Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[2] (27 February ca. 280[1]–22 May337AD), commonly known as Constantine I, (among Roman Catholics) and Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine (among Eastern Orthodox Christians), was a Roman Emperor, proclaimed Augustus by his troops in 306, who ruled an ever-growing portion of the Roman Empire until his death. Best known for being the first Christian Roman Emperor, his Edict of Milan put an end to institutionalized persecution of Christians in the Empire.
The Byzantine liturgical calendar, observed by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine rite, lists both Constantine and his mother Helena as saints. Although he is not included in the 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.
In 324, Constantine announced his decision to transform Byzantium into Nova Roma and on May 11, 330, he officially proclaimed the city the new capital of the Roman Empire. The city was renamed Constantinople, The City of Constantine, after Constantine's death in 337. It would remain the capital of the Byzantine Empire for over a thousand years, a reign interrupted only briefly by its 1204 sacking and occupation in the Fourth Crusade, until it finally fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453.
Young Constantine received a formidable education, became a fluent speaker of Greek, and was adept in philosophy.[3] He served at the court of Diocletian in Nicomedia, after the appointment of his father as one of the two caesares (junior emperors) of the Tetrarchy in 293. In 305, both augusti (senior emperors), Diocletian and Maximian, abdicated, and Constantius succeeded to Maximian's position of western augustus. Although two legitimate sons of emperors were available (Constantine and Maxentius, the son of Maximian), both of them were ignored in the transition of power. Instead, Severus and Maximinus Daia were made caesares. Constantine subsequently left Nicomedia to join his father in the Roman Gaul; however, Constantius fell sick during an expedition against the Picts of Caledonia, and died on July 25, 306 in Eboracum (York). The general Chrocus, of Alamannic descent, and the troops loyal to Constantius' memory immediately proclaimed Constantine an augustus. Under the Tetrarchy, Constantine's succession was of dubious legitimacy. While Constantius as senior emperor could "create" a new caesar, Constantine's (or, his troops') claim to the title of augustus ignored the system of succession established in 305. Accordingly, Constantine asked Galerius, the eastern augustus, to be recognized as heir to his father's throne. Galerius granted him the title of caesar, confirming Constantine's rule over his father's territories, and promoted Severus to augustus of the West.[citation needed]
Ruler of the West
Bronze statue of Constantine I in York, England, near the spot where he was proclaimed Emperor in 306
Constantine's share of the empire consisted of Britain, Gaul, the Germanic provinces, and Spain. He therefore commanded one of the largest Roman armies, stationed along the important Rhine frontier. While Gaul was one of the richer regions of the empire, it had suffered much during the Crisis of the Third Century. Many areas were depopulated, and the cities ruined.[citation needed] During his years in Gaul, from 306 to 316, Constantine continued his father's efforts to secure the Rhine frontier and rebuild the Gallic provinces. His main residence during that time was Trier.[citation needed]
Immediately after his promotion to emperor, Constantine abandoned his father's British campaign and returned to Gaul to quell an uprising by Franks. Another expedition against Frankish tribes followed in 308. After this victory, he began to build a bridge across the Rhine at Cologne to establish a permanent stronghold on the right bank of the river. A new campaign in 310 had to be abandoned because of Maximian's rebellion described below. The last of Constantine's wars on the Rhine frontier took place in 313, after his return from Italy, and saw him again victorious.
Constantine's main goal was stability, which he tried to achieve by immediate, often brutal, punitive expeditions against rebellious tribes, demonstrating his military power by conquering the enemies on their own side of the Rhine frontier, and slaughtering many prisoners during games in the arena. The strategy proved successful, as the Rhine frontier remained relatively quiet during the rest of his reign.
In the interior conflicts of the Tetrarchy, Constantine tried to remain neutral. In 307, senior emperor Maximian (recently returned to the political scene after his abdication in 305) visited Constantine to get his support in the war of Maxentius against Severus and Galerius.[citation needed] Constantine married Maximian's daughter Fausta to seal the alliance and was promoted to Augustus by Maximian. He did not interfere on Maxentius' behalf, though.
