Religion and Authority in Roman Carthage From Augustus to Constantine [Hardcover]

This book examines the organization of religion--Christian, pagan, and Jewish--in the Roman Empire at the time of Constantine and Augustine. The author argues that because official pagan religion was inextricably tied to the structure of individual cities, Christianity was the only religion that could unite the inhabitants of the Empire as a whole.

Rives's study has much to commend it to students of religion in the Roman empire....Rives should be applauded most of all for writing a book on religion in the Roman world that focuses on evidence from the western half of the empire. --Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Rives has produced a challenging and convincing interpretation of the intersection of religion and authority in the early empire that will lead many students and scholars to reconsider the way in which they view official religion in the Roman world --Journal of Church and State

Rive's book represents a major advance in the study of ancient Carthage, the relationship between religious identity and political authority in the Roman empire, and the religious transformation of the Mediterranean world. It is the first successful study of how and why the official religion of a major city in the Roman empire changed over time. In explaining this change, Rives has recreated the religious tapestry of Carthage with unmatched sensitivity to language, subtlety, and depth. This study should serve as a model for understanding religious change in other cities and provinces of the Roman empire. --American Historical Review

This study of religious life in Carthage during its most cosmopolitan era is well documented with literary and archeological evidence...The author significantly increases our understanding of religion in the Roman empire with the monograph. --Church History