Religious Intolerance in the Later Roman Empire - Bad request ...

two cases show that Constantine's CTh 9.16.3 of 23 May 318 was, under Valens, being
disregarded; Constantine's law had ordered that “remedies sought for human bodies
shall not be involved in criminal accusation,” the same law also allowed the
continuance of traditional rites in agriculture, although at the same time ordered
execution for anyone who used “magic arts” to the detriment of mankind. 218 There is
no evidence from Ammianus that the accused in either case had been harming anyone,
on the contrary, they had only been trying to perform some good for themselves and
others; therefore under the terms of Constantine's law, they should have been
protected in their innocuous rites. 219 In the performance of traditional rites at least,
this period of Valens’ reign is measurably more intolerant than that of Constantine's,
but equally of course, Constantine never had to deal with such a conspiracy.
As already noted, Domitius Modestus was the addressee of three out of five of
Valens’ laws concerning religion. It may be the case that this unusually small number
is actually very nearly all the laws issued by Valens. Modestus, along with many of
Valens’ other ministers, held his Eastern Prefecture for an unusually long tenure (370-
377). 220 As eastern emperor, most, if not all of Valens’ laws would have been addressed
in the first instance to the Praetorian prefect for further dissemination. Also,
Ammianus Marcellinus indicates that Modestus primarily, but also with other
unnamed “friends and intimates of Valens” persuaded the emperor that, although he
was of the character that would be inclined to do so, he should not be concerned with
hearing legal cases because that would be beneath his dignity. Valens apparently
agreed and “entirely abandoned the practice” of sitting as a judge and thus the poor
were betrayed by judges and advocates who grew rich by selling the interests of the
poor to army commanders and those with influence. Whatever the merits of
Ammianus exaggerated judgements, it seems clear that Modestus and others, for
reasons that are probably indeterminable and not relevant here, sought a controlling
218
CTh 9.16.3 nullis v ero crim inationibus in plicanda sunt rem edia hum anis quaesita corporibus and
m agicis…artibus
219
Matthews (1989) 222 makes this point, but without much elaboration.
220
See Lenski (2002) 62-63 for other examples of Valens’ ministers holding long tenures.
147