Constantine I
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{{otheruses4|Constantine as an Emperor|Constantine as a Saint|Constantine I and Christianity}}
{{Infobox Roman emperor
| title = [[Roman emperor|Emperor]] of the [[Roman Empire]]
|name=Constantine I
| full name =Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus
| image =[[Image:Constantine Musei Capitolini.jpg|200px]]
| caption =Head of Constantine's colossal statue at the [[Capitoline Museums]]
| reign =[[25 July]] [[306]] – [[29 October]] [[312]] (hailed as [[Augustus (honorific)#In the Divided Roman Empire|Augustus]] in the West, officially made [[Caesar (title)#tetrarchy|Caesar]] by [[Galerius]] with [[Flavius Valerius Severus|Severus]] as Augustus, by agreement with [[Maximian]], refused relegation to [[Caesar (title)#tetrarchy|Caesar]] in 309)<br>[[29 October]] [[312]] – [[19 September]] [[324]] (undisputed Augustus in the West, senior Augustus in the empire)<br>[[19 September]] [[324]] – [[22 May]] [[337]] (emperor of united empire)
| predecessor =[[Constantius Chlorus]]
| successor =[[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]], [[Constantius II]] and [[Constans]]
| spouse 1 =[[Minervina]], died or divorced before 307
| spouse 2 =[[Fausta]]
| children =[[Constantina]], Helena, [[Crispus]], [[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]], [[Constantius II]] and [[Constans]]
| dynasty =[[Constantinian dynasty|Constantinian]]
| father =[[Constantius Chlorus]]
| mother =[[Helena of Constantinople|Helena]]
| venerated_in =[[Anglicanism]]<br>[[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]]<br>[[Lutheran Church|Lutheranism]]<br>[[Oriental Orthodoxy]]<br>[[Roman Catholicism]]
| date of birth =[[27 February]] ''ca''. 272<ref name=birthdate/>
| place of birth =[[Niš|Naissus]] (modern [[Niš]], [[Serbia]])
| date of death =[[22 May]] [[337]]
| place of death = [[Nicomedia]] (modern [[Izmit]], [[Turkey]])
| place of burial =
|}}
'''Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus'''<ref>In ([[Latin language|Latin]] Constantine's official imperial title was <small>IMPERATOR CAESAR FLAVIVS CONSTANTINVS PIVS FELIX INVICTVS AVGVSTVS</small>, ''Imperator Caesar Flavius Constantine Augustus, the pious, the fortunate, the undefeated''. After 312, he added <small>MAXIMVS</small> ("the greatest"), and after 325 replaced ("undefeated") with <small>VICTOR</small>, as ''invictus'' reminded of [[Sol Invictus]], the Sun God.</ref> ([[27 February]] ''ca''. 272<ref name=birthdate>Birth dates vary but most modern historians use "''ca''. 272". Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 59.</ref> – [[22 May]] [[337]]), commonly known as '''Constantine I''', '''Constantine the Great''' (among [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholics]]), or '''Saint Constantine''' (among [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Byzantine Catholic]] Christians), was [[Roman Emperor]] from 306, and the undisputed holder of that office from 324 to his death. Best known for being the first [[Christianity|Christian]] Roman Emperor, Constantine reversed the [[Diocletianic persecution|persecutions]] of his predecessor, [[Diocletian]], and issued (with his co-emperor [[Licinius]]) the [[Edict of Milan]] in 313, which proclaimed [[religious toleration]] throughout the empire.
The [[Byzantine Rite|Byzantine]] liturgical calendar, observed by the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] and [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine rite]], lists both Constantine and his mother [[Helena of Constantinople|Helena]] as saints. Although he is not included in the [[Latin Rite|Latin Church's]] list of saints, which does recognize several other Constantines as saints, he is revered under the title "The Great" for his contributions to Christianity.
Constantine also transformed the ancient Greek colony of [[Byzantium]] into a new imperial residence, [[Constantinople]], which would remain the capital of the [[Byzantine Empire]] for over a thousand years.
==Sources==
As the Emperor who empowered Christianity throughout the Roman Empire and moved the Roman capital to the banks of the [[Bosphorus]], Constantine was a ruler of major historical importance, but he has always been a controversial figure.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 272.</ref> The fluctuations in Constantine's reputation reflect the nature of the ancient sources for his reign. These are abundant and detailed,<ref>Bleckmann, "Sources for the History of Constantine" (CC), 14; Cameron, 90–91; Lenski, "Introduction" (CC), 2–3.</ref> but have been strongly influenced by the official propaganda of the period,<ref>Bleckmann, "Sources for the History of Constantine" (CC), 23–25; Cameron, 90–91; Southern, 169.</ref> and are often one-sided.<ref>Cameron, 90; Southern, 169.</ref> There are no surviving histories or biographies dealing with Constantine's life and rule.<ref>Bleckmann, "Sources for the History of Constantine" (CC), 14; Corcoran, ''Empire of the Tetrarchs'', 1; Lenski, "Introduction" (CC), 2–3.</ref> The nearest replacement is [[Eusebius of Caesarea]]'s ''Vita Constantini'', a work that is a mixture of [[eulogy]] and [[hagiography]].<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 265–68.</ref> Written between 335 and circa 339,<ref>Drake, "What Eusebius Knew," 21.</ref> the ''Vita'' extols Constantine's moral and religious virtues.<ref>Eusebius, ''Vita Constantini'' 1.11; Odahl, 3.</ref> The ''Vita'' creates a contentiously positive image of Constantine,<ref>Lenski, "Introduction" (CC), 5; Storch, 145–55.</ref> and modern historians have frequently challenged its reliability.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 265–71; Cameron, 90–92; Cameron and Hall, 4–6; Elliott, "Eusebian Frauds in the "Vita Constantini"", 162–71.</ref> The fullest secular life of Constantine is the anonymous ''Origo Constantini''.<ref>Lieu and Montserrat, 39; Odahl, 3.</ref> A work of uncertain date,<ref>Bleckmann, "Sources for the History of Constantine" (CC), 26; Lieu and Montserrat, 40; Odahl, 3.</ref> the ''Origo'' focuses on military and political events, to the neglect of cultural and religious matters.<ref>Lieu and Montserrat, 40; Odahl, 3.</ref>
[[Lactantius]]' ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'', a polemical Christian pamphlet on the reigns of [[Diocletian]] and the [[Tetrarchy]], provides valuable but tendentious detail on Constantine's predecessors and early life.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 12–14; Bleckmann, "Sources for the History of Constantine" (CC), 24; Mackay, 207; Odahl, 9–10.</ref> The ecclesiastical histories of [[Socrates of Constantinople|Socrates]], [[Sozomen]], and [[Theodoret]] describe the ecclesiastic disputes of Constantine's later reign.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 225; Bleckmann, "Sources for the History of Constantine" (CC), 28–29; Odahl, 4–6.</ref> Written during the reign of [[Theodosius II]] (408–50), a century after Constantine's reign, these ecclesiastic historians obscure the events and theologies of the Constantinian period through misdirection, misrepresentation and deliberate obscurity.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 225; Bleckmann, "Sources for the History of Constantine" (CC), 26–29; Odahl, 5–6.</ref> The contemporary writings of the Orthodox Christian [[Athanasius]] and the ecclesiastical history of the Arian [[Philostorgius]] also survive, though their biases are no less firm.<ref>Odahl, 6, 10.</ref>
The [[epitome]]s of [[Aurelius Victor]] (''De Caesaribus''), [[Eutropius]] (''Breviarium''), [[Festus]] (''Breviarium''), and the anonymous author of the ''[[Epitome de Caesaribus]]'' offer compressed secular political and military histories of the period. Although pagan, the epitomes paint a favorable image of Constantine, but omit reference to Constantine's religious policies.<ref>Bleckmann, "Sources for the History of Constantine" (CC), 27–28; Lieu and Montserrat, 2–6; Odahl, 6–7; Warmington, 166–67.</ref> The ''[[Panegyrici Latini]]'', a collection of [[panegyric]]s from the late third and early fourth centuries, provide valuable information on the politics and ideology of the tetrarchic period and the early life of Constantine.<ref>Bleckmann, "Sources for the History of Constantine" (CC), 24; Odahl, 8.</ref> Contemporary architecture, like the [[Arch of Constantine]] in Rome and palaces in [[Gamzigrad]] and [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]],<ref>Bleckmann, "Sources for the History of Constantine" (CC), 20–21; Johnson, "Architecture of Empire" (CC), 288–91; Odahl, 11–12.</ref> [[Epigraphy|epigraphic]] remains, and the [[coin]]age of the era complement the literary sources.<ref>Bleckmann, "Sources for the History of Constantine" (CC), 17–21; Odahl, 11–14.</ref>
==Early life==
[[Image:Constantian Dynasty, the children of Constantius.png|thumb|right|Constantine's parents and siblings. Dates in square brackets indicate the possession of minor titles, such as the [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]]]]
Constantine, named Flavius Valerius Constantinus, was born in the [[Moesia]]n military city of Naissus ([[Niš]], [[Serbia]]) on the [[February 27|27th of February]] of an uncertain year,<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 3, 39–42; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 17; Odahl, 15; Pohlsander, "Constantine I"; Southern, 169, 341.</ref> probably near 272.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 3; Barnes, ''New Empire'', 39–42; Elliott, "Constantine's Conversion," 425–6; Elliott, "Eusebian Frauds," 163; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 17; Jones, 13–14; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 59; Odahl, 16; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 14; Rodgers, 238; Wright, 495, 507.</ref> His father was [[Constantius Chlorus|Flavius Constantius]], a native of [[Moesia|Moesia Superior]] (later [[Dacia ripensis|Dacia Ripensis]]).<ref name="CTCR">Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 3; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 59–60; Odahl, 16–17.</ref> Constantius was a tolerant and politically skilled man.<ref>''Panegyrici Latini'' 8(5), 9(4); Lactantius, ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'' 8.7; Eusebius, ''Vita Constantini'' 1.13.3; Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 13, 290.</ref> Constantine probably spent little time with his father.<ref>MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 21.</ref> Constantius was an officer in the Roman army in 272, part of the Emperor [[Aurelian]]'s imperial bodyguard. Constantius advanced through the ranks, earning the [[Roman governor|governorship]] of [[Dalmatia]] from Emperor [[Diocletian]], another of Aurelian's Illyrian companions, in 284 or 285.<ref name="CTCR"/> Constantine's mother was [[Helena of Constantinople|Helena]], a [[Bithynia]]n [[Greek]] of humble origin. It is uncertain whether she was legally married to Constantius or merely his concubine.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 3; Barnes, ''New Empire'', 39–40; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 17; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 59, 83; Odahl, 16; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 14.</ref>
In July 285, Diocletian declared [[Maximian]], another colleague from [[Illyricum]], his co-emperor. Each emperor would have his own court, his own military and administrative faculties, and each would rule with a separate [[praetorian prefect]] as chief lieutenant.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 8–14; Corcoran, "Before Constantine" (CC), 41–54; Odahl, 46–50; Treadgold, 14–15.</ref> Maximian ruled in the West, from his capitals at [[Mediolanum]] ([[Milan]], [[Italy]]) or Augusta Treverorum ([[Trier]], [[Germany]]), while Diocletian ruled in the East, from [[Nicomedia]] ([[İzmit]], [[Turkey]]). The division was merely pragmatic: the Empire was called "indivisible" in official panegyric,<ref>Bowman, 70; Potter, 283; Williams, 49, 65.</ref> and both emperors could move freely throughout the Empire.<ref>Potter, 283; Williams, 49, 65.</ref> In 288, Maximian appointed Constantius to serve as his praetorian prefect in [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]]. Constantius left Helena to marry Maximian's stepdaughter [[Flavia Maximiana Theodora|Theodora]] in 288 or 289.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 3; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 20; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 59–60; Odahl, 47, 299; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 14.</ref>
Diocletian divided the Empire again in 293, appointing two [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]]s (junior emperors) to rule over further subdivisions of East and West. Each would be subordinate to their respective [[Augustus (honorific)|Augustus]] (senior emperor) but would act with supreme authority in his assigned lands. This system would later be called the [[Tetrarchy]]. Diocletian's first appointee for the office of Caesar was Constantius; his second was [[Galerius]], a native of Felix Romuliana ([[Gamzigrad]], [[Serbia]]). According to Lactantius, Galerius was a brutal, animalistic man. Although he shared the paganism of Rome's aristocracy, he seemed to them an alien figure, a semi-barbarian.<ref>Lactantius, ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'' 7.1; Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 13, 290.</ref> On [[March 1]], Constantius was promoted to the office of Caesar, and dispatched to Gaul to fight the rebels [[Carausius]] and [[Allectus]].<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 3, 8; Corcoran, "Before Constantine" (CC), 40–41; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 20; Odahl, 46–47; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 8–9, 14; Treadgold, 17.</ref> In spite of meritocratic overtones, the Tetrarchy retained vestiges of hereditary privilege,<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 8–9; Corcoran, "Before Constantine" (CC), 42–43, 54.</ref> and Constantine became the prime candidate for future appointment as Caesar as soon as his father took the position. Constantine left the Balkans for the court of Diocletian, where he lived as his father's heir presumptive.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 3; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 59–60; Odahl, 56–7.</ref>
