Ein Kaiser geht auf Distanz: die Rompolitik Constans’ I

Constans I, emperor of Rome from 337 to 350, never visited Rome. This paper proposes to identify Constans’ absence from Rome as a conscious political strategy to maintain a functional relationship with Rome without submitting himself to the demands of the traditions of Rome and of Christian emperorship. The paper opens with a discussion of Constans’ rapport with the senators in Rome as reflected in appointment policies. I argue against modern assumptions that pagan senators from Rome served as praetorian or urban prefects or in comitiva at court throughout his reign. This leads me to reinvestigate Constans’ policies towards the religions of Rome, pagan cults (e.g. CTh XVI 10.2) but also Christian affairs. I show that his collaboration with Rome was made possible by the emperor’s avoidance to associate himself too closely with religious issues and by his support the public amenities in the city. Prohaeresius’ visit to Rome then highlights the role of Greek learning as a neutral space of communication between emperor and Rome. Following a brief discussion of the the impact of imperial absence on reforms of the urban prefecture, the final section comments on Constans’ failure to use references to Rome in his imperial representation.