Maximian returned to Gaul in 308 after he had failed to depose his son. Later that year, at the conference of Carnuntum between Diocletian, Galerius and Maximian, Maximian was forced to abdicate again and Constantine reduced to caesar. In 309, Maximian rebelled against his son-in-law while Constantine was campaigning against the Franks. The rebellion was quickly quelled, and Maximian was killed or forced to commit suicide.[citation needed] Both Constantine and Maximinus Daia were disappointed over their relegation to caesar and Licinius' appointment, and subsequently defied that ruling and styled themselves Augustus, which was granted to them by Galerius in 310, thus officially creating four Augusti.[citation needed] With Galerius' death in 311, the last ruler with enough authority interested in continuing the tetrarchy left the stage, and the system rapidly declined. In the struggle for power that ensued, Constantine allied himself with Licinius, while Maximinus approached Maxentius, who was still officially regarded as an usurper.[citation needed]
312 to 324
Early in 312, Constantine crossed the Alps with his army and attacked Maxentius. He quickly conquered Northern Italy in the battles of Turin and Verona and then moved on to Rome. There he defeated Maxentius in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, which resulted in his becoming Western Augustus, or ruler of the entire Western Roman Empire. During this epic battle Constantine had his soldiers place on their shields what Christians believed was the labarum symbol, although there is a dispute between historians whether this design was of clear Christian, ancient paganistic (solar) or of that date's astronomical origins.[4]. The labarum and associated motto In Hoc Signo Vinces (in this sign, you will conquer) were said to have resulted from a vision by Constantine at Saxa Rubra, inspiring his eventual conversion to Christianity. During the next years, he 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 Constantia.[citation needed] During this meeting, the emperors agreed on the so-called Edict of Milan, officially granting full tolerance to all religions in the empire, especially Christianity.[citation needed] The conference was cut short, however, when news reached Licinius that his rival 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,[citation needed] Constantine and Licinius fought against one another in the war of Cibalae, with Constantine being victorious. They clashed again in the Battle of Campus Ardiensis in 317, and agreed to a settlement in which Constantine's sons Crispus and Constantine II, and Licinius' son Licinianus were made caesars.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed] It became a challenge to Constantine in the west, climaxing in the great civil war of 324. Licinius, aided by Gothmercenaries, represented the past and the ancient faith of Paganism. 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 battles of Adrianople, the Hellespont, and at Chrysopolis.[citation needed]
cameo depicting Constantine the Great crowned by Constantinople
With the defeat and death of Licinius a year later (he was accused of plotting against Constantine and executed), Constantine became the sole emperor of the Roman Empire.[5]
Founding of New Rome
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, and renamed it Nova Roma (New Rome) and issued special commemorative coins in 330 to honour the event. He provided Nova Roma with a 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 relics, though a cameo now at the Hermitage Museum also represented Constantine crowned by the tyche of the new city [2]. The figures of old gods were replaced and often assimilated into Christian symbolism. On the site of a temple to Aphrodite was built the new Church of the Holy Apostles. Generations later there was the story that a Divine vision led Constantine to this spot, and an angel no one else could see, led him on a circuit of the new walls. After his death, his capital was renamed Constantinopolis (Constantinople in English, "Constantine's City").[5]
In 326, Constantine had his eldest son Crispus tried and executed, as he believed accusations that Crispus had been having an affair with Fausta, Constantine's second wife. A few months later he also had Fausta killed as the apparent source of these false accusations.
Eusebius reports that Constantine was baptized only shortly before his death in 337.[citation needed]He moved from the Capital to a neighbouring thermal spa to take the waters, and thence to his mother's city of Helenopolis, where he prayed in the great church that she built in honour of Lucian the apostle. With this, he followed one custom at the time which postponed baptism until old age or death.[6] According to Jerome, Constantine's choice fell upon the bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia.[citation needed] Following his death, his body was transferred to Constantinople and buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles there.[citation needed]
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 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,[7] Constantine's lengthy rule, conversion, and patronage of the Church redefined the status of Christianity in the empire.
Scholars debate whether Constantine adopted his mother St. Helena's Christianity in his youth, or whether he adopted it gradually over the course of his life.[8] Constantine was over 40 when he finally declared himself a Christian.[9] Writing to Christians, Constantine made clear that he owed his successes to the protection of the Christian High God alone.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12] For Constantine, the emperor did not decide doctrine - that was the responsibility of the bishops - rather his role was to enforce doctrine, root out heresy, and uphold ecclesiastical unity.[13] The emperor ensured that God was properly worshipped in his empire; what proper worship consisted of was for the Church to determine.[14]
Another view on Constantine's conversion to Christianity was of convenience. In Constantine's time it is estimated that about ten percent of Rome's population were Christian with an even more significant proportion of the military following Christ.