===In the East===
Constantine received a formidable education at Diocletian's court, where he learned Latin literature, Greek, and philosophy.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 73–74; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 60; Odahl, 72, 301.</ref> The cultural environment in Nicomedia was open, fluid and socially mobile, and 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.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 47, 73–74; Fowden, "Between Pagans and Christians," 175–76.</ref> 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 [[tribune|tribunates]]; he campaigned against barbarians on the Danube in 296, and fought the Persians under Diocletian in Syria (297) and under Galerius in Mesopotamia (298–99).<ref>Constantine, ''Oratio ad Sanctorum Coetum'', 16.2; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 29–30; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 60; Odahl, 72–73.</ref> By late 305, he had become a tribune of the first order, a ''tribunus ordinis primi''.<ref>Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 29; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 61; Odahl, 72–74, 306; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 15. Contra: J. Moreau, ''Lactance: "De la mort des persécuteurs"'', ''Sources Chrétiennes'' 39 (1954): 313; Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 297.</ref>
[[Image:DSC04500i Istanbul - Museo archeol. - Diocleziano (284-205 d.C.) - Foto G. Dall'Orto 28-5-2006.jpg|thumb|right|Head from a statue of [[Diocletian]], Augustus of the East]]
Constantine had returned to Nicomedia from the eastern front by the spring of 303, in time to witness the beginnings of Diocletian's "[[Diocletianic Persecution|Great Persecution]]", the severest [[Persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire|persecution of Christians]] in Roman history.<ref>Constantine, ''Oratio ad Sanctorum Coetum'' 25; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 30; Odahl, 73.</ref> In late 302, Diocletian and Galerius sent a messenger to the [[oracle]] of [[Apollo]] at [[Didyma]] with an inquiry about Christians.<ref>Lactantius, ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'' 10.6–11; Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 21; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 35–36; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 24; Odahl, 67; Potter, 338.</ref> Constantine could recall his presence at the palace when the messenger returned, when Diocletian accepted his court's demands for universal persecution.<ref>Eusebius, ''Vita Constantini'' 2.49–52; Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 21; Odahl, 67, 73, 304; Potter, 338.</ref> On [[February 23]] [[303]], Diocletian ordered the destruction of Nicomedia's new church, condemned its scriptures to the flame, and had its treasures seized. In the months that followed, churches and scriptures were destroyed, Christians were deprived of official ranks, and priests were imprisoned.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 22–25; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 24–30; Odahl, 67–69; Potter, 337.</ref>
It is unlikely that Constantine played any role in the persecution.<ref>MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 24–25.</ref> In his later writings he would attempt present himself as an opponent of Diocletian's "sanguinary edicts" against the "worshipers of God",<ref>''Oratio ad Sanctorum Coetum'' 25; Odahl, 73.</ref> but nothing indicates that he opposed it effectively at the time.<ref>Drake, "The Impact of Constantine on Christianity" (CC), 126; Elliott, "Constantine's Conversion," 425–26.</ref> Although no contemporary Christian challenged Constantine for his inaction during the persecutions, it remained a political liability throughout his life.<ref>Drake, "The Impact of Constantine on Christianity" (CC), 126.</ref>
On [[May 1]] [[305]], Diocletian, as a result of a debilitating sickness taken in the winter of 304–5, announced his resignation. In a parallel ceremony in Milan, Maximian did the same.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 25–27; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 60; Odahl, 69–72; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 15; Potter, 341–42.</ref> Lactantius states that Galerius manipulated the weakened Diocletian into resigning, and forced him to accept Galerius' allies in the imperial succession. According to Lactantius, the crowd listening to Diocletian's resignation speech believed, until the very last moment, that Diocletian would choose Constantine and Maxentius ([[Maximian]]'s son) as his successors.<ref>Lactantius, ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'' 19.2–6; Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 26; Potter, 342.</ref> It was not to be: [[Flavius Valerius Severus|Severus]] and [[Maximinus|Maximin]] were appointed, while Constantine and Maxentius were ignored.<ref>Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 60–61; Odahl, 72–74; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 15.</ref>
Some of the ancient sources detail plots that Galerius made on Constantine's life in the months following Diocletian's abdication. They assert that Galerius assigned Constantine to lead an advance unit in a cavalry charge through a swamp on the middle [[Danube]], made him enter into single combat with a lion, and attempted to kill him in hunts and wars. Constantine always emerged victorious: the lion emerged from the contest in a poorer condition than Constantine; Constantine returned to Nicomedia from the Danube with a Sarmatian captive to drop at Galerius' feet.<ref>''Origo'' 4; Lactantius, ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'' 24.3–9; Praxagoras fr. 1.2; Aurelius Victor 40.2–3; ''Epitome de Caesaribus'' 41.2; Zosimus 2.8.3; Eusebius, ''Vita Constantini'' 1.21; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 61; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 32; Odahl, 73.</ref> It is uncertain how much these tales can be trusted.<ref>Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 61.</ref>
===In the West===
Constantine's recognized the implicit danger in remaining at Galerius' court, where he was held as a virtual hostage. His career depended on being rescued by his father in the west. Constantius was quick to intervene.<ref>Odahl, 75–76.</ref> In the late spring or early summer of 305, Constantius requested leave for his son, to help him campaign in Britain. After a long evening of drinking, Galerius granted the request. Constantine's later propaganda describes how Constantine fled the court in the night, before Galerius could change his mind. He rode from [[Cursus publicus|post-house]] to post-house at high speed, [[hamstringing|mutilating]] every horse in his wake.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 27; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 39–40; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 61; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 32; Odahl, 77; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 15–16; Potter, 344–5; Southern, 169–70, 341.</ref> By the time Galerius awoke the following morning, Constantine had fled too far to be caught.<ref>MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 32.</ref> Constantine joined his father in [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]], at Bononia ([[Boulogne-sur-Mer|Boulogne]]) before the summer of 305.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 27; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 39–40; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 61; Odahl, 77; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 15–16; Potter, 344–45; Southern, 169–70, 341.</ref>
[[Image:yorkconstantine.jpg|thumb|right|Bronze statue of Constantine I in [[York]], [[England]], near the spot where he was proclaimed Augustus in 306]]
From Bononia they crossed the [[English Channel|Channel]] to Britain and made their way to [[Eboracum]] ([[York]]), capital of the province of [[Britannia Secunda]] and home to a large military base. Constantine was able to spend a year in northern Britain at his father's side, campaigning against the [[Picts]] beyond [[Hadrian's Wall]] in the summer and autumn.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 27, 298; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 39; Odahl, 77–78, 309; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 15–16.</ref> Constantius' campaign, like that of [[Septimius Severus]] before it, probably advanced far into the north without achieving great success.<ref>Mattingly, 233–34; Southern, 170, 341.</ref> Constantius had become severely sick over the course of his reign, and died on [[July 25]] [[306]] in [[Eboracum]] ([[York]]). Before dying, he declared his support for raising Constantine to the rank of full Augustus. The [[Alamanni]]c king [[Chrocus]], a barbarian taken into service under Constantius, then proclaimed Constantine as Augustus. The troops loyal to Constantius' memory followed him in acclamation. Gaul and Britain quickly accepted his rule;<ref name="N35">Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 27–28; Jones, 59; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 61–62; Odahl, 78–79.</ref> Iberia, which had been in his father's domain for less than a year, rejected it.<ref>Jones, 59.</ref>
Constantine sent Galerius an official notice of Constantius' death and his own acclamation. Along with the notice, he included a portrait of himself in the robes of an Augustus.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 28–29; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 62; Odahl, 79–80.</ref> The portrait was wreathed in [[Bay Laurel|bay]].<ref>Jones, 59; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 39.</ref> He requested recognition as heir to his father's throne, and passed off responsibility for his unlawful ascension on his army, claiming they had "forced it upon him".<ref>Treadgold, 28.</ref> Galerius was put into a fury by the message; he almost set the portrait on fire. His advisers calmed him, and argued that outright denial of Constantine's claims would mean certain war.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 28–29; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 62; Odahl, 79–80; Rees, 160.</ref> Galerius was compelled to compromise: He granted Constantine and the title "Caesar" rather than "Augustus" (The latter office went to Severus instead).<ref name="GCA">Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 29; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 41; Jones, 59; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 39; Odahl, 79–80.</ref> Wishing to make it clear that he alone gave Constantine legitimacy, Galerius personally sent Constantine the emperor's traditional [[Tyrian purple|purple robes]].<ref>Odahl, 79–80.</ref> Constantine accepted the decision,<ref name="GCA"/> knowing that it would remove doubts as to his legitimacy.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 29.</ref>
==Early rule==
Constantine's share of the Empire consisted of Britain, Gaul, and Spain. He therefore commanded one of the largest Roman armies, stationed along the important [[Rhine]] frontier.<ref>Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 16–17.</ref> After his promotion to emperor, Constantine remained in Britain, and secured his control in the northwestern dioceses. He completed the reconstruction of military bases begun under his father's rule, and ordered the repair of the region's roadways.<ref>Odahl, 80–81.</ref> He soon left for [[History of Trier#Roman Empire|Augusta Treverorum]] ([[Trier]]) in Gaul, the Tetrarchic capital of the northwestern Roman Empire.<ref>Odahl, 81.</ref> The [[Franks]], after learning of Constantine's acclamation, invaded Gaul across the lower Rhine over the winter of 306–7.<ref>MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 39; Odahl, 81–82.</ref> Constantine drove them back beyond the Rhine and captured two of their kings, Ascaric and Merogaisus. The kings and their soldiers were fed to the beasts of Trier's amphitheater in the ''[[Adventus (ceremony)|adventus]]'' (arrival) celebrations that followed.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 29; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 41; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 63; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 39–40; Odahl, 81–83.</ref>
[[Image:Trier roman baths DSC02378.jpg|thumb|right|[[Public bathing|Public baths]] (''[[thermae]]'') built in Trier by Constantine. More than {{convert|100|m|0}} wide by {{convert|200|m|0}} long, and capable of serving several thousands at a time, the baths were built to rival those of Rome.<ref>Odahl, 82–83.</ref>]]
