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

control of the west from the usurper Magnentius and arguably therefore he needed to
firmly stamp his authority on his newly acquired provinces. Similarly Valentinian's
CTh. 16.1.1 was issued at the very beginning of his reign and when he had (probably)
just received word of Procopius’ revolt against his brother and so similarly he too had
to stamp his authority on the state and the situation. However, no such drastic
circumstances are know at this time which might be advanced in mitigation, other
than continuing problems with the Goths. The only mitigating factor is that the
different names used by the Manicheans might have frustrated and annoyed the
authorities when attempting to identify them and so this harsh measure may have been
employed in an attempt to ‘categorise’ them more successfully. CTh. 16.5.7 of ten
months earlier had warned Manicheans not to disguise their activities under aliases.
Nevertheless, the death penalty for such perceived deceit seems extremely harsh, and is
indeed death not so much for being heretics as for using, as far as the authorities were
concerned, aliases. At least, however, it indicates the dedication and purpose of mind
that the authorities now had when wishing to identify heretics.
CTh. 16.5.10 of 20 June 383 was addressed to Constantianus, Vicar of Pontus
and was considerably milder. It was possibly originally addressed to the appropriate
Praetorian Prefect, Florus. 191 It was directed against the Tascodrogitae, another name
for the rigorist, ascetic sect better known as the Montanists; the most famous
Montanist was Tertullian in his later life. 192 The brief instructions surviving in this law
appear fairly mild and ordered that they should not “be evicted from their own
habitations,” which presumably means from their homes, rather than from their places
of worship; laws against the Arians and others had not mentioned confiscation of their
homes. It may be a reference to the measures against the Manicheans who were (at
death) deprived of their properties; perhaps enthusiastic officials were seeking to apply
191 Florus 1 PLRE 1.367-368
192 Constantianus 2 PLRE 1.222. Tascodrogitae is a Phrygian word meaning ‘peg’ and ‘nose’ as they
were supposed to pinch their noses with their fingers while praying “in order to display their downcast
spirit and affected rectitude.” Epiph. 48.14 in Amidon (1990) 172; See Mitchell (1993) 2.93; Pharr (1952)
584
224