It is interesting to note that Constantine followed a common practice of the era and was not baptized until his deathbed.
Constantine and the Jews
Constantine instituted several legislative measures regarding the Jews: they were forbidden to own Christian slaves or to 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 destruction of the Temple. Constantine also enforced the prohibition of the First Council of Nicaea against celebrating Easter on the day before the Jewish Passover (nisan xiv), i.e. Quartodecimanism, see also Easter controversy.[15]
Reforms
Constantine's iconography and ideology
Coins struck for emperors often reveal details of their personal iconography. During the early part of Constantine's rule, representations first of Mars and then (from 310) of Apollo as Sun god consistently appear on the reverse of the coinage.[citation needed] Mars had been associated with the Tetrarchy, and Constantine's use of this symbolism served to emphasize the legitimacy of his rule. After his breach with his father's old colleague Maximian in 309–310, Constantine began to claim legitimate descent from the third century emperor Marcus Aurelius Claudius Gothicus, the hero of the Battle of Naissus (September, 268).[citation needed] The Augustan History of the fourth century reports Constantine's paternal grandmother Claudia to be a daughter of Crispus, Crispus being a reported brother of both Claudius II and Quintillus.[citation needed] Historians however suspect this account to be a genealogicalfabrication to flatter Constantine.[citation needed]
Coin of Constantine, with depiction of the sun god Sol Invictus, holding a globe and right hand raised. The legend on the reverse reads SOLI INVICTO COMITI, to (Constantine's) "companion, the unconquered Sol".Follis by Constantine. On the reverse, a labarum.
Gothicus had claimed the divine protection of Apollo-Sol Invictus. Constantine also promoted an association of himself with Sol Invictus, which was the last deity to appear on his coinage.[16] The reverses of his coinage were dominated for several years by his "companion, the unconquered Sol" — the inscriptions read SOLI INVICTO COMITI. The depiction represents Apollo with a solar halo, Helios-like, and the globe in his hands. In the 320s Constantine has a halo of his own. There are also coins depicting Apollo driving the chariot of the Sun on a shield Constantine is holding.[citation needed] Elements of this association remained even after Constantine's famous conversion to Christianity in 312. Thereafter, Christian symbolism, albeit ambiguous in some instances, began to appear in Imperial iconography.[17] A coin of ca 312, for example, shows the chi-rho, the first two letters of the name of Christ in Greek, on a helmet Constantine is wearing.[citation needed]
An example of "staring eyes" on later Constantine coinage.
A continuation of the iconographic precedent can be seen in the larger eye of the coin portrait. This suggests a more fundamental shift in official images. Beginning in the late third century, portraits began away to become less realistic and more idealistic.[citation needed] The Emperor as Emperor, not merely as any particular individual, is of primary importance. The most common characteristics of this style are the broad jaw and cleft chin. The large staring eyes will loom larger as the fourth century progresses: compare the early fifth century silver coinage of Theodosius I.[citation needed]
Constantine's Courts and Appointees
Constantine respected cultivation and Christianity, and his court was composed of older, respected, and honored men.[citation needed] Leading Roman families that refused Christianity were denied positions of power, yet two-thirds of his top government was non-Christian.[18]
"From Pagan temples Constantine had his statue removed. The repair of Pagan temples that had decayed was forbidden. These funds were given to the favored Christian clergy. Offensive forms of worship, either Christian or Pagan, were suppressed. At the dedication of Constantinople in 330 a ceremony half Pagan and half Christian was performed, in the market place, the Cross of Christ was placed over the head of the Sun-God's chariot. There was a singing of hymns."[19]
Constantine's laws in many ways improved those of his predecessors, though they also reflect his more violent age.[citation needed] Some examples:[citation needed]
For the first time, girls could not be abducted (this may actually refer to elopements, which were considered kidnapping because girls could not legally consent to the elopement).
A punishment of death was mandated to anyone collecting taxes over the authorized amount.
