Histoire du Bas-Empire. Tome 03

This work examines the later imperial administration and religious struggles during a reign that sought to restore traditional cults, tracing the ruler's mixture of public clemency and harsh reprisals, his cultural patronage and polemical writings, and his interactions with pagan intellectuals and Christian leaders. It recounts civic disturbances, legal actions, famines and urban fires, ceremonies and attempts to reconstruct religious sites, episodes of persecution and martyrdom, reported prodigies and omens, and the transfer of relics. Chapters alternate narrative episodes, judicial and military incidents, and commentary on superstition, ritual, and the practical effects of religious policy on provincial society.