Constantine began a major expansion of Trier. He strengthened the circuit wall around the city with military towers and fortified gates, and began building a palace complex in the northeastern part of the city. To the south of his palace, he ordered the construction of a large formal audience hall, and a massive imperial bathhouse. Constantine sponsored many building projects across Gaul during his tenure as Emperor of the West, especially in Augustodunum ([[Autun]]) and Arelate ([[Arles]]).<ref>Odahl, 82–83. See also: William E. Gwatkin, Jr. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/CJ/29/1/Roman_Trier*.html Roman Trier]." ''The Classical Journal'' 29 (1933): 3–12.</ref> According to Lactantius, Constantine followed his father in following a tolerant policy towards Christianity. Although not yet a Christian, he probably judged it a more sensible policy than open persecution,<ref>Lactantius, ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'' 24.9; Barnes, "Lactantius and Constantine", 43–46; Odahl, 85, 310–11.</ref> and a way to distinguish himself from the "great persecutor" himself, Galerius.<ref>Odahl, 86.</ref> Constantine decreed a formal end to persecution, and returned to Christians all they had lost during the persecutions.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 28.</ref>
Because Constantine was still largely untried and had a hint of illegitimacy about him, he relied on his father's reputation in his early propaganda: the earliest panegyrics to Constantine give as much coverage to his father's deeds as to those of Constantine himself.<ref>Rodgers, 236.</ref> Constantine's military skill and building projects soon gave the panegyrist the opportunity to comment favorably on the similarities between father and son, and Eusebius remarked that Constantine was a "renewal, as it were, in his own person, of his father's life and reign".<ref>''Panegyrici Latini'' 7(6)3.4; Eusebius, ''Vita Constantini'' 1.22, qtd. and tr. Odahl, 83; Rodgers, 238.</ref> Constantinian coinage, sculpture and oratory also shows a new tendency for disdain towards the "barbarians" beyond the frontiers. After Constantine's victory over the Alemanni, he minted a coin issue depicting weeping and begging Alemannic tribesmen—"The Alemanni conquered"—beneath the phrase "Romans' rejoicing".<ref>MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 40.</ref> There was little sympathy for these enemies. As his panegyrist declared: "It is a stupid clemency that spares the conquered foe."<ref>Qtd. in MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 40.</ref>
===Maxentius' rebellion===
Following Galerius' recognition of Constantine as emperor, his portrait was brought to Rome, as was customary. Maxentius mocked the portrait's subject as the son of a harlot, and lamented his own powerlessness.<ref>Zosimus, 2.9.2; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 62; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 39.</ref> Maxentius, jealous of Constantine's authority,<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 29; Odahl, 86; Potter, 346.</ref> seized the title of emperor on [[October 28]] [[306]]. Galerius refused to recognize him, but failed to unseat him. During his first campaign against Maxentius, Severus' armies defected, and he was seized and imprisoned.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 30–31; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 41–42; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 62–63; Odahl, 86–87; Potter, 348–49.</ref> Over the spring and summer of 307, he left Gaul for Britain to avoid any involvement in the Italian turmoil.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 30; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 62–63; Odahl, 86–87.</ref> Maximian, brought out of retirement by his son's rebellion, left for Gaul to confer with Constantine in late 307. He offered to marry his daughter [[Fausta]] to him, and elevate him to Augustan rank. In return, Constantine would reaffirm the old family alliance between Maximian and Constantius, and offer support to Maxentius' cause in Italy. Constantine accepted, and married Fausta in Trier in late summer 307. Constantine now gave Maxentius his meager support, offering Maxentius political recognition.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 31; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 64; Odahl, 87–88; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 15–16.</ref>
[[Image:Maxentius02 pushkin.jpg|right|thumb|Dresden bust of Maxentius. Maxentius' rule in Italy worsened political relations within the Tetrarchy, and pushed its members towards open conflict.<ref>Odahl, 92.</ref> His ruling style and motivations have been likened to those of Constantine.<ref name = "leohak">Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 37.</ref>]]
Constantine remained aloof from military conflict, however. Instead of sending his troops into a civil war, he sent them against Germanic tribes along the Rhine. In 308, he raided the territory of the [[Bructeri]], and made a bridge across the Rhine at Colonia Agrippinensium ([[Cologne]]). In 310, he marched to the northern Rhine and fought the Franks. When not campaigning, he toured his lands advertising his benevolence, and supporting the economy and the arts. His refusal to participate in the war increased his popularity among his people, and strengthened his power base in the West.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 34; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 63–65; Odahl, 89; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 15–16.</ref> Maximian returned to Rome in the winter of 307–8, but soon fell out with his son. In early 309, after a failed attempt to usurp Maxentius' title, Maximian returned to Constantine's court.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 32; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 64; Odahl, 89, 93.</ref>
On [[November 11]] [[308]], Galerius called a general council at the military city of [[Carnuntum]] ([[Petronell-Carnuntum]], [[Austria]]) to resolve the instability in the western provinces. In attendance were Diocletian, briefly returned from retirement, Galerius, and Maximian. Maximian was forced to abdicate again and Constantine was again demoted to Caesar. [[Flavius Valerius Severus|Severus]], one of Galerius' old military companions, was appointed Augustus of the west. The new system did not last long: Constantine refused to accept the demotion, and continued to style himself as Augustus on his coinage, even as other members of the Tetrarchy referred to him as a Caesar on theirs. Maximinus was frustrated that he had been turned over for promotion while the newcomer Licinius had been raised to the office of Augustus, and demanded that Galerius promote him. Galerius offered to call both Maximinus and Constantine "sons of the Augusti",<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 32–34; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 42–43; Jones, 61; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 65; Odahl, 90–91; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 17; Potter, 349–50; Treadgold, 29.</ref> but neither accepted the new title. By the spring of 310, Galerius was referring to both men as Augusti.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 33; Jones, 61.</ref>
===Maximian's rebellion===
[[Image:Constantine multiple CdM Beistegui 233.jpg|right|thumb|A gold multiple of Constantine with Sol Invictus, printed in 313. The use of Sol's image appealed to both the educated citizens of Gaul, who would recognize in it Apollo's patronage of [[Augustus]] and the arts; and to Christians, who found solar monotheism less objectionable than the traditional pagan pantheon.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 36–37.</ref>]]
In 310, a dispossessed and power-hungry Maximian rebelled against Constantine while Constantine was away campaigning against the Franks. Maximian had been sent south to Arles with a contingent of Constantine's army, in preparation for any attacks by Maxentius in southern Gaul. He there announced that Constantine was dead, and took up the imperial purple. In spite of a large donative pledge to any who would support him as emperor, most of Constantine's army remained loyal to their emperor, and Maximian was soon compelled to leave. Constantine soon heard of the rebellion, abandoned his campaign against the Franks, and marched his army up the Rhine.<ref name = "yuhknp">Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 34–35; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 43; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 65–66; Odahl, 93; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 17; Potter, 352.</ref> At Cabillunum ([[Chalon-sur-Saône]]), he moved his troops onto waiting boats to row down the slow waters of the [[Saône]] to the quicker waters of the [[Rhone]]. He disembarked at [[Lugdunum]] ([[Lyon]]).<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 34.</ref> Maximian fled to Massilia ([[Marseille]]), a town better able to withstand a long siege than Arles. It made little difference, however, as loyal citizens opened the rear gates to Constantine. Maximian was captured and reproved for his crimes. Constantine granted some clemency, but strongly encouraged his suicide. In July 310, Maximian hanged himself.<ref name = "yuhknp"/>
In spite of the earlier rupture in their relations, Maxentius was eager to present himself as his father's devoted son after his death.<ref>Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 43; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 68; Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 20.</ref> He began printing coins with his father's deified image, proclaiming his desire to avenge Maximian's death.<ref>Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 45; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 68.</ref> Constantine initially presented the suicide as an unfortunate family tragedy. By 311, however, he was spreading another version. According to this, after Constantine had pardoned him, Maximian planned to murder Constantine in his sleep. Fausta learned of the plot and warned Constantine, who put a [[eunuch]] in his own place in bed. Maximian was apprehended when he killed the eunuch and was offered suicide, which he accepted.<ref>Lactantius, ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'' 30.1; Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 40–41, 305.</ref> In addition to the propaganda, Constantine instituted a ''[[damnatio memoriae]]'' on Maximian, destroying all inscriptions referring to him and eliminating any public work bearing his image.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 41; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 68.</ref>
The death of Maximian necessitated a shift in Constantine's public image. He could no longer rely on his connection to the elder emperor Maximian, and needed a new source of legitimacy.<ref>Potter, 352.</ref> In a speech delivered in Gaul on [[July 25]] [[310]], the orator reveals a previously unknown dynastic connection to [[Claudius II]], a third-century emperor famed for defeating the Goths and restoring order to the empire. Breaking away from tetrarchic models, the speech emphasizes Constantine's ancestral prerogative to rule, rather than principles of imperial equality. The new ideology expressed in the speech made Galerius and Maximian irrelevant to Constantine's right to rule.<ref>''Panegyrici Latini'' 6(7); Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 35–37, 301; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 66; Odahl, 94–95, 314–15; Potter, 352–53.</ref> Indeed, the orator emphasizes ancestry to the exclusion of all other factors: "No chance agreement of men, nor some unexpected consequence of favor, made you emperor," the orator declares to Constantine.<ref>''Panegyrici Latini'' 6(7)1. Qtd. in Potter, 353.</ref>
The oration also moves away from the religious ideology of the Tetrarchy, with its focus on twin dynasties of [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] and [[Hercules]]. Instead, the orator proclaims that Constantine experienced a divine vision of [[Apollo]] and [[Victoria (mythology)|Victory]] granting him [[laurel wreath]]s of health and a long reign. In the likeness of Apollo Constantine recognized himself as the saving figure to whom would be granted "rule of the whole world",<ref>''Panegyrici Latini'' 6(7).21.5.</ref> as the poet Virgil had once foretold.<ref>Virgil, ''[[Bucolics|Ecologues]]'' 4.10.</ref> The oration's religious shift is paralleled by a similar shift in Constantine's coinage. In his early reign, the coinage of Constantine advertised [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]] as his patron. From 310 on, Mars was replaced by [[Sol Invictus]], a god conventionally identified with Apollo.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 36–37; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 67; Odahl, 95.</ref> There is little reason to believe that either the dynastic connection or the divine vision are anything other than fiction, but their proclamation strengthened Constantine's claims to legitimacy and increased his popularity among the citizens of Gaul.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 36–37; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 50–53; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 66–67; Odahl, 94–95.</ref>
==Civil wars==
===War against Maxentius===
{{Campaignbox Constantine Wars}}