A prisoner was no longer to be kept in total darkness, but must be given the outdoors and daylight.
A condemned man was allowed to die in the arena, but he could not be branded on his "heavenly beautified" face, just on the feet (because God made man in His image).
Slave "nurses" or chaperones caught allowing the girls they were responsible for to be seduced were to have molten lead poured down their throats.
Sunday was declared a day of rest, on which markets were banned and public offices were closed (except for the purpose of freeing slaves); however, there were no restrictions on farming work (which was the work of the great majority of the population).[5][20]
Constantine's legacy
Contemporary bronze head of Constantine.
Although he earned his honorific of "The Great" 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 306–308, the Franks again in 313–314, 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.[citation needed]
The Byzantine Empire considered Constantine its founder and also the Holy Roman Empire reckoned him among the venerable figures of its tradition.[citation needed] In both East and West, Emperors were sometimes hailed as a "new Constantine".[citation needed] Most Eastern Christian churches consider Constantine a saint.[citation needed] In the East he is sometimes called "isapostolos" or the "13th apostle"[4].
In later years, historical facts were clouded by legend. It was considered inappropriate that Constantine was baptized only on his death-bed and by a bishop of questionable orthodoxy, and hence a legend emerged that Pope Sylvester I (314-335) had cured the pagan Emperor from leprosy.[citation needed] According to this legend, Constantine was baptized after that and donated buildings to the Pope. In the eighth century, a document called the "Donation of Constantine" first appeared, in which the freshly converted Constantine hands the temporal rule over Rome, Italy and the Occident to the Pope.[citation needed] 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 and lamented as the root of papal worldliness by the poet Dante Alighieri.[citation needed] The 15th century philologist Lorenzo Valla proved the document was indeed a forgery.[citation needed]
Constantine in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia
Because of his fame and his being proclaimed Emperor on Great Britain, Constantine was later also considered a British King. In the 11th century, the 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-Saxon conquest. In this work, Geoffrey claimed that Constantine's mother Helena was actually the daughter of "King Cole", the mythical King of the Britons and eponymous founder of Colchester.[citation needed] A daughter for 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.[citation needed] It was indecorous, Geoffrey considered, that a king might have less-than-noble ancestors.[citation needed] Monmouth also said that Constantine was proclaimed "King of the Britons" at York, rather than Roman Emperor.[citation needed]
^In (Latin Constantine's official imperial title was IMPERATOR CAESAR FLAVIVS CONSTANTINVS PIVS FELIX INVICTVS AVGVSTVS, Imperator Caesar Flavius Constantine Augustus, the pious, the fortunate, the undefeated. After 312, he added MAXIMVS ("the greatest"), and after 325 replaced invictus ("undefeated") with VICTOR, as invictus reminded of Sol Invictus, the Sun God.
^Barnes, T.D., Constantine and Eusebius Cambridge, MA and London, 1981.
^Elizabeth DePalma Digeser, "The Making of A Christian Empire: Lactantius and Rome" (London, Cornell University Press, 2000) p. 122
^In this period infant baptism, though practiced (usually in circumstances of emergency) had not yet become a matter of routine in the west. See Thomas M. Finn (1992), Early Christian Baptism and the Catechumenate: East and West Syria. See also Philip Rousseau (1999). "Baptism", in Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Post Classical World, ed. Peter Brown.
^The edict granted Christians the right to practice their religion but did not restore any property to them; see Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum ("On the Deaths of the Persecutors")ch. 35-34
^ R. Gerberding and J. H. Moran Cruz, Medieval Worlds (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004) p. 55
^Peter Brown, The Rise of Christendom 2nd edition (Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2003) p. 61
^Peter Brown, The Rise of Christendom 2nd edition (Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2003) p. 60
^R. Gerberding and J. H. Moran Cruz, Medieval Worlds (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004) pp. 55-56
^ Richards, Jeffrey. The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages 476-752 (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979) pp. 14-15
^ Richards, Jeffrey. The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages 476-752 (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979) p. 15
^ Richards, Jeffrey. The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages 476-752 (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979) p. 16
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Kousoulas, D.G. The Life and Times of Constantine the Great: The First Christian Emperor. Bethesda, MD: Provost Books, 2003 (paperback, ISBN 1-887750-61-4).
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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.
