Constantine, Dacius and Crispus stood upon one of the seven hills making up the peninsula upon which Byzantium stood and looked down at the city, scarred and tom by the siege. It had fallen quickly after Licinius’ defeat at Chrysopolis and Constantine’s fleet which Crispus had handled so masterfully now rode at anchor within the homshaped inlet forming a major part of the harbor, an area where fish schooled so often in the sunlight that its inhabitants likened it to the mythical Golden Horn of Plenty.
“I think this is one of the most beautiful spots in the world,” Dacius said.
“It could also be the most important to me,” Constantine said thoughtfully.
“Why do you say that, Father?” Crispus asked.
“You, Dacius and Crocus should be able to hold the Germanic tribes in check in the West. With troops stationed at Milan and Sirmium, it should not be difficult to maintain the Danube frontier to the north. But the East is another matter. The Sassanid kings of Persia have grown more daring lately, but Licinius seems to have made no attempt to hold them in check. Unless they are put down soon the entire eastern border will be in revolt.”
“You’ve come almost full circle,” Dacius reminded him. “Your first major command was on the Persian frontier when Narses rebelled against Diocletian.”
East has never heard of God
“And I first found Christ there, in a painting on the wall of the ruined church at Dura. A whole world out there in the East has never heard of God and his Son. For some reason, certainly not through any worthiness of my own, God has chosen to favor me in all my efforts. Perhaps he intends for Persia to be next.”
Far to the east, in the haze where sky and water met, an irregular dark line marked the distant shore of the beautiful inland sea. That line had been a frontier, Constantine remembered, even in ancient times, when Jason and the Argonauts had sailed there, seeking the almost legendary fleeces placed by earlier inhabitants in mountain streams to trap particles of gold washed down from deposits in the hills above.
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