Kyle Smith is Associate Professor of Historical Studies and Religion at the University of Toronto and the translator of The Martyrdom and History of Blessed Simeon bar Sabba'e.

• AcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsIntroduction: Constantine and the Writing of Fourth-Century HistoryPART I: THE ROMAN FRONTIER AND THE PERSIAN WAR1 • Patronizing Persians: Constantine’s Letter to Shapur II2 • Constantine’s Crusade: The Emperor’s Last Days and the Persian Campaign3 • Rereading Nisibis: Narrating the Battle for Roman MesopotamiaPART II: ROMAN CAPTIVES AND PERSIAN ENVOYS4 • On War and Persecution: Aphrahat the Persian Sage and the Martyrdom and History of Blessed Simeon bar Sabba?e5 • The Church of the East and the Territorialization of Christianity6 • Memories of Constantine in the Acts of the Persian MartyrsAppendix A. Constantine’s Letter to Shapur: Eusebius’s Life of Constantine IV.8–14Appendix B. Martyrdom of the Captives of Beth ZabdaiAppendix C. Martyrdom of Abbot Barshebya, Ten Fellow Brothers, and One Magus BibliographyIndex

"By examining Constantine through the lens of the Sasanian world...[Kyle Smith] manages to break free of Eusebius and his domineering narrative. This will pay dividends for our understanding of this major figure in world history, as well as the history of Christianity in Late Antiquity more broadly. That Smith’s book is so clearly written, well organized, and tightly argued further ensures its impact on the field."