By the middle of 310 Galerius had had become too ill to involve himself in imperial politics.<ref>Lactantius, ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'' 31–35; Eusebius, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 8.16; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 43; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 68; Odahl, 95–96, 316.</ref> As his last political act, Galerius decided to rescind his failed policies of persecution. In a letter to his provincials posted in Nicomedia on [[April 30]] [[311]], Galerius proclaimed an end to the persecutions, and a resumption of official religious toleration.<ref>Lactantius, ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'' 34; Eusebius, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 8.17; Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 304; Jones, 66.</ref> He died soon after.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 39; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 43–44; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 68; Odahl, 95–96.</ref> Galerius' death destabilized what remained of the tetrarchic system.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 41; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 45; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 69; Odahl, 96.</ref> Maximinus mobilized against Licinius, and seized Asia Minor. Licinius and Maximinus arranged a temporary peace on the Bosphorus soon thereafter.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 39–40; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 44; Odahl, 96.</ref> While Constantine toured Britain and Gaul, Maxentius prepared for war.<ref>Odahl, 96.</ref> He fortified northern Italy, and strengthened his support in the Christian community by allowing it to elect a new [[Bishop of Rome]], [[Pope Eusebius|Eusebius]].<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 38; Odahl, 96.</ref>
Maxentius' rule was nevertheless insecure. His early support dissolved in the wake of heightened tax rates and depressed trade; riots broke out in Rome and Carthage;<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 37; Curran, 66; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 68; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 62.</ref> and [[Domitius Alexander]] was able to briefly usurp his authority in Africa.<ref name = "leohak"/> By 312, he was a man barely tolerated, not one actively supported,<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 37–39.</ref> even among Christian Italians.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 38–39; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 62.</ref> In the summer of 311, Maxentius mobilized against Constantine while Licinius was occupied with affairs in the East. He declared war on Constantine, vowing to avenge his father's "murder".<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 40; Curran, 66.</ref> Constantine, in an attempt to prevent Maxentius from forming a hostile alliance with Licinius,<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 41.</ref> forged his own alliance with the man over the winter of 311–12 by offering to him his sister Constantia in marriage. Maximin considered Constantine's arrangement with Licinius an affront to his authority. In response, he sent ambassadors to Rome, offering political recognition to Maxentius in exchange for a military support. Maxentius accepted.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 41; Elliott, ''Christianity of Constantine'', 44–45; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 69; Odahl, 96.</ref> According to Eusebius, inter-regional travel became impossible, and there was military buildup everywhere. There was "not a place where people were not expecting the onset of hostilities every day".<ref>Eusebius, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 8.15.1–2, qtd. and tr. in MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 65.</ref>
[[Image:Torino-portapalatina01.jpg|thumb|right|The Porta Palatina ([[Palatine Towers]]), together with a stretch of the old city walls, where Constantine defeated Maxentius' troops in [[Turin]]]]
Constantine's advisers and generals cautioned against preemptive attack on Maxentius;<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 41; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 71.</ref> even his soothsayers recommended against it, stating that the sacrifices had produced unfavorable omens.<ref>''Panegyrici Latini'' 12(9)2.5; Curran, 67.</ref> Constantine, with a spirit that left a deep impression on his followers, inspiring some to believe that he had some form of supernatural guidance,<ref>Curran, 67.</ref> ignored all these cautions, and attacked Maxentius without a ''[[casus belli]]''.<ref>MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 70–71.</ref> Early in the spring of 312,<ref name = "esyyqc">Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 41; Odahl, 101.</ref> Constantine crossed the [[Cottian Alps]] with a quarter of his total army, approximately 40,000 men.<ref>''Panegyrici Latini'' 12(9)5.1–3; Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 41; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 71; Odahl, 101.</ref> He first came to Segusium ([[Susa (TO)|Susa]], [[Italy]]), a heavily fortified town containing a military garrison, which shut its gates to him. Constantine ordered his forces set its gates on fire, scaled its walls, and took the town quickly. Constantine forbade the plunder of the town, and advanced into northern Italy.<ref name = "esyyqc"/>
At the approach to the west of the important city of Augusta Taurinorum ([[Turin]], Italy), Constantine encountered a large force of heavily armed Maxentian cavalry.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 41; Jones, 70; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 71; Odahl, 101–2.</ref> In the ensuing [[Battle of Turin (312)|battle]] Constantine encircled Maxentius' cavalry, flanked them with his own cavalry, and dismounted them with blows from his soldiers' iron-tipped clubs. Constantine's armies emerged victorious.<ref>''Panegyrici Latini'' 12(9)5–6; 4(10)21–24; Jones, 70–71; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 71; Odahl, 102, 317–18.</ref> Turin refused to give refuge to Maxentius' retreating forces, opening its gates to Constantine instead.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 41; Jones, 71; Odahl, 102.</ref> Other cities of the north Italian plain sent Constantine embassies of congratulation for his victory. He moved on to Milan, where he was met with open gates and jubilant rejoicing. Constantine rested his army in Milan until mid-summer 312, when he moved on to [[Brixia]] ([[Brescia]]).<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 41–42; Odahl, 103.</ref>
Brescia's army was easily dispersed,<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 42; Jones, 71; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 71; Odahl, 103.</ref> and Constantine quickly advanced to [[Verona]], where a large Maxentian force was camped.<ref>Jones, 71; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 71; Odahl, 103.</ref> Ruricius Pompeianus, general of the Veronese forces and Maxentius' praetorian prefect,<ref>Jones, 71; Odahl, 103.</ref> was in a strong defensive position. Constantine sent a small force to cross the river at a point north of the city. Ruricius sent a large detachment to counter Constantine's expeditionary force, but it was defeated. Constantine's forces successfully surrounded the town and laid siege.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 42; Jones, 71; Odahl, 103.</ref> Ruricius gave Constantine the slip and returned with a larger force to oppose Constantine. Constantine refused to let up on the siege, and sent only a small force to oppose him. In the desperately-fought [[Battle of Verona (312)|encounter]] that followed, Ruricius was killed and his army destroyed.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 42; Jones, 71; Odahl, 103–4.</ref> Verona surrendered soon afterwards, followed by [[Aquileia]],<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 42; Jones, 71; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 69; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 71; Odahl, 104.</ref> Mutina ([[Modena]]),<ref>Jones, 71; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 71.</ref> and [[Ravenna]].<ref>MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 71.</ref> The road to Rome was now wide open to Constantine.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 42; Curran, 67; Jones, 71.</ref>
[[Image:Ponte Milvio-side view-antmoose.jpg|thumb|right|The Milvian Bridge ([[Ponte Milvio]]) over the Tiber, north of Rome, where Constantine and Maxentius fought in the [[Battle of the Milvian Bridge]]]]
Maxentius prepared for the same type of war he had waged against Severus and Galerius: he sat in Rome and prepared for a siege.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 42; Jones, 71; Odahl, 105.</ref> He still controlled Rome's praetorian guards, was well-stocked with African grain, and was surrounded on all sides by the seemingly-impregnable [[Aurelian Walls]]. He ordered all bridges across the [[Tiber]] cut, reportedly on the counsel of the gods,<ref>Jones, 71.</ref> and left the rest of central Italy undefended; Constantine secured that region's support without challenge.<ref>Odahl, 104.</ref> Constantine progressed slowly,<ref name="BCE42">Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 42.</ref> along the ''[[Via Flaminia]]'',<ref>MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 72; Odahl, 107.</ref> allowing the weakness of Maxentius to draw his regime further into turmoil.<ref name="BCE42"/> Maxentius' support continued to weaken: at chariot races on [[October 27]], the crowd openly taunted Maxentius, shouting that Constantine was invincible.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 42; Curran, 67; Jones, 71–72; Odahl, 107–8.</ref> Maxentius, no longer certain that he would emerge from a siege victorious, built a temporary boat bridge across the Tiber in preparation for a field battle against Constantine.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 42–43; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 78; Odahl, 108.</ref> On [[October 28]] [[312]], the sixth anniversary of his reign, he approached the keepers of the [[Sibylline Books]] for guidance. The keepers found in them a prophecy stating that, on that very day, "the enemy of the Romans" would die. Maxentius advanced north to meet Constantine in battle.<ref>Lactantius, ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'' 44.8; Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 43; Curran, 67; Jones, 72; Odahl, 108.</ref>
Maxentius organized his forces—still twice the size of Constantine's—in long lines facing the battle plain, with their backs to the river.<ref name = "bvubfs">Odahl, 108.</ref> When Constantine's army made its appearance, some of its soldiers bore unusual markings on their shields: instead of the traditional pagan standards, a new sign, the ''[[labarum]]'', was mounted.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 43; Digeser, 122; Jones, 72; Odahl, 106.</ref> According to Lactantius, Constantine was visited by a dream the night before the battle, wherein he was advised "to mark the heavenly sign of God on the shields of his soldiers...by means of a slanted letter X with the top of its head bent round, he marked Christ on their shields."<ref>Lactantius, ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'' 44.4–6, tr. J.L. Creed, ''Lactantius: De Mortibus Persecutorum'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984), qtd. in Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 71.</ref> Eusebius describes another version, where, while marching at midday, "he saw with his own eyes in the heavens a trophy of the cross arising from the light of the sun, carrying the message, Conquer By This".<ref>Eusebius, ''Vita Constantini'' 1.28, tr. Odahl, 105. Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 43; Drake, "Impact of Constantine on Christianity" (CC), 113; Odahl, 105.</ref> During the following night, in a dream, Christ appeared with the heavenly sign and told him to make standards for his army in that form.<ref>Eusebius, ''Vita Constantini'' 1.27–29; Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 43, 306; Odahl, 105–6, 319–20.</ref> Although Eusebius is vague about when and where this event took place,<ref>Drake, "Impact of Constantine on Christianity" (CC), 113.</ref> it enters his narrative before the war against Maxentius begins.<ref>Cameron and Hall, 208.</ref> Eusebius describes the sign as [[Chi (letter)|Chi]] (Χ) traversed by [[Rho (letter)|Rho]] (Ρ), or ☧.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 306; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 73; Odahl, 319.</ref> The Eusebian description of the vision has been explained as an example of the meteorological phenomenon known as the "[[Halo (optical phenomenon)|solar halo]]", which can produce similar effects.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 306; Cameron and Hall, 206–7; Drake, "Impact of Constantine on Christianity" (CC), 114; Nicholson, 311.</ref>
[[Image:Raphael-Constantine at Milvian Bridge.jpg|right|thumb|''[[The Battle of the Milvian Bridge (Giulio Romano)| The Battle of the Milvian Bridge]]'' by [[Giulio Romano]]]]
