http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/797219197

Pagan city and Christian capital Rome in the fourth century

"The critical century between the arrival of Constantine and the advance of Alaric witnessed dramatic changes in the city of Rome. In this book Dr. Curran focuses on a number of new approaches to the Christianization of Rome. He surveys the political considerations which governed the building policy of Constantine and his successors, the effect of papal building and commemorative constructions on Roman topography, the continuing ambivalence of the Roman festal calendar, and the conflict between Christians over asceticism and 'real' Christianity. Thus using archaeological, literary, and legal evidence Dr. Curran explains the way in which the landscape, civic life, and moral values of Rome were transformed by complex and sometimes paradoxical forces, laying the foundation for the capital of western medieval Christendom. Through a study of Rome as a city Dr. Curran explores the rise of Christianity and the decline of paganism in the later Roman empire."--Jacket.

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