constantine I

Constantine I

[Name]

[Institution]

[Instructor]

[Course]

The Reign of Constantine I : His Conversion , Politics and Christianity

Introduction

Norwich , the great historian of the Byzantine Empire , placed Constantine the Great among the most important men of all times . He wrote "No ruler in the history , not Alexander nor Alfred , nor Charles nor Catherine , not Frederick not even Gregory has ever more fully merited the title of "the Great (Norwich , 1988 ,

.32 . He added that Constantine 's adoption of Christianity , and the transfer of the capital of the Empire

from Rome to Constantinople , and their consequences "have given him a serious claim to be considered - excepting only Jesus Christ , the Buddha and the Prophet Mohammed - the most influential man in all history (Norwich 1988 ,

.32

Constantine the Great (285-337 ) was the Roman Emperor from 307 to 337 In these thirty years as Emperor of the Roman Empire he took two important decisions whose repercussions are still felt today . One of these decisions was his conversion to Christianity , becoming the first Roman Emperor to do so , and making the Catholic religion the official religion of the Roman Empire , The second great decision was the move of the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople . This is based on the thesis that Constantine 's conversion to Christianity took place gradually , throughout his entire life . It alsi argues that his co-opting of the church into the government changed the tone , spirit and practice of Christianity . In addition , while he was not successful as Christian believer , he was guided by politics in changing the Empire to reflect his beliefs : he knew it was too radical a change for people to accept all at once

Constantine 's Reign

Constantine 's Accession to Power

Constantine I was proclaimed Augustus in 306 after the death of his father , although he was not recognized as such until 307 (Baker , 1971 br

.11 . A period of political dis followed , in which there were at one time six contenders for supreme power in the Roman Empire . In 307 Constantine married Fausta , the daughter of Maximian , one of his most powerful rivals , and established an alliance by which the two Augusti reigned jointly in the West . In 310 , Maximian revolted against Constantine and was executed (Collier ' s Encyclopedia , 2000 ,

.277

In 311 , after the death of Caesar Galerius (a rabid pagan , son of a barbarian priestess , who commanded in the Balkans , a struggle for power broke out among four augusti : Valerius Licinius and Maximus Daia in the East , and Maxentius (the son of Maximian ) and Constantine in the West In 312 , Constantine defeated Maxentius at Milvian Bridge near Rome and became the first Western emperor . In 313 , Maximus died after being defeated by Licinius . In 313 , an alliance concluded between Constantine and Licinius at Milan proved to be unstable , although the two brothers-in-law (Licinius had married Constantia , Constantine 's half sister ) ruled the empire together for over ten years (Brunn , 1966 pp .8-9

However , the decade in...