Constantine deployed his own forces in along the whole length of Maxentius' line. He ordered his cavalry to charge, and they broke Maxentius' cavalry. He then sent his infantry against Maxentius' infantry, pushing many into the Tiber where they were slaughtered and drowned.<ref name = "bvubfs"/> The battle was brief:<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 43; Curran, 68.</ref> Maxentius' troops were broken before the first charge.<ref>MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 78.</ref> Maxentius' horse guards and praetorians initially held their position, but broke under the force of a Constantinian cavalry charge; they also broke ranks and fled to the river. Maxentius rode with them, and attempted to cross the bridge of boats, but he was pushed by the mass of his fleeing soldiers into the Tiber, and drowned.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 43; Curran, 68; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 70; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 78; Odahl, 108.</ref>
Constantine entered Rome on [[October 29]].<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 44; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 81; Odahl, 108.</ref> He staged a grand ''adventus'' in the city, and was met with popular jubilation.<ref>Cameron, 93; Curran, 71–74; Odahl, 110.</ref> Maxentius' body was fished out of the Tiber and decapitated. His head was paraded through the streets for all to see.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 44; Curran, 72; Jones, 72; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 70; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 78; Odahl, 108.</ref> After the ceremonies, Maxentius' disembodied head was sent to [[Carthage]], after which Africa gave no further resistance.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 44–45.</ref> He entered as a Christian: unlike his predecessors, he neglected to make the trip to the [[Capitoline Hill]] and perform customary sacrifices at the [[Temple of Jupiter (Capitoline Hill)|Temple of Jupiter]].<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 44; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 81; Odahl, 111. Cf. also Curran, 72–75.</ref> He did, however, choose to honor the [[Roman Senate|Senatorial]] [[Curia Julia|Curia]] with a visit,<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 45; Curran, 72; MacMullen, ''Constantine'', 81; Odahl, 109.</ref> where he promised to restore its ancestral privileges and give it a secure role in his reformed government: there would be no revenge against Maxentius' supporters.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 45–46; Odahl, 109.</ref> In response, the Senate decreed him "title of the first name", which meant his name would be listed first in all official documents,<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 46; Odahl, 109.</ref> and acclaimed him as "the greatest Augustus".<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 46.</ref> He issued decrees returning property lost under Maxentius, recalling political exiles, and releasing Maxentius' imprisoned opponents.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 44.</ref>
In an extensive propaganda campaign followed: Maxentius' image was systematically purged from all public places. Maxentius was written up as a "[[tyrant]]", and set against an idealized image of the "liberator", Constantine. Eusebius, in his later works, is the best representative of this strand of Constantinian propaganda.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 45–47; Cameron, 93; Curran, 76–77; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 70.</ref> Constantine also attempted to remove Maxentius' influence on Rome's urban landscape. All structures built by Maxentius were re-dedicated to Constantine, including the [[Santi Cosma e Damiano#History|Temple of Romulus]] and the [[Basilica of Maxentius]].<ref>Curran, 80–83.</ref> Where he did not overwrite Maxentius' achievements, he upstaged them: the [[Circus Maximus]] was redeveloped so that its total seating capacity was twenty-five times larger than that of Maxentius' racing complex on the [[Via Appia]].<ref>Curran, 83–85.</ref> Maxentius' strongest supporters in the military were neutralized when the [[Praetorian Guard]] and Imperial Horse Guard (''equites singulares'') were disbanded.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 45; Curran, 76; Odahl, 109.</ref> Their tombstones were ground up and put to use in a basilica on the [[Via Labicana]].<ref>Curran, 101.</ref> Early in Constantine's reign, the former base of the Imperial Horse Guard was chosen for redevelopment into the [[Basilica of St. John Lateran|Lateran Basilica]]. Art historian [[Richard Krautheimer]] dated the event to [[November 9]] [[312]], barely two weeks after Constantine captured the city.<ref>Krautheimer, ''Corpus Basilicarum Christianarum Romanorum'', 5.90, cited in Curran, 93–96.</ref> The [[Legio II Parthica]] was removed from Alba ([[Albano Laziale]]),<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 45.</ref> and the remainder of Maxentius' armies were sent to do frontier duty on the Rhine.<ref>Odahl, 109.</ref>
===Wars against Licinius===
In the following years, Constantine gradually consolidated his military superiority over his rivals in the crumbling Tetrarchy. In 313, he met [[Licinius]] in [[Milan]] to secure their alliance by the marriage of Licinius and Constantine's half-sister [[Flavia Julia Constantia|Constantia]]. During this meeting, the emperors agreed on the so-called [[Edict of Milan]] (which, in its surviving forms, was neither an edict nor issued in Milan), officially granting full tolerance to all religions in the Empire.<ref>Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 24.</ref> The document had special benefits for Christians, legalizing their religion and granting them restoration for all property seized during Diocletian's persecution. It repudiates past methods of religious coercion, accepting religious plurality and using only general terms—"Divinity" and "Supreme Divinity", ''summa divinitas''—avoiding any exclusive specificity.<ref>Drake, "Impact," 121–3.</ref> The conference was cut short, however, when news reached Licinius that his rival [[Maximinus|Maximinus Daia]] had crossed the [[Bosporus]] and invaded Licinian territory. Licinius departed and eventually defeated Maximinus, gaining control over the entire eastern half of the Roman Empire. Relations between the two remaining emperors deteriorated, though, and either in 314 or 316, Constantine and Licinius fought against one another in the war of [[Battle of Cibalae|Cibalae]], with Constantine being victorious. They clashed again in the [[Battle of Mardia|Battle of Campus Ardiensis]] in 317, and agreed to a settlement in which Constantine's sons [[Crispus]] and [[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]], and Licinius' son Licinianus were made [[Caesar (title)|''caesars'']].<ref>Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 38–39.</ref>
In the year 320, [[Licinius]] reneged on the religious freedom promised by the [[Edict of Milan]] in 313 and began another [[persecution]] of the Christians.<ref>Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 41–42.</ref> It became a challenge to Constantine in the west, climaxing in the great civil war of 324. Licinius, aided by [[Goths|Goth]] [[Mercenary|mercenaries]], represented the past and the ancient [[Paganism|Pagan]] faiths. Constantine and his [[Franks]] marched under the Christian standard of the ''[[labarum]]'', and both sides saw the battle in religious terms. Supposedly outnumbered, but fired by their zeal, Constantine's army emerged victorious in the [[Battle of Adrianople (324)|Battle of Adrianople]]. Licinius fled across the Bosphorus and appointed [[Martinianus|Martius Martinianus]], the commander of his bodyguard, as Caesar, but Constantine next won the [[Battle of the Hellespont]], and finally the [[Battle of Chrysopolis]] on 18 September 324.<ref>Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 42–43.</ref> Licinius and Martinianus surrendered to Constantine at Nicomedia on the promise their lives would be spared: they were sent to live as private citizens in Thessalonica and Cappadocia respectively, but in 325 Constantine accused Licinius of plotting against him and had them both arrested and hanged; Licinius's son (the son of Constantine's half-sister) was also eradicated.<ref>Scarre, ''Chronicle of the Roman Emperors'', 215.</ref> Thus Constantine became the sole emperor of the Roman Empire.<ref name="macmullen">MacMullen, ''Constantine''.</ref>
==Later rule==
===Foundation of Constantinople===
[[Image:Constantinopolis coin.jpg|thumb|right|Coin struck by Constantine I to commemorate the founding of Constantinople]]
Licinius' defeat represented the passing of old Rome, and the beginning of the role of the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] as a center of learning, prosperity, and cultural preservation. Constantine rebuilt the city of [[Byzantium]], which was renamed ''Constantinopolis'' ("Constantine's City" or [[Constantinople]] in English), and issued special commemorative coins in 330 to honour the event. He provided the "Second Rome" with a [[Byzantine Senate|Senate]] and civic offices similar to those of Rome. The new city was protected by the alleged [[True Cross]], the Rod of [[Moses]] and other holy [[relic]]s, though a cameo now at the [[Hermitage Museum]] also represented Constantine crowned by the [[tyche]] of the new city.<ref>[http://www.hermitagerooms.com/exhibitions/Byzantium/sardonyx.asp Sardonyx cameo depicting constantine the great crowned by Constantinople, 4th century AD] at "The Road to Byzantium: Luxury Arts of Antiquity". ''The Hermitage Rooms at Somerset House'' ([[March 30]] [[2006]] – [[September 3]] [[2006]])</ref> 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 [[Vision (religion)|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").<ref name="macmullen"/><ref>According to the ''Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum'', vol. 164 (Stuttgart: A. Hiersemann, 2005), column 442, there is no evidence for the tradition that Constantine officially dubbed the city "New Rome" (''Nova Roma'' or ''Nea Rhome''). Commemorative coins that were issued during the 330s already refer to the city as ''Constantinopolis'' (Michael Grant, ''The Climax of Rome'' (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968), 133). It is possible that the emperor called the city "Second Rome" (''Deutera Rhome'') by official decree, as reported by the 5th-century church historian Socrates of Constantinople.</ref>
===Religious policy===
{{further|[[Constantine I and Christianity]]}}
[[Image:Byzantinischer Mosaizist um 1000 002.jpg|thumb|right|''Constantine the Great'', mosaic in [[Hagia Sophia]], c. 1000]]
Constantine is perhaps best known for being the first Christian Roman Emperor. His reign was a turning point for the Christian Church. In 313 Constantine announced toleration of Christianity in the [[Edict of Milan]], which removed penalties for professing Christianity (under which many had been martyred in previous [[Persecution of Christians|persecutions of Christians]]) and returned confiscated [[Church]] property. Though a similar edict had been issued in 311 by [[Galerius]], then senior emperor of the [[Tetrarchy]],<ref>The edict granted Christians the right to practice their religion but did not restore any property to them. See Lactantius, ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'' 34–35.</ref> Constantine's lengthy rule, conversion, and patronage of the Church redefined the status of Christianity in the empire. From the beginning, Christianity was regarded as completely pacifistic, due to a strict interpretation of the Bible as well as constant persecution by the Roman Empire. However, when Christianity became the official religion of the empire "all of Christianity began to embrace just war theory, as an attempt to be realistic about evil and harm-doing", a critical transition for the church.<ref>Rev. Edward Malloy C.S.C., ''Malloy Discusses 'just war''' (The Observer 4-28-08)</ref> Another consequence of Christianity being the state religion was that clergy members were given preferred status and exempted from military service and forced labor. There was a growing divide between clergy and laity as conversions were often more about socioeconomic status rather than faith. Converts were baptized in order to abuse Christianity for political influence, a problem unheard of before Constantine, when converts to Christianity willingly risked their life for their faith. <ref>McBrien ''Catholicismt'' 8-9</ref>
Scholars debate whether Constantine adopted his mother [[Helena of Constantinople|St. Helena]]'s Christianity in his youth, or whether he adopted it gradually over the course of his life.<ref> R. Gerberding and J. H. Moran Cruz, ''Medieval Worlds'' (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004) p. 55</ref> Constantine was over 40 when he finally declared himself a Christian.<ref>Peter Brown, ''The Rise of Christendom'' 2nd edition (Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2003) p. 61</ref> Constantine however still maintained the title of ''[[Pontifex Maximus]]'', which emperors bore as heads of the pagan priesthood. Writing to Christians, Constantine made clear that he believed he owed his successes to the protection of the Christian High God alone.<ref>Peter Brown, ''The Rise of Christendom'' 2nd edition (Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2003) p. 60</ref> Throughout his rule, Constantine supported the Church financially, built various basilicas, granted privileges (e.g. exemption from certain taxes) to clergy, promoted Christians to high ranking offices, and returned property confiscated during the Great Persecution of Diocletian.<ref>R. Gerberding and J. H. Moran Cruz, ''Medieval Worlds'' (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004) pp. 55-56</ref> His most famous building projects include the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] and [[Old Saint Peter's Basilica]].
