Constantine the Great Constantine the Great, military victor, glorified saint, equal to the

Constantine ask the Christian to help him fight in the civil war against the people that worshipped many go . The vision also made Constantine convert to Christianity. He also

The development of christianity under the empire undoubtedly changed the relation between the political and spiritual spheres in following centuries. In fact, this transpires in how often emperors and empresses played dominant roles in the Eastern church after Constantine I's reign. In many

Constantine was a very influential leader throughout his life. He was able to accomplish many things, everything from making a major world religion possible, to running a successful empire. It all started when he was born in around 280 CE in Naissus, Moesia, to father Flavius Valerius and mother Helena. His father became Roman emperor in around 305 CE. He was elected to the position of emperor by Maximalla, who was the emperor of Western Rome at the time. While his father was alive, Constantine was sent off to Eastern Rome, where he received a great education and became fluent in both Greek and Latin. This is when most historians agree that he was introduced to Christianity. Constantine then went back to Western Rome where he would take over the position of emperor after his father died. At the age of 57, Constantine got sick and died in Constantinople on May 22, 337 CE. Throughout his whole life, Constantine made many efficacious and influential contributions as a leader, and he was a great example of the Gerstell academy definition of leadership and the Principles and Attributes.

When we look back at Christianity over the years, there are several people who are remembered for their impact on the religion. The first most important figure was Jesus Christ. However, if we travel forward a bit, into the 4th Century we come across Constantine. Historians agree that Constantine served as an important component in the spread of Christianity. Although he spread the religion in a massive way, others wonder if his methods were more harmful then anything. In this paper I will be discussing Constantine in his rise to power and his impact on Christianity. Constantine provided a mean for the word of God to be spread, which is a major benefit. However, He also used violence and hate as

The life of Constantine, a Roman emperor from 306 to 337 AD, is explained by two different accounts that differ from each other. The first one that was written by Eusebius in 337 AD states that Constantine is a victorious, pious emperor who helps others and orders the construction of sacred places to honor Christ. The second account was written in 520 AD by Zosimus and it states that Constantine is an impious, arrogant and selfish emperor who is responsible of the Roman Empire’s collapse.

Over the years of ancient civilizations, there have been many great empires. These empires including China, India, Greece, Rome, and Maurya. But, out of all these empires, there lays a question, who was the best emperor of these civilizations? Although some people may believe otherwise, Constantine was the best emperor of Rome since he influenced Christianity on Rome and is considered one of the greatest pivotal figures of European history, even ranked higher than Napoleon, Alexander the Great, and Hitler due to his influence on his own policies. For a start, Constantine the Great began his ruling in 323 after his father, Constantius.

Constantine laid the foundations of what would soon become a religious and profitable hub and established himself as “the Patriarchate of Constantinople” (“Legitimization Under Constantine”). The institution of Constantinople both indicated the break with its pagan past and highlighted its acceptance of Christianity. For example, Constantine did not allow pagan ceremonies in the city. Constantinople flourished as a spiritual and political capital for over a millennium. Constantine was, once again, most probably interested in the strategic location of the city, as it could be effectively used for trade and commercial purposes. Additionally, its position made it difficult to be conquered by rivaling nations. As Constantine was a very intelligent and cunning emperor, he most likely took note of all of these facts and knew that the empire would benefit economically, as well as culturally and socially, from the establishment of

When Diocletian’s guiding hand was removed, years of dreary fighting amongst rulers ensued, Constantine I emerged as the sole winner. By 324, he had disposed of all rivals, and for a brief period there was again, one empire and one emperor. Unlike Diocletian, Constantine ordered complete freedom of worship throughout the territories under his control (Edict of Milan) This was the beginning of the adoption of Christianity by the empire, however, it could not solve the immediate problems it encountered: rivalries and warfare among emperors and would-be emperors, the threat of barbarian invasions and the economic decline of the West. The destruction of the West was also due to high taxation and rising prices, which by the third century, turned the prosperous cities of the early empire to heavily fortified outposts whose citizens had lost all real self-government.

In 527 AD, Justinian took control of the Byzantine Empire. Although it is currently referred to as the Byzantine Empire, many citizens and leaders, including Justinian, considered themselves to be Roman and part of the Roman Empire. This mentality led to the revival of the Roman Empire in Byzantine and in its capital, Constantinople. During his rule, Justinian led the empire to its greatest size both in the amount of controlled land and influence over groups in Europe and Asia. He also contributed to the spread of Christianity both within the Byzantine Empire and without. Finally, Justinian preserved Roman laws for the Byzantine Empire and other European systems of government. Justinian’s successful emulation and revival of the Roman Empire through his beautification and improvements on Constantinople and other parts of the Byzantine Empire, strong support of Christianity and role in its growth as a major religion, and his codification of Byzantine law benefited the Byzantine Empire and the surrounding regions.

Constantine the Great, throughout his career, zealously attempted to spread the Christian faith: he offered special privileges for the religion by granting tax free lands for the church, as well as special allowances for the clergy,

Constantine had a significant impact on the spread of Christianity because he was the first emperor to tolerate the new religion. After a dream where he received a

Section 1: Evaluation of sources This investigation will explore the question, ‘To what extent did the Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, adopt and impose Christianity as a political strategy?'. This investigation will focus on the rise of Christianity, Constantine's role, the effect it had, and examining the impact and relationship of Constantine and Christianity. The two sources that will be examined in depth are, the Swiss historian, Jacob Burckhardt's book: ‘The age of Constantine the Great', 185, argues that Constantine was a scheming Emperor who exploited the numerous conflicting religions to maintain control and recover the economy after Civil War with Licinius had, whereas, the British historian, A.H.M Jones' book: ‘Constantine and the conversion of Europe', 1948, argues that Constantine

Born around 280 AD and died around 337 AD Constantine the Great was the son of a high ranking army officer who reached the rank of a deputy emperor serving the leading emperor of the West Roman Empire. Constantine’s father Constantius assumed control over a large part of the Roman after succeeding to the position of deputy emperor. This allowed for Constantine to gain enormous amounts of power and influence after his father passed away.

First of all, one of the most important results of this is that the Christianisation and Orientalisation of the Roman Empire (Brown, 2008). As an empire, the Roman empire had been a republic since Augustus Octavian. Its manage system was so-called principatus, the primary or first citizen until emperor Diocletian. After the Diocletian, this system was turned over dominatus like traditional eastern state government system. However, with Constantine I, this separation became a rule. The Eastern Roman empire increasingly resembled oriental states. Moreover, the empire was getting Christianized instantly due to the certain acts of Constantine I. In 381, Christianity was declared as an official religion of this empire by the emperor Theodosius (Gibbon,

Christianity’s history is filled with division, controversy, and conflict. One of the most important people who contributed to the lasting success of this diverse religion was Constantine. While legalizing Christianity in Roman society, he founded the capital of the eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople. Because of this and other great accomplishments, Constantine appropriately earned the name Constantine the Great.