He was acclaimed by his army at Eboracum (York, England), and eventually emerged victorious in the civil wars against emperors Maxentius and Licinius to become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire by 324. Upon his ascension to emperor, Constantine enacted numerous reforms to strengthen the empire.
What did Constantine do for the Roman Empire?
Constantine now became the Western Roman emperor. He soon used his power to address the status of Christians, issuing the Edict of Milan in 313. This proclamation legalized Christianity and allowed for freedom of worship throughout the empire. For a time, Constantine stood by as others ruled the Eastern Roman Empire.
Who expanded the Roman Empire?
Adopted by Caesar, Augustus (c. 62 BC – 14 AD / Reigned 31 BC – 14 AD) had to fight for his throne. His long rule saw a huge expansion in the Roman Empire and the beginnings of a dynasty that, over the next century, would transform Rome, for better and worse.
How did Constantine improve the empire?
As emperor, Constantine enacted many administrative, financial, social, and military reforms to strengthen the empire. The government was restructured and civil and military authority separated. A new gold coin, the solidus, was introduced to combat inflation.
How does the Roman Empire change after Constantine?
Constantine—who ruled from 324 CE to 337 CE—made some significant changes to the Roman Empire. Two of these changes were the new capital at Byzantium and the new Christian character of the empire (Constantine legalized Christianity and eventually converted himself).
What caused the rise of the Roman Empire?
The military was one of the key reasons for Rome's success. The Roman army was highly trained and disciplined, growing in reputation as the best army in the world. With their success in war, the empire was able to expand its control over 3 separate continents including Asia, Africa, and most of Europe.
When did Rome begin to expand?
Toward the end of the 5th century bce, the Romans began to expand at the expense of the Etruscan states, possibly propelled by population growth. Rome's first two major wars against organized states were fought with Fidenae (437–426 bce), a town near Rome, and against Veii, an important Etruscan city.
Why is Constantine the Great important?
He is known as Constantine the Great for very good reasons. After nearly 80 years, and three generations of political fragmentation, Constantine united the whole of the Roman Empire under one ruler. By 324 he had extended his power and was sole emperor, restoring stability and security to the Roman world.
Why did Constantine the Great move the capital of the Roman Empire?
Constantine moved his capital to Byzantium (later named Constantinople ) in 330 AD because the eastern part of the Roman Empire was becoming more important and he wanted a capital that was closer to the center. Also, the area allowed easy access to vast territories via the Marmara sea and the Danube river.
How was the Roman Empire expanded?
Rome was able to gain its empire in large part by extending some form of citizenship to many of the people it conquered. Military expansion drove economic development, bringing enslaved people and loot back to Rome, which in turn transformed the city of Rome and Roman culture.
How did Caesar expand the empire?
Caesar expanded Rome's territories By stabilising the territories under imperial control and giving rights to new Romans he set the conditions for later expansion that would make Rome one of history's great empires.
Who started the Roman Empire?
Augustus CaesarThe Roman Empire was founded when Augustus Caesar proclaimed himself the first emperor of Rome in 31BC and came to an end with the fall of Constantinople in 1453CE. An empire is a political system in which a group of people are ruled by a single individual, an emperor or empress.
Who divided the Roman Empire into two parts?
Constantine the Great, 306-337 C.E., divided the Roman Empire in two and made Christianity the dominant religion in the region.
What did Constantine do to the Roman Empire?
As emperor, Constantine enacted administrative, financial, social and military reforms to strengthen the empire. He restructured the government, separating civil and military authorities.
Who was Constantine the Great?
Kōnstantînos; 27 February c. 272 – 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from 306 to 337. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea (now Niš, Serbia ), he was the son of Flavius Constantius (a Roman army officer born in Dardania who had been one of the four emperors of the Tetrarchy ).
How did Constantine's son die?
Constantine had his eldest son Crispus seized and put to death by "cold poison" at Pola ( Pula, Croatia) sometime between 15 May and 17 June 326. In July, he had his wife Empress Fausta (stepmother of Crispus) killed in an overheated bath. Their names were wiped from the face of many inscriptions, references to their lives were eradicated from the literary record, and the memory of both was condemned. Eusebius, for example, edited out any praise of Crispus from later copies of Historia Ecclesiastica, and his Vita Constantini contains no mention of Fausta or Crispus at all. Few ancient sources are willing to discuss possible motives for the events, and the few that do are of later provenance and are generally unreliable. At the time of the executions, it was commonly believed that Empress Fausta was either in an illicit relationship with Crispus or was spreading rumors to that effect. A popular myth arose, modified to allude to the Hippolytus – Phaedra legend, with the suggestion that Constantine killed Crispus and Fausta for their immoralities; the largely fictional Passion of Artemius explicitly makes this connection. The myth rests on slim evidence as an interpretation of the executions; only late and unreliable sources allude to the relationship between Crispus and Fausta, and there is no evidence for the modern suggestion that Constantine's "godly" edicts of 326 and the irregularities of Crispus are somehow connected.
