Session organisers / Chairpersons:
Orsolya Heinrich-Tamáska, GWZO, Leipzig, Germany (heintama@uni-leipzig.de)
Dominic Moreau, Université de Lille–SHS, France (E-mail: dominic.moreau@univ-lille3.fr)
There is an old myth, still recounted in some of the historiography on Late Antiquity, according to which the Roman army was directly or indirectly involved in the spread of Christianity, usually shortly after the conversion of Constantine. Proponents of that position generally rely on two points: 1- the testimony of the Church Fathers, who are constantly insisting on the receptivity of the soldiers to Christianity, at least from the time of Tertullian; 2- the fact that the Roman army promoted the spread of all kinds of oriental cults, which also implies Christianity.
By this logic, we should be able to observe a degree of Christianisation in the provinces of the Empire which would be proportional to their level of militarisation, at least after Constantine. The “limes” being theoretically the most militarised area in Late Antiquity, it should then be the most Christianised. Should we therefore see evidence of the military outposts as units of Christian propaganda around the Empire? Does the highly militarised “limes” constitute a “weapon of mass conversion”?
It is true that most of the episcopal sees of this part of the Roman world were founded in military camps. Compared to the importance of the militarisation of these territories, the episcopal network was, however, very modest even up to the middle/end of the 6th century, so that the contribution of the army to the spread of Christianity does not seem as obvious is sometimes assumed.
In order to propose elements of answers to that research question, presentations on all archaeological and historical aspects of Christianity on the border areas of the Roman Empire are welcome in this session. These papers can focus on new discoveries, as well as on the re-evaluation of material already studied, which dates, for most of it, from the 4th to 7th centuries AD. Among the themes that would be interesting to be discussed, we can mention (but not exclusively):
- Churches and artifacts with Christian meanings on the frontier and its hinterland
- Episcopacy and its impact on the urban fabric
- Monasticism and its occupation of the landscape
- Christian testimonies in the army
- Christianity beyond the borders of the Empire
Confirmed participants for this session:
- Dănuţ Aparaschivei: Pilgrims from the province of Scythia in Ephessus
- Stefanie Hoss: Christian symbols on the weapons and equipment of Roman soldiers
- Erin Darby: Christians in the Late Roman army of Palestine: New evidence from ‘Ayn Gharandal (Arieldela), Jordan
- Reinhardt Harreither: Christian soldiers as martyrs at the Danubian frontier
- Vinka Matijević: Classical heroes and biblical characters. About the Roman belt found in Zmajevac (Ad Novas)