The reign of Constantine established a precedent for the position of the Christian Emperor in the Church; Constantine considered himself responsible to God for the spiritual health of his subjects, and thus he had a duty to maintain orthodoxy.<ref> Richards, Jeffrey. ''The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages 476-752'' (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979) pp. 14-15</ref> <ref>''The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages 476-752'' (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979) q. 15</ref> The emperor ensured that God was properly worshipped in his empire; what proper worship consisted of was for the Church to determine.<ref> Richards, Jeffrey. ''The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages 476-752'' (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979) p. 16</ref> In 316, Constantine acted as a judge in a North African dispute concerning the heresy of [[Donatism]]. After making a decision against the Donatists, Constantine led an army of Christians against Christians. After 300 years of pacifism, this was the first intra-Christian persecution. More significantly, in 325 he summoned the [[First Council of Nicaea|Council of Nicaea]], effectively the first [[Ecumenical Council]] (unless the [[Council of Jerusalem]] is so classified), to deal mostly with the heresy of [[Arianism]]. Constantine also enforced the prohibition of the [[First Council of Nicaea]] against celebrating Easter on the day before the Jewish [[Passover]] (14 ''[[Nisan]]'') (see [[Quartodecimanism]] and [[Easter controversy]]).<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/25023.htm ''Life of Constantine'' Vol. III Ch. XVIII] by Eusebius; [http://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf203.iv.viii.i.x.html The Epistle of the Emperor Constantine, concerning the matters transacted at the Council, addressed to those Bishops who were not present]</ref>
Constantine instituted several legislative measures which had an impact on [[Jews]]. They were forbidden to own Christian slaves or to [[brit milah|circumcise]] their slaves. Conversion of Christians to [[Judaism]] was outlawed. Congregations for religious services were restricted, but Jews were allowed to enter [[Jerusalem]] on [[Tisha B'Av]], the anniversary of the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70)|destruction]] of the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]].
===Executions of Crispus and Fausta===
On some date between [[May 15]] and [[June 17]] [[326]], Constantine had his eldest son [[Crispus]] seized and put to death by "cold poison" at Pola ([[Pula]], [[Croatia]]).<ref>Guthrie, 325–6.</ref> In July, Constantine had his wife, the Empress [[Fausta]], killed at the behest of his mother, Helena. Fausta was left to die in an over-heated bath.<ref>Guthrie, 326; Woods, "Death of the Empress," 70–72.</ref> Their names were wiped from the face of many inscriptions, references to their lives in the literary record were erased, and the memory of both was condemned. [[Eusebius]], for example, edited praise of Crispus out of later copies of his ''Historia Ecclesiastica'', and his ''Vita Constantini'' contains no mention of Fausta or Crispus at all.<ref>Guthrie, 326; Woods, "Death of the Empress," 72.</ref> Few ancient sources are willing to discuss possible motives for the events; those few that do offer unconvincing rationales, are of later provenance, and are generally unreliable. At the time of the executions, it was commonly believed that the 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 [[Hippolytus (mythology)|Hippolytus]]–[[Phaedra (mythology)|Phaedra]] legend, with the suggestion that Constantine killed Crispus and Fausta for their immoralities.<ref name="GUTH326.7">Guthrie, 326–27.</ref> One source, the largely fictional ''Passion of Artemius'', probably penned in the eighth century by [[John of Damascus]], makes the legendary connection explicit.<ref>''Art. Pass'' 45; Woods, "Death of the Empress," 71–72.</ref> As an interpretation of the executions, the myth rests on only "the slimmest of evidence": sources that allude to the relationship between Crispus and Fausta are late and unreliable, and the modern suggestion that Constantine's "godly" edicts of 326 and the irregularities of Crispus are somehow connected rests on no evidence at all. An additional story goes that Fausta wanted to kill Crispus to ensure that her children would receive the Imperial throne. Therefore she told Constantine that Crispus had attempted to rape her, and bribed several senators to collaborate the story. Constantine was obligated by Roman Law to execute his son, as these charges were as serious as treason in Roman times. Hence, Constantine reluctantly, and sadly, executed his son. Later, his mother Helena heard of what had taken place, and investigated the event. She discovered that Fausta had bribed the senators, and told Constantine. For her treason, Fausta was executed in the gentlest way known at the time; she was locked in a bath. (This process would make the criminal pass out far before they were dead, and as such would feel no pain). After this entire event Constantine was so depressed that he never returned to the western half of the empire in his lifetime.<ref>Odahl, Charles "Constantine and the Christian Empire"</ref><ref name="GUTH326.7"/>
===Sickness and death===
Eusebius of Caesarea's account resumes following the abortive Persian campaign, with Constantine set about building a ''martyrion'' for the apostles in Constantinople, and, within it, a final resting-place for himself.<ref>Eusebius, ''Vita Constantini'' 4.58–60.</ref> In the course of one Feast of Easter, Constantine fell seriously ill.<ref>Eusebius, ''Vita Constantini'' 4.61.</ref> He left Constantinople for the hot baths near his mother's city of Helenopolis (Altinova), on the southern shores of the Gulf of İzmit. There, in a church his mother built in honor of Lucian the Apostle, he prayed, and there he realized that he was dying. Seeking purification, he became a [[catechumen]], and attempted a return to Constantinople, making it only as far as a suburb of Nicomedia.<ref>Eusebius, ''Vita Constantini'' 4.62.</ref> He summoned the bishops, and told them of his hope to be baptized in the [[River Jordan]], where Christ was written to have been baptized. He requested the baptism right away, promising to live a more Christian life should he live through his illness. The bishops, Eusebius records, "performed the sacred ceremonies according to custom".<ref>Eusebius, ''Vita Constantini'' 4.62.4.</ref> He chose the Arianizing bishop [[Eusebius of Nicomedia]], bishop of the [[Nicomedia|city]] where he lay dying, as his baptizer.<ref>Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 75–76; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 82.</ref> In postponing his baptism, he followed one custom at the time which postponed baptism until old age or death.<ref> Because he was so old, he could not be submerged in water to be baptised, and therefore, the rules of baptism were changed to what they are today, having water placed on the forehead alone. In this period infant baptism, though practiced (usually in circumstances of emergency) had not yet become a matter of routine in the west. Thomas M. Finn, ''Early Christian Baptism and the Catechumenate: East and West Syria''. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press/Michael Glazier (1992); Philip Rousseau, "Baptism". ''Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Post Classical World''. Eds. G.W. Bowersock, Peter Brown, and Oleg Grabar. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press (1999).</ref> It was thought Constantine put off baptism as long as he did so as to be absolved from as much of his sin as possible. <ref>Marilena Amerise, 'Il battesimo di Costantino il Grande."</ref> Constantine died soon after at a suburban villa called Achyron, on the last day of the fifty-day festival of Pentecost directly following Easter, on [[May 22]] [[337]].<ref>Eusebius, ''Vita Constantini'' 4.64; Fowden, "Last Days of Constantine," 147; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine" (CC), 82.</ref><!--Should check out R.W. Burgess, "Achurôn or Proasteion? The Location and Circumstances of Constantine's Death", ''JTS'' 50 (1999) 153-161; Marilena Amerise, ''Il battesimo di Costantino il Grande. Storia di una scomoda eredità''. Hermes Einzelschrift 95. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 2005. ISBN 3-515-08721-4-->
[[Image:Raphael Baptism Constantine.jpg|thumb|left|''[[The Baptism of Constantine]]'', as imagined by students of [[Raphael]]]]
Although Constantine's death follows the conclusion of the Persian campaign in Eusebius's account, most other sources report his death as occurring in its middle. Emperor [[Julian the Apostate|Julian]], writing in the mid-350s, observes that the [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanian]]s escaped punishment for their ill-deeds, because Constantine died "in the middle of his preparations for war".<ref>Julian, ''Orations'' 1.18.b.</ref> Similar accounts are given in the ''Origo Constantini'', an anonymous document composed while Constantine was still living, and which has Constantine dying in Nicomedia;<ref>''Origo Constantini'' 35.</ref> the ''Historiae abbreviatae'' of Sextus Aurelius Victor, written in 361, which has Constantine dying at an estate near Nicomedia called Achyrona while marching against the Persians;<ref>Sextus Aurelius Victor, ''Historiae abbreviatae'' XLI.16.</ref> and the ''Breviarium'' of Eutropius, a handbook compiled in 369 for the Emperor [[Valens]], which has Constantine dying in a nameless state villa in Nicomedia.<ref>Eutropius, ''Breviarium'' X.8.2.</ref> From these and other accounts, some have concluded that Eusebius's ''Vita'' was edited to defend Constantine's reputation against what Eusebius saw as a less congenial version of the campaign.<ref>Fowden, "Last Days of Constantine," 148–9.</ref>
[[Image:Constantinian Dynasty, the children of Constantine.png|thumb|The [[Constantinian dynasty]] down to [[Gratian]] (r. 367–383)]]
Following his death, his body was transferred to Constantinople and buried in the [[Church of the Holy Apostles]] there.<ref>Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 75–76.</ref> He was succeeded by his three sons born of Fausta, [[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]], [[Constantius II]] and [[Constans]]. A number of relatives were killed by followers of Constantius. He also had two daughters, [[Constantina]] and Helena, wife of [[Julian the Apostate|Emperor Julian]].<ref>Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 71, figure 9.</ref>
==Legacy==
[[Image:Musei Capitolini-testa bronzea di Costantino-antmoose.jpg|thumb|200px|Contemporary bronze head of Constantine.]]
