Constantine the Great

1
Constantine the Great

• And God himself, whom Constantine worshipped,
  has confirmed this truth by the clearest
  manifestations of his will, during the course,
  and at the end of his reign, and holding him up
  to the human race as an instructive example of
  godliness. -Eusebius Pamphilus
• Julia W.

2
Early Years

• Constantine was born on February 27, 272 or 273.
• Was born Flavius Valerius Constantius.
• Son of Constantius and Helena.

3
Tetrarchy

• The empire is broken in half into east and west,
  with an emperor ruling each half emperors title
  Augustus
• Each of the emperors chooses a junior ruler to
  help them junior rulers title Caesar
• Constantine destroyed the tetrarchy and restored
  the concept of sole ruler.

4
The Contest July, 306
Key AAugustus CCaesar RRetired lNot in
contest (yet) Dead
5
The Contest September, 307
Key AAugustus CCaesar RRetired lNot in
contest (yet) Dead
6
The Contest 310 A.D.
Key AAugustus CCaesar RRetired lNot in
contest (yet) Dead
7
The Contest May, 311
Key AAugustus CCaesar RRetired lNot in
contest (yet) Dead
8
The Contest October, 312
Key AAugustus CCaesar RRetired lNot in
contest (yet) Dead
9
The Contest 313 A.D.
Key AAugustus CCaesar RRetired lNot in
contest (yet) Dead
10
Constantine and Licinius

• Constantine tries to appoint his brother-in-law
  Caesar instead of Licinius son.
• Licinius refuses, and Constantine attacks him in
  the fall of 316.
• Constantine does well, but then loses a major
  battle and is forced to come to terms.
• Crispus, Constantinus (Constantines sons), and
  Licinius the younger (Licinius son) are named
  Caesars.

11
The Final Battle

• Licinius began to persecute Christians.
• Their armies met on July 3, 324 at Hadrianopolis,
  and Constantine was the victor.
• They fought again on September 18, 324, and
  Constantine won.
• Licinius surrendered, and Constantine sent him
  away.
• In 325, Constantine killed Licinius and his son.

12
Constantine on a Coin

• This is a very common copper coin that was
  probably issued sometime from 312-320.
• The figure is Sol, the sun god. You can tell this
  because of the headdress.
• The writing around the coin reads SOLI INVICTO
  COMITI, which translates as Sol, invincible
  comrade.
• This coin is interesting because it has a picture
  of a Roman god on it, and Constantine converted
  to Christianity.

13
The Christian Constantine

• Before the battle of Milvian Bridge, Constantine
  saw a cross in the sky with the inscription
  Conquer by this on it.
• Constantine fought for the cross and was
  victorious in the battle.
• He made Christianity the religion of the empire
  and stopped the persecution of the Christians.
• Constantine included bishops in politics.

14
Constantine in History

• In Christian history, Constantine is portrayed as
  a wonderful man who did everything right.
• Constantine stopped the persecution of the
  Christians and made Christianity an important
  religion.
• This (of course) made him popular among
  Christians.
• For the next thousand years, most of the
  historians were Christian, so their accounts of
  Constantine are flattering.

15
The Arch of Constantine

• In the tradition of the period, the Arch of
  Constantine is a usurped monument.
• The arch depicts the Battle of Milvian Bridge
  (where Constantine defeated Maxentius).
• It is made of materials that were stripped from
  other imperial monuments.
• Inscription on the arch Constantine overcame
  his enemies by divine inspiration.

16
The Arch and Basilica of Constantine
17
Moving the Capitol

• Constantine changed the capital from Rome to
  Constantinople.
• Constantinople was dedicated on May 11, 330 as a
  private imperial residence it was not until 359
  that it became the new capital of the empire.
• Constantinople was
• a Christian capital
• built on the cite of a Greek city, Byzantium
• an excellent trade location
• a better position to rule the empire from because
  it was more central than Rome.

18
Building Churches

• Constantine built and restored many Christian
  churches.
• The bigger churches were beautiful with mosaics
  covering the floors, walls, and ceilings.
• Constantine often set aside time for himself to
  go and pray.
• He frequently preached in various churches during
  his reign.

19
Running the Empire

• Military
• Divided the army in half.
• One half is the frontier troops, the other is the
  central army.
• Constantine made the city citizens pay a heavy
  tax called chrysargyron. ( The tax was so bad
  that even the Christians complained.)

20
Constantine the God?

• The (Christian) historian Eusebius compared
  Constantine and his bishops the Apostles and
  Jesus Christ.
• Constantine was buried in Constantinople with
  twelve fake sarcophagi, which symbolizes him as
  the thirteenth Apostle.
• Constantine portrayed himself as holy and took to
  wearing a crown covered in jewels to remind the
  people of his rank.
• In many pictures, Constantine has a halo of light
  around his head like Jesus Christ.

21
Succession

• Constantines sons (Constantine II,
  Constantius,and Constans) and the son of his half
  brother (Flavius Dalmatius junior) were to be his
  heirs.
• Constantines plan was for them to rule the
  empire as a tetrarchy.
• That was a thoughtless move, because he had just
  destroyed the old tetrarchy!

22
Death

• Constantine fell ill and was baptized by the
  bishop Eusebius.
• He died at Ankyrona on May 22, 337.
• His body was buried in Constantinople, which made
  the Roman people angry.
• The senate deified Constantine. (How ironic!)
• Constantine completely changed the course of
  history.

23
Bibliography

• www.newadvent.org/cathen/04295c.htm This is a
  Christian website that I found by means of a
  search engine. Has an encyclopedia (about saints
  and such) with a bibliography on Constantine.
  Also has a primary source.
• http//harpy.uccs.edu/roman A very helpful
  website with lots of color pictures of the roman
  world.
• www.roman-emperors.org/conniei.htm An online
  encyclopedia of roman emperors, very detailed
  bibliographies some photographs.
• Scarre, Chris. Chronicle of the Roman Emperors.
  London Thames Hudson Ltd, 1995- Great for
  basic information. Some color pictures