What did Constantine learn from Diocletian?
Constantine received a formal education at Diocletian's court, where he learned Latin literature, Greek, and philosophy. The cultural environment in Nicomedia was open, fluid, and socially mobile; in it, Constantine could mix with intellectuals both pagan and Christian. He may have attended the lectures of Lactantius, a Christian scholar of Latin in the city. Because Diocletian did not completely trust Constantius—none of the Tetrarchs fully trusted their colleagues—Constantine was held as something of a hostage, a tool to ensure Constantius' best behavior. Constantine was nonetheless a prominent member of the court: he fought for Diocletian and Galerius in Asia and served in a variety of tribunates; he campaigned against barbarians on the Danube in AD 296 and fought the Persians under Diocletian in Syria (AD 297), as well as under Galerius in Mesopotamia (AD 298–299). By late AD 305, he had become a tribune of the first order, a tribunus ordinis primi.
Why did Constantine choose Nicomedia as his capital?
Diocletian had chosen Nicomedia in the East as his capital during the Tetrarchy - not far from Byzantium, well situated to defend Thrace, Asia, and Egypt, all of which had required his military attention. Constantine had recognized the shift of the center of gravity of the Empire from the remote and depopulated West to the richer cities of the East, and the military strategic importance of protecting the Danube from barbarian excursions and Asia from a hostile Persia in choosing his new capital as well as being able to monitor shipping traffic between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Licinius' defeat came to represent the defeat of a rival centre of pagan and Greek-speaking political activity in the East, as opposed to the Christian and Latin-speaking Rome, and it was proposed that a new Eastern capital should represent the integration of the East into the Roman Empire as a whole, as a center of learning, prosperity, and cultural preservation for the whole of the Eastern Roman Empire. Among the various locations proposed for this alternative capital, Constantine appears to have toyed earlier with Serdica (present-day Sofia ), as he was reported saying that " Serdica is my Rome ". Sirmium and Thessalonica were also considered. Eventually, however, Constantine decided to work on the Greek city of Byzantium, which offered the advantage of having already been extensively rebuilt on Roman patterns of urbanism, during the preceding century, by Septimius Severus and Caracalla, who had already acknowledged its strategic importance. The city was thus founded in 324, dedicated on 11 May 330 and renamed Constantinopolis ("Constantine's City" or Constantinople in English). Special commemorative coins were issued in 330 to honor the event. The new city was protected by the relics of the True Cross, the Rod of Moses and other holy relics, though a cameo now at the Hermitage Museum also represented Constantine crowned by the tyche of the new city. The figures of old gods were either replaced or assimilated into a framework of Christian symbolism. Constantine built the new Church of the Holy Apostles on the site of a temple to Aphrodite. Generations later there was the story that a divine vision led Constantine to this spot, and an angel no one else could see led him on a circuit of the new walls. The capital would often be compared to the 'old' Rome as Nova Roma Constantinopolitana, the "New Rome of Constantinople".
How did Constantine become a senator?
By the new Constantinian arrangement, one could become a senator by being elected praetor or by fulfilling a function of senatorial rank. From then on, holding actual power and social status were melded together into a joint imperial hierarchy. Constantine gained the support of the old nobility with this, as the Senate was allowed itself to elect praetors and quaestors, in place of the usual practice of the emperors directly creating new magistrates ( adlectio ). An inscription in honor of city prefect (336–337) Ceionius Rufus Albinus states that Constantine had restored the Senate "the auctoritas it had lost at Caesar's time".
Which city surrendered to Constantine?
Verona surrendered soon afterwards, followed by Aquileia, Mutina ( Modena ), and Ravenna. The road to Rome was now wide open to Constantine. The Milvian Bridge ( Ponte Milvio) over the Tiber, north of Rome, where Constantine and Maxentius fought in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge.
What currency did Constantine use to reorganize the Byzantine Empire?