Although he earned his honorific of "The Great" ("Μέγας") from Christian historians long after he had died, he could have claimed the title on his military achievements and victories alone. In addition to reuniting the Empire under one emperor, Constantine won major victories over the [[Franks]] and [[Alamanni]] in 306–8, the Franks again in 313–14, the [[Visigoths]] in 332 and the [[Sarmatians]] in 334. In fact, by 336, Constantine had actually 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 put an end to raids on the eastern provinces from the [[Persian Empire]].<ref>Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 72.</ref>
The [[Byzantine Empire]] considered Constantine its founder and the [[Holy Roman Empire]] reckoned him among the venerable figures of its tradition. In the later Byzantine state, it had become a great honor for an emperor to be hailed as a "new Constantine". Ten Emperors, including the last emperor of Byzantium, carried the name.<ref>Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 91.</ref> At the court of [[Charlemagne]], the selected use of monumental Constantinian forms lent expression to conception of Charlemagne as Constantine's successor and equal. Constantine acquired a mythic role as a warrior against "heathens". The motif of the Romanesque equestrian, the mounted figure in the posture of a triumphant Roman emperor, came to be used as a visual metaphor in statuary in praise of local benefactors. The name "Constantine" itself enjoyed renewed popularity in western France in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.<ref>Seidel, 237–39.</ref> Most Eastern Christian churches consider Constantine a saint (Άγιος Κωνσταντίνος, Saint Constantine).<ref name="POHL83-87">Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 83–87.</ref> In the Byzantine Church he was called ''isapostolos'' (Ισαπόστολος Κωνσταντίνος)—an [[equal-to-apostles|equal of the Apostles]].<ref>Lieu, "Constantine in Legendary Literature" (CC), 305.</ref>
During his life and those of his sons, Constantine's was presented as a paragon of virtue. Even pagans like [[Praxagoras of Athens]] and [[Libanius]] showered him with praise. When the last of his sons died in 361, his nephew [[Julian the Apostate]] wrote the satire ''Symposium, or the Saturnalia''. The work stigmatized Constantine as inferior to the great pagan emperors, given over to luxury and greed.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 272–23.</ref> Following Julian, [[Eunapius]] of Sardis began the tradition that blamed Constantine for weakening the Empire through his indulgence to the Christians.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 273.</ref> In medieval times, when the [[Roman Catholic Church]] was dominant, Catholic historians presented Constantine as an ideal ruler, the standard against which any king or emperor could be measured.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 273; Odahl, 281.</ref> The [[Renaissance]] rediscovery of anti-Constantinian sources prompted a re-evaluation of Constantine's career. The German humanist Johann Löwenklau, discoverer of Zosimus' writings, published a Latin translation thereof in 1576. He included a preface that argued for Zosimus' picture of Constantine was superior to that offered by Eusebius and the church historians, and damned Constantine as a tyrant.<ref>Johannes Leunclavius, ''Apologia pro Zosimo adversus Evagrii, Nicephori Callisti et aliorum acerbas criminationes'' (''Defence of Zosimus against the Unjustified Charges of Evagrius, Nicephorus Callistus, and Others'') (Basel, 1576), cited in Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 273, and Odahl, 282.</ref> Cardinal [[Caesar Baronius]], a man of the [[Counter-Reformation]], criticized Zosimus, favoring Eusebius' account of the Constantinian era. Baronius' ''Life of Constantine'' (1588) presents Constantine as the model of a Christian prince.<ref>Caesar Baronius, ''[[Annales Ecclesiastici]]'' 3 (Antwerp, 1623), cited in Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 274, and Odahl, 282.</ref> [[Edward Gibbon]], aiming to unite the two extremes of Constantinian scholarship, offered a portrait of Constantine built on the contrasted narratives of Eusebius and Zosimus.<ref>Edward Gibbon, ''The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' 18, cited in Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 274, and Odahl, 282. See also Lenski, "Introduction" (CC), 6–7.</ref>
Modern interpretations of Constantine's rule begin with [[Jacob Burckhardt]]'s ''The Age of Constantine the Great'' (1853). Burckhardt's Constantine is a scheming secularist, a politician who manipulates all parties in a quest to secure his own power.<ref>Jacob Burckhardt, ''Die Zeit Constantins des Grossen'' (Basel, 1853; revised edition, Leipzig, 1880), cited in Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 274; Lenski, "Introduction" (CC), 7.</ref> [[Henri Grégoire (historian)|Henri Grégoire]], writing in the 1930s, followed Burckhardt's evaluation of Constantine. For Grégoire, Constantine only developed an interest in Christianity after witnessing its political usefulness. Grégoire became a strong of the authenticity of Eusebius' writings, and postulated a pseudo-Eusebius to assume responsibility for the vision and conversion narratives of Eusebius' ''Vita Constantini''.<ref>Lenski, "Introduction" (CC), 7.</ref> [[Otto Seeck]] (''Geschichte des Untergangs der antiken Welt'' (Stuttgart, 1920–23)) and André Piganiol (''L'empereur Constantin'' (Paris, 1932)) wrote against this historiographic tradition. Seeck presented Constantine as a sincere war hero, whose ambiguities were the product of his own simple inconsistency.<ref>Lenski, "Introduction" (CC), 7–8.</ref> Piganiol's Constantine is a philosophical monotheist, a child of his era's religious syncretism.<ref>Barnes, ''Constantine and Eusebius'', 274.</ref> Related histories by [[Arnold Hugh Martin Jones|A.H.M. Jones]] (''Constantine and the Conversion of Europe'' (London, 1949)) and [[Ramsay MacMullen]] (''Constantine'' (New York, 1969)) gave portraits of a less visionary, and more impulsive, Constantine.<ref>Lenski, "Introduction" (CC), 8.</ref>
These later accounts were more willing to present Constantine as a genuine convert to Christianity. Beginning with [[Norman H. Baynes]]' ''Constantine the Great and the Christian Church'' (London, 1929) and reinforced by [[Andreas Alföldi]]'s ''The Conversion of Constantine and Pagan Rome'' (Oxford, 1948), a historiographic tradition developed which presented Constantine as a committed Christian. [[Timothy Barnes|T.D. Barnes]]' seminal ''Constantine and Eusebius'' (Cambridge, MA, 1981), represents the culmination of this trend. Barnes' Constantine experienced a radical conversion, which drove him on a personal crusade to convert his empire.<ref>Lenski, "Introduction" (CC), 8–9; Odahl, 283.</ref> The trend reaches its zenith in T.G. Elliott's ''The Christianity of Constantine the Great'' (Bronx, NY, 1996). Elliott portrays Constantine as a committed Christian from early childhood.<ref>Lenski, "Introduction" (CC), 10.</ref>
===Donation of Constantine===
{{main|Donation of Constantine}}
[[Latin Rite]] [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholics]] of the Middle Ages considered it inappropriate that Constantine was baptized only on his death-bed and by a bishop of questionable orthodoxy, viewing it as a snub to the authority of the Papacy. Hence, by the early fourth century, a legend had emerged that [[Pope Sylvester I]] (314–35) had cured the pagan Emperor from [[leprosy]]. According to this legend, Constantine was soon baptized, and began the construction of a church in the [[Lateran Palace]].<ref>Lieu, "Constantine in Legendary Literature" (CC), 298–301.</ref> In the eighth century, most likely during the pontificate of [[Pope Stephen II|Stephen II]] (752–7), a document called the "[[Donation of Constantine]]" first appeared, in which the freshly converted Constantine hands the temporal rule over "the city of [[Rome]] and all the provinces, districts, and cities of [[Italy]] and the Western regions" to Stephen and his successors.<ref>''Constitutum Constantini'' 17, qtd. in Lieu, "Constantine in Legendary Literature" (CC), 301–3.</ref> In the [[High Middle Ages]], this document was used and accepted as the basis for the Pope's [[temporal power]], though it was denounced as a forgery by Emperor [[Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto III]]<ref>Henry Charles Lea, "The 'Donation of Constantine'". ''The English Historical Review'' 10: 37 (1895), 86–7.</ref> and lamented as the root of papal worldliness by the poet [[Dante Alighieri]]. The 15th century philologist [[Lorenzo Valla]] proved the document was indeed a forgery.<ref>Fubini, 79–86; Lenski, "Introduction" (CC), 6.</ref>
===Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia''===
Because of his fame and his being proclaimed Emperor on the territory of [[Great Britain]], Constantine was later also considered a British King. In the 11th century, the [[England|English]] writer [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] published a fictional work called ''[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]'', in which he narrates the supposed history of the Britons and their kings from the [[Trojan War]], [[King Arthur]] and the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon conquest]]. In this work, Geoffrey claimed that Constantine's mother Helena was actually the daughter of "[[Old King Cole|King Cole]]", the mythical King of the [[British people|Britons]] and eponymous founder of [[Camulodunum|Colchester]]. A daughter for [[Old King Cole|King Cole]] had not previously figured in the lore, at least not as it has survived in writing, and this pedigree is likely to reflect Geoffrey's desire to create a continuous line of regal descent. It was indecorous, Geoffrey considered, that a king might have less-than-noble ancestors. Geoffrey also said that Constantine was proclaimed "[[List of legendary kings of Britain|King of the Britons]]" at York, rather than [[Roman Emperor]].<ref>Geoffrey of Monmouth, ''The History of the Kings of Britain'', 132–33.</ref>
==Notes==
Essays from ''The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine'' are marked with a "(CC)".
{{reflist|3}}
==References==
===Primary sources===
<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
* [[Athanasius]], ''Apologia conta Arianos'' (''Defence against the Arians'') ''ca''. 349.
* Athanasius, ''Epistola de Decretis Nicaenae Synodi'' (''Letter on the Decrees of the Council of Nicaea'') ''ca''. 352.
* Athanasius, ''Historia Arianorum'' (''History of the Arians'') ''ca''. 357.
* [[Aurelius Victor|Sextus Aurelius Victor]], ''Liber de Caesaribus'' (''Book on the Caesars'') ''ca''. 361.
* ''[[Epitome de Caesaribus]]'' (''Epitome on the Caesars'') ''ca''. 395.
* [[Eunapius]], ''History from Dexippus'' first edition ''ca''. 390, second edition ''ca''. 415.
* [[Eusebius of Caesarea]], ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' (''Church History'') first seven books ''ca''. 300, eighth and ninth book ''ca''. 313, tenth book ''ca''. 315, epilogue ''ca''. 325.
* Eusebius of Caesarea, ''Oratio de Laudibus Constantini'' (''Oration in Praise of Constantine'') 336.
* Eusebius of Caesarea, ''Vita Constantini'' (''The Life of the Blessed Emperor Constantine'') ''ca''. 336–39.
* [[Eutropius]], ''Breviarium ab Urbe Condita'' (''Abbreviated History from the City's Founding'') ''ca''. 369.
