The 40 Martyrs of Sebaste

A closer look at a beloved medieval legend

40 Holy Martyrs of Sebaste. Relief from Constantinople, 10th Century. 

Until 314 Licinius, Augustus of the Eastern Roman Empire had generally shown no animus toward Christians. But as tensions arose on the border with the newly Christianized Armenia in 320 and along the Thracian border that separated his frenemy Constanine from his erstwhile possessions …