completely control what they see. I know the debates about me not being a true Christian (Downy 1957). Don’t think I don’t! I did what I needed to do in order to solidify my rule. Confiscating the temples of the old religions helped me gain allies and money for my purposes, which was to serve Power above all.
There is nothing like religion to make powerful enemies that can be easily identified. If you can easily identify your enemies, they are that much easier to destroy. Even if your people do not love you, they love the same god you do and will fight for you with all of the courage and honor that they would for their god. Why would they do this? They do this in order to destroy another religion. Doing so is their reward and they will not forget who gave them such a sweet victory. Even though destroying others is its own reward, make sure to give rewards that can be enjoyed in this world to your allies. Give unto them titles, land, and money – anything they want as long as in return they give you their loyalty. Not only will they be loyal, but they will teach their children to be loyal. Followers are like cockroaches – you may see only one but there is a whole nest of them hidden away.
And so we come to the final corner of the box, my sons. That corner is the hardest one to keep undamaged because it mostly stays hidden from view. That corner is the judgment of history upon you and your reign. Keep this corner in mind but do not let this corner interfere with your decisions. I admit that sometimes I lay awake listening to the jeers and gibes of the voices from this corner. These nights are the making of a ruler. Ignore these voices and only listen to the voice of Power. After all, you are ordained from heaven to rule. Therefore, what you decide must ultimately be right with heaven.
The best way to keep this corner from damage is to make sure that you do what you can to keep our family in Power’s good graces. It is much easier to rewrite history than to rewrite your decisions. Remember, my sons – it is the winners and the Emperors that get to write history. Make sure your descendants are imperial descendants and your name will be guaranteed to be spoken of in awe and wonder throughout time.
References
Barnes, T. (2013). Constantine: dynasty, religion and power in the later Roman Empire (Vol. 16). John Wiley & Sons.
Burckhardt, J. (1983). The age of Constantine the Great. Univ of California Press.
Downey, G. (1957). Education in the Christian Roman Empire: Christian and Pagan theories under Constantine and his successors. Speculum, 32(01), 48-61.
Sayre, H. M. (2012). The Humanities: Culture, Continuity and Change, Volume 1 (2nd ed.). (2011 Custom Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
