 The Senate as a body remained devoid of any significant power ; nevertheless , the senators , who had been marginalized as potential holders of imperial functions during the 3rd century , could now dispute such positions alongside more upstart bureaucrats . Some modern historians see in those administrative reforms an attempt by Constantine at reintegrating the senatorial order into the imperial administrative elite to counter the possibility of alienating pagan senators from a Christianized imperial rule ; however , such an interpretation remains conjectural , given the fact that we do not have the precise numbers about pre @-@ Constantine conversions to Christianity in the old senatorial milieu — some historians suggesting that early conversions among the old aristocracy were more numerous than previously supposed . 
