Constantine Biography
Constantine I, one of the most significant emperors of Rome, was born in 274 AD. He is well known in the history of Rome for ensuring that Christianity became the official religion of the whole Roman Empire. He was conferred the title of ‘Great’ for playing a crucial role in the advancement of the Christian religion and is remembered as Constantine The Great. |
His father was Constantius Chlorus and after his death in the year 306 A.D., the masses showed their loyalty to Chlorus by crowning his son, Constantine, the emperor.
Constantine, just like his father, did not rule over the entire western region of the Roman Empire. Maxentius was his competitor for power and their fight for absolute power continued for many years till 312 AD. But the situation changed in the year 312 A.D. when Constantine saw the sign of the crucifix in the sky and he ended up winning the Battle of Milvian Ridge. Thereafter, he made Christianity the office religion of his empire. This was a welcome relief for the church after it faced harassment for centuries by Constantine's predecessors.
After that, Constantine I truly became the emperor of the entire Roman Empire. During his reign, Constantine tried to strengthen the economy and military forces of his empire. Besides this, he was dedicated to the Christian church and summoned the Council of Nicea to restructure and put together the constitution and principles of the church. After making Christianity the only religion across his empire, Constantine moved his capital from Rome to Constantinople, a city built on the ruins of the Byzantium. But the whole empire was split into two. Paradoxically, the Western Empire remained only up to 471 AD, whereas the Byzantium Empire lasted for thousand years.
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