* [[Festus (historian)|Ruffus Festus]], ''Breviarium Festi'' (''The Abbreviated History of Festus'') ''ca''. 370.
* [[Jerome]], ''[[Chronicon (Jerome)|Chronicon]]'' (''Chronicle'') ''ca''. 380.
* [[Jordanes]], ''[[Getica (Jordanes)|De origine actibusque Getarum]]'' (''The Origin and Deeds of the Goths'') ''ca''. 551.
* [[Lactantius]], ''Liber De Mortibus Persecutorum'' (''Book on the Deaths of the Persecutors'') ''ca''. 313–15.
* [[Libanius]], ''Oratio'' (''Orations'') ''ca''. 362–65.
* [[Saint Optatus|Optatus]], ''Libri VII de Schismate Donatistarum'' (''Seven Books on the Schism of the Donatists'') first edition ''ca''. 365–67, second edition ''ca''. 385.
* ''Origo Constantini Imperiatoris'' (''The Lineage of the Emperor Constantine'') ''ca''. 340–90.
* [[Orosius]], ''Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII'' (''Seven Books of History Against the Pagans'') ''ca''. 417.
* ''[[Panegyrici Latini|XII Panegyrici Latini]]'' (''Twelve Latin Panegyircs'') relevant panegyrics dated 289, 291, 297, 298, 307, 310, 311, 313 and 321.
* [[Philostorgius]], ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' (''Church History'') ''ca''. 433.
* [[Praxagoras of Athens]], ''Historia'' (''History of Constantine the Great'') ''ca''. 337.
* [[Socrates of Constantinople]] (Socrates Scholasticus), ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' (''Church History'') ''ca''. 443.
* [[Sozomen]], ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' (''Church History'') ''ca''. 445.
* [[Theodoret]], ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' (''Church History'') ''ca''. 448.
* ''[[Codex Theodosianus]]'' (''Theodosian Code'') 439.
* [[Zosimus]], ''Historia Nova'' (''New History'') ''ca''. 500.<ref>This list of primary sources is based principally on the summary in Odahl, 2–11 and further lists in Odahl, 372–76. See also Bruno Bleckmann, "Sources for the History of Constantine" (CC), "Sources for the History of Constantine," in ''The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine'', trans. Noel Lenski, ed. Noel Lenski (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 14–31; and Noel Lenski, ed. ''The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine''(New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 411–17.</ref>
</div>
===Secondary sources===
<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
* Alföldi, Andrew. ''The Conversion of Constantine and Pagan Rome''. Translated by Harold Mattingly. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1948.
* Arjava, Antii. ''Women and Law in Late Antiquity''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-19-815233-7
* Armstrong, Gregory T. "Church and State Relations: The Changes Wrought by Constantine." ''Journal of Bible and Religion'' 32 (1964): 1–7.
* Armstrong, Gregory T. "Constantine's Churches: Symbol and Structure." ''The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'' 33 (1974): 5–16.
* [[Timothy Barnes|Barnes, Timothy D.]] "Lactantius and Constantine." ''The Journal of Roman Studies'' 63 (1973): 29–46.
* Barnes, Timothy D. ''Constantine and Eusebius''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1981. ISBN 978-0674165311
* Barnes, Timothy D. ''The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982. ISBN 0783722214
* Barnes, Timothy D. "Constantine and the Christians of Persia." ''The Journal of Roman Studies'' 75 (1985): 126–136.
* Bowman, Alan K. "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy." In ''The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume XII: The Crisis of Empire'', edited by Alan Bowman, Averil Cameron, and Peter Garnsey, 67–89. Cambridge University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-521-30199-8
* [[Averil Cameron|Cameron, Averil]]. "The Reign of Constantine, A.D. 306–337." In ''The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume XII: The Crisis of Empire'', edited by Alan Bowman, Averil Cameron, and Peter Garnsey, 90–109. Cambridge University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-521-30199-8
* Cameron, Averil and Stuart G. Hall. ''Life of Constantine''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999. Hardcover ISBN 0-19-814917-4 Paperback ISBN 0-19-814924-7
* Corcoran, Simon. ''The Empire of the Tetrarchs: Imperial Pronouncements and Government, AD 284–324''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996. ISBN 019815304X
* Curran, John. ''Pagan City and Christian Capital''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2000. Hardcover ISBN 0-19-815278-8 Paperback ISBN 0-19-925420-6
* Digeser, Elizabeth DePalma. ''The Making of A Christian Empire: Lactantius and Rome''. London: Cornell University Press, 2000. ISBN 0801435943
* Downey, Glanville. "Education in the Christian Roman Empire: Christian and Pagan Theories under Constantine and His Successors." ''Speculum'' 32 (1957): 48–61.
* Drake, H. A. "What Eusebius Knew: The Genesis of the "Vita Constantini"." ''Classical Philology'' 83 (1988): 20–38.
* Drake, H. A. "Constantine and Consensus." ''Church History'' 64 (1995): 1–15.
* Drake, H. A. "Lambs into Lions: Explaining Early Christian Intolerance." ''Past & Present'' 153 (1996): 3–36.
* Drake, H. A. ''Constantine and the Bishops: The Politics of Intolerance''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8018-6218-3
* Elliott, T. G. "Constantine's Conversion: Do We Really Need It?" ''Phoenix'' 41 (1987): 420–438.
* Elliott, T. G. "Eusebian Frauds in the "Vita Constantini"." ''Phoenix'' 45 (1991): 162–171.
* Elliott, T. G. ''The Christianity of Constantine the Great''. Scranton, PA: University of Scranton Press, 1996. ISBN 0-940866-59-5
* Fowden, Garth. "Between Pagans and Christians." ''The Journal of Roman Studies'' 78 (1988): 173–182.
* Fowden, Garth. "The Last Days of Constantine: Oppositional Versions and Their Influence." ''The Journal of Roman Studies'' 84 (1994): 146–170.
* Fubini, Riccardo. "Humanism and Truth: Valla Writes against the Donation of Constantine." ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 57:1 (1996): 79–86.
* Grant, Robert M. "Religion and Politics at the Council at Nicaea." ''The Journal of Religion'' 55 (1975): 1–12.
* Guthrie, Patrick. "The Execution of Crispus." ''Phoenix'' 20: 4 (1966): 325–331.
* Harries, Jill. ''Law and Empire in Late Antiquity''. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Hardcover ISBN 0-521-41087-8 Paperback ISBN 0-521-42273-6
* Hartley, Elizabeth. ''Constantine the Great: York's Roman Emperor''. York: Lund Humphries, 2004. ISBN 978-0853319283.
* Heather, Peter J. "''Foedera'' and ''Foederati'' of the Fourth Century." In ''From Roman Provinces to Medieval Kingdoms'', edited by Thomas F.X. Noble, 292–308. New York: Routledge, 2006. Hardcover ISBN 0-415-32741-5 Paperback ISBN 0-415-32742-3
* Helgeland, John. "Christians and the Roman Army A.D. 173-337." ''Church History'' 43 (June 1974): 149–163.
* [[Arnold Hugh Martin Jones|Jones, A.H.M.]] ''Constantine and the Conversion of Europe''. Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1978 [1948].
* Jordan, David P. "Gibbon's "Age of Constantine" and the Fall of Rome" ''History and Theory'' 8:1 (1969), 71–96.
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* Lieu, Samuel N.C. and Dominic Montserrat. ''From Constantine to Julian: Pagan and Byzantine Views; A Source History''. New York: Routledge, 1996.
* Mackay, Christopher S. "Lactantius and the Succession to Diocletian." ''Classical Philology'' 94:2 (1999): 198–209.
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* MacMullen, Ramsay. ''Christianizing the Roman Empire A.D. 100–400''. New Heaven, CT; London: Yale University Press, 1984. ISBN 978-0300036428
* MacMullen, Ramsay. ''Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-300-07148-5
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</div>
==See also==
*[[Colossus of Constantine]]
*[[Constantinian shift]]
*[[Donatist]]
==External links==
{{Commons|Constantine I (emperor)}}
*Letters of Constantine: [http://www.seanmultimedia.com/Pie_Constantine_The_Great_Letters_1.html Book 1], [http://www.seanmultimedia.com/Pie_Constantine_The_Great_Letters_2.html Book 2], & [http://www.seanmultimedia.com/Pie_Constantine_The_Great_Letters_3.html Book 3]
*[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9109633/Constantine-I Encyclopaedia Britannica, Constantine I]
*[http://www.anders.com/lectures/lars_brownworth/12_byzantine_rulers/ 12 Byzantine Rulers] by [[Lars Brownworth]] of [[Stony Brook School]] (grades 7-12). 40 minute audio lecture on Constantine.
*[http://88.1911encyclopedia.org/C/CO/CONSTANTINE_I_.htm Constantine I] in the 1911 [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]
*[http://www.constantinethegreatcoins.com/ Constantine the Great] A site about Constantine the Great and his bronze coins emphasizing history using coins, with many resources including reverse types issued and reverse translations.
*[http://rg.ancients.info/constantine/ House of Constantine bronze coins] Illustrations and descriptions of coins of Constantine the Great and his relatives.
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/i_love_ny/history/romans/ BBC North Yorkshire's site on Roman York, Yorkshire and Constantine the Great]
*[http://www.fourthcentury.com/old/Theodosian/CTh16.htm Timeline of Fourth-Century Roman Imperial Laws showing the Constantinian shift]
* [http://www.publicchristianity.org/Videos/constantinechristendom.html Professor Edwin Judge discusses Constantine's legacy for a Centre for Public Christianity vodcast]
*[http://www.imagoromae.com/arco-Costantino_EN.ashx Alfredo Corrao - The triumphal arch of Constantine]
{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|rows=1|before=[[Constantius Chlorus]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Roman Emperor]]|years=306–337|regent1=[[Galerius]], [[Licinius]] and [[Maximinus|Maximinus Daia]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Constantius II]],<br />[[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]]<br />and [[Constans]]}}
{{end}}
{{Roman Emperors}}
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME= Constantine I
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Constantinus, Flavius Valerius Aurelius;Constantine, Saint;Constantine the Great;
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Roman Emperor
|DATE OF BIRTH=c. [[27 February]] [[272]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Niš|Naissus]]
|DATE OF DEATH=[[22 May]] [[337]]
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
[[Category:3rd century births]]
[[Category:337 deaths]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman saints]]
[[Category:Byzantine people]]
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[[Category:Constantinian dynasty]]
[[Category:Converts to Christianity]]
[[Category:Deified Roman emperors]]
[[Category:Eastern Orthodox saints]]
[[Category:Equal-to-apostles]]
[[Category:Flavii|Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, Gaius]]
[[Category:Late Antiquity]]
[[Category:People from Niš|Constantine the Great]]
[[Category:Roman emperors]]
[[Category:Ancient Romans in Britain]]
[[Category:Serbian saints]]
[[Category:Angelic apparitions]]
[[Category:Romans and Christians]]
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