ABSTRACT
Constantine was not to see Nicomedia again for nearly twenty years until 324. The region he now entered was deeply different from the one he had left. The barbarians were not subdued to their proper role until 296, when Constantius' coins advertised his triumphant entrance into London, under the heading, Restorer of Eternal Light. It was in fact a somewhat dim light; and the nearest thing to eternal about it was the barbarian element now entering on the long, long period of its ascendancy. Constantius made use of foreign tribes as necessity dictated, and rebuilt castles and towers all along the Rhine. The imperial court was what he had known from childhood. To sit on a throne, lead armies, offer the hem of his garment to be adored, was what he desired of all things. There may have been no rebellious individuality hidden behind all the ceremony, but rather a man happily at one with the role of colossus.