In order to reorganize finances and currency, Constantine minted two new coins: the silver miliarensis and, most importantly, the gold solidus, whose stability was to make it the Byzantine Empire’s basic currency.
Where did Constantine's immortality rest?
Constantine’s immortality, however, rests on his founding of Constantinople. This “New Rome,” established in 324 on the site of Byzantium and dedicated in 330, rapidly increased in population as a result of favours granted to immigrants.
What happened to Constantine in 316?
Constantine attacked his adversary for the first time in 316, taking the dioceses of Pannonia and Moesia from him. A truce between them lasted 10 years. In 316 Diocletian died in Salona, which he had never felt a desire to leave despite the collapse of his political creation. Constantine and Licinius then reverted to the principles of heredity, ...
How many sons did Constantine have?
After some months of confusion, Constantine’s three surviving sons (Crispus, the eldest son, had been executed in mysterious circumstances in 326), supported by the armies faithful to their father’s memory, divided the empire among themselves and had all the other members of their family killed.
Why did Constantine bring the Goths to the Palace?
Goths were also brought in by Constantine, to the number of 40,000, it is said, to help defend Constantinople in the latter part of his reign , and the palace guard was thenceforward composed mostly of Germans, from among whom a great many high army commands were filled.
Was Constantine a convert?
His conversion remains somewhat mysterious and his contemporaries—Lactantius and Eusebius of Caesarea—are scarcely enlightening and even rather contradictory on the subject. But it was doubtless a sincere conversion, for Constantine had a religious turn of mind.
Who was the barbarian commander in the Roman army?
It was also under Constantine that a barbarian commander in the Roman army attained a historical significance. He was Crocus the Alaman, who led the movement among the troops that resulted in Constantine’s seizure of the rank of Augustus in 306 immediately after his father Constantius’ death.
What was the Roman Empire like when Constantine was born?
The Roman Empire that Constantine was born into was one of chaos and anarchy. Civil wars, invasions, and disease were rending the empire so badly that the era is regarded as the Crisis of the Third Century. Emperor Diocletian tried to bring order by distributing power to a four-ruler tetrarchy that would govern the four quarters of the empire. Constantine’s father, Constantius I, was one of the rulers.
What did Constantine do to the city of Byzantium?
He tripled the size of the existing city and offered full citizenship and free bread to encourage men of rank to move there with their families.
What was the capital of Constantinople?
By the time Constantine established his new capital in A.D. 330, the city that would be called Constantinople had changed hands multiple times among regional superpowers. Darius I of Persia, the Delian League, the Spartans, and Alexander the Great all had ruled the strategic port known as Byzantium on the Bosporus, a strait between the Black Sea and Sea of Marmara. Roman emperor Septimius Severus destroyed the city in A.D. 196 and rebuilt a grander version, which Constantine expanded upon for his New Rome. The city became a prosperous and important center of faith, power, trade, and architecture. The landmark Hagia Sophia (above) was built by Emperor Justinian during the sixth century, the peak of Constantinople’s glory.
What was Constantine's role in the Middle Ages?
His acceptance of Christianity and his establishment of an eastern capital city, which would later bear his name, mark his rule as a significant pivot point between ancient history and the Middle Ages.
What was Constantine's symbol of the cross?
The emperor marked the Christian symbol of the cross on his soldiers’ shields. When he triumphed at Milvian Bridge, he attributed the victory to the god of the Christians. Modern scholars still debate the tale and whether Constantine’s conversion was sincere or a political maneuver.
How many days after Jesus' death did he rise?
The Bible tells that Jesus rose from the dead three days after his Crucifixion. His followers called him “the Christ,” or the “anointed one,” and referred to themselves as Christians. They began to spread the Gospel, the “good tale,” of his life and ministry.
Who was the emperor of Rome after his father died?
After the death of his father in A.D. 306, Constantine was declared emperor by his father’s soldiers. He spent the next 18 years battling the three other Roman rulers—his rivals—to become the sole emperor. The Battle of Milvian Bridge outside Rome in A.D. 312 was a watershed moment for Constantine.
What did Constantine do to the Roman Empire?
This proclamation legalized Christianity and allowed for freedom of worship throughout the empire. For a time, Constantine stood by as others ruled the Eastern Roman Empire.
Who Was Constantine I?
Constantine I's father became the Western Roman emperor in 305. After his father's death, Constantine fought to take power. He became the Western emperor in 312 and the sole Roman emperor in 324. Constantine was also the first emperor to adhere to Christianity. He issued an edict that protected Christians in the empire and converted to Christianity on his deathbed in 337.
What were the reforms that Constantine made?
While in power, Constantine issued reforms intended to strengthen his regime. One such reform was a reorganization of the army, which helped Constantine when he faced tribes such as the Visigoths and the Sarmatians.
What was the purpose of Constantine's reforms?
Out of this came the Nicene Creed, which affirmed that Jesus was a divine being. While in power, Constantine issued reforms intended to strengthen his regime. One such reform was a reorganization of the army, which helped Constantine when he faced tribes such as the Visigoths and the Sarmatians.
Where was Constantine when he fell ill?
Constantine was in Helenopolis, planning a campaign against Persia when he fell ill. He set out to return to Constantinople, but grew worse and was forced to halt his journey. He had delayed his baptism — a common practice at the time — but now underwent the rite.
Who was Constantine's father?
His father, Flavius Valerius Constantius, was an officer in the Roman army. Constantine's mother, Helena, was from humble beginnings; it is unknown whether she was the wife or concubine of Constantius. In 289, Constantine's father left Helena to marry the stepdaughter of Maximian, the Western Roman emperor.
Who was the first emperor to convert to Christianity?
After his father's death, Constantine fought to take power. He became the Western emperor in 312 and the sole Roman emperor in 324. Constantine was also the first emperor to adhere to Christianity. He issued an edict that protected Christians in the empire and converted to Christianity on his deathbed in 337.
Overview
Constantine I (Latin: Flavius Valerius Constantinus; Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Konstantinos; 27 February c. 272 – 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from 306 to 337 AD, and the first to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea (now Niš, Serbia), he was the son of Flavius Constantius, a Roman army officer of Illyrian origin who had been one of the four rulers of the Tetrarchy. His mother, Helena, was a Greek and a Christian, and …
Sources
Constantine was a ruler of major importance, and has always been a controversial figure. The fluctuations in his reputation reflect the nature of the ancient sources for his reign. These are abundant and detailed, but they have been strongly influenced by the official propaganda of the period and are often one-sided; no contemporaneous histories or biographies dealing with his life and rule have survived. The nearest replacement is Eusebius's Vita Constantini—a mixture of eulogy
Early life
Constantine was born in the city of Naissus (today Niš, Serbia), part of the Dardania province of Moesia on 27 February, probably c. AD 272. His father was Flavius Constantius, who was born in the same region (then called Dacia Ripensis), and a native of the province of Moesia. His original full name, as well as that of his father, is not known. His praenomen is variously given as Lucius, Marcus and Gaius. Whatever the case, praenomina had already disappeared from most public re…
Early rule
Constantine's share of the Empire consisted of Britain, Gaul, and Spain, and he commanded one of the largest Roman armies which was stationed along the important Rhine frontier. He remained in Britain after his promotion to emperor, driving back the tribes of the Picts and securing his control in the northwestern dioceses. He completed the reconstruction of military bases begun under his father's rule, and he ordered the repair of the region's roadways. He then left for Augusta Trevero…
Civil wars
By the middle of AD 310, Galerius had become too ill to involve himself in imperial politics. His final act survives: a letter to provincials posted in Nicomedia on 30 April AD 311, proclaiming an end to the persecutions, and the resumption of religious toleration.
Eusebius maintains “divine providence […] took action against the perpetrator of these crimes” and gives a graphic account of Galerius’ demise:
Later rule
Diocletian had chosen Nicomedia in the East as his capital during the Tetrarchy —not far from Byzantium, well situated to defend Thrace, Asia, and Egypt, all of which had required his military attention. Constantine had recognized the shift of the center of gravity of the Empire from the remote and depopulated West to the richer cities of the East, and the military strategic importance of protecting the Danube from barbarian excursions and Asia from a hostile Persia in choosing …
Legacy
Constantine reunited the Empire under one emperor, and he won major victories over the Franks and Alamanni in 306–308, the Franks again in 313–314, the Goths in 332, and the Sarmatians in 334. By 336, he had reoccupied most of the long-lost province of Dacia which Aurelian had been forced to abandon in 271. At the time of his death, he was planning a great expedition to end raids on the eastern provinces from the Persian Empire.
See also
• Bronze colossus of Constantine
• Colossus of Constantine
• Life of Constantine
• Fifty Bibles of Constantine