The Edict Of Milan. Kincade Hughes

Constantine issued the Edict of Milan to proclaimed and promoted religious tolerance in the Roman Empire. The edict of Milan allowed people to live together as one and have heart of toleration of Christianity religion within the Empire. It was the historic agreement between Emperor Constantine the great and the brave and wise Licinius in Milan. The agreement also brought peace and stabilities among people of west and eastern of Roman Empire governed by two different emperors. Constantine the great was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity and he did so for many reasons. Constantine I converted to Christianity because he wanted to become a true believer of God and united the Roman Empire. Constantine also converted to Christianity

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 is best remembered in modern times for the Edict of Milan in 313, which fully legalized Christianity in the empire for the first time. Constantine’s edict gave Christians the right to openly practice their faith. Until then, they had met in the homes of fellow believers. Within a year of edit, Constantine ordered the building of churches throughout the empire. Although some Christians were very worried about the future of the churches if it became too close with the empire. The only people edit mentioned by name were the Christian, and the laws that came afterwards radically limited the rights of Jews as citizens of the Roman Empire.

The conversion of Roman Emperor, Constantine, marked the start of a reform that would change Rome forever. A once pagan society, Rome was one of the last to grasp the Christianity concept. The start of “Christianizing” Rome began with two of Jesus’ disciples, Peter and James, as well as the apostle Paul in the Roman province of Antioch during the first century ("New Women of Color Study Bible" 1742). From this, Christianity spread all over the province, by the time it got to Rome it was not widely practiced. It wasn’t until the reign of Constantine that Christianity took its place as the empires forefront religion. Since Rome was known for its worship and idolizing of gods, how and for what reasons did Constantine transform his subjects’ beliefs? According to authors, Ramsay MacMullen, John Curran, and A.H.M. Jones, a number of tactics were used to sway the masses’ minds. Use of coercion, money, and campaigns aided Constantine’s questionable Christian “cleanse”.

During the reign of Constantine I, the Roman Empire experienced great strides in religious tolerance. While meeting together in Milan during February 313 AD, Constantine I and Licinius, Roman emperors, came up with the religious policy for the future of the empire. This policy became known as the Edict of Milan and forever changed the future of religion, especially Christianity. Over 1600 years later, in January 1925, a historian named John R. Knipfing wrote an essay analyzing the religious tolerance during Constantine’s reign. This essay focused not only on the Edict of Milan, but also on the outlook on Christianity and religion that led up to it. It is evident through the comparison of these two documents how important primary sources such

The emperor Nero used Christianity as a scapegoat to divert attention away from his own failings and the empire problems. He told the empires people that because the Christians were not practicing the traditional pagan religion the gods were mad punishing the Romans. During Nero Rule some problems were plagues, famine, barbarians, and lots of other natural disasters. Nero and many other emperors’ prosecutions of the Christian brought them closer together. With the plagues, wars, famine and other chaotic events taking place the first converts were slaves and the poor people who need hope that there was an afterlife a better place beyond the chaotic roman world called heaven. In 313 Constantine I and Eastern Roman Emperor Licinius ratified the Edict of Milan, Which finally made Christianity legal and later the religion of Rome. The emperor would have difficulty ruling since the pope and other church officials were involved in politics and as powerful as he was further complicating governance. Unlike Rome pagan roots Christians during those days had zero tolerance for any other religion of any one who stood against their beliefs and

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

1 Throughout history, changes are made in organizing civil principles such as laws, leaders, trade, and especially religion. These developments have been influenced by a multitudinal developments, in particular, the rise of authority of both government and the current regime. Constantine, the emperor of the Roman Empire, was an authoritative leader throughout history, but specifically his legacy is largely reflected in the profound changes he made in Christianity. The transformation in the original model of Christianity can be traced to the Rule of Constantine, the religious power he put into place during his reign by the changes made from his ways of uniting the Church, the formation of his empire and the impacts made within it.

The beginning of the third century marked the beginning and end of Christian prosecution. Rome was looking for something to unite the region back together, and prosecution of Christians did present a common enemy; however, it did not last long. Theodosius, in en effort to unit Rome, decides to make the division of Diocletian official, separating Rome into two Western and Eastern portions (Smith, pg. 206&210, 2012). These portions would be co-ruled, and each portion had it’s own capital, one in Constantinople and one near the port of Ravenna. Constantinople, formally known as the ancient city Byzantium, was renamed after Constantine in 324, claiming it to be the “new Rome”(Smith, pg. 210, 2012). The western capital Ravenna was strategically picked because it was considered to be easier to defend. But the highly commercialized port did not

As I delved into Backman’s The Worlds of Medieval Europe, the largely in depth topics of the fall of the Roman Empire, and the rise of christianity were explored. Backman’s writings broke down these monumental moments, and profiled people who had impact on said events. The fall of Rome and the rise of christianity create a sense of nation-state versus nation showing that for unification and solidarity one does not need an imperial body which divides, conquers, and rules, even as effective as that of Rome. Individuals instead just required faith and devotion to ideals, which led to the uprising of christianity across the Mediterranean Empire, and was a large factor in the decline of Rome. However this influential event, that

In February 313 AD, the Roman emperors Constantine I and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan. The edict proclaimed that people were free to practice any religion of their choosing within the Roman empire. Additionally, the edict had a provision specifically for Christians- they were to get back any and all property that was confiscated from them, including church property.

The Edict of Milan was Constantine’s way of wanting to end the Roman persecution of Christians. Both Constantine and Licinius Augustus established this new law in 314 CE. This law is what later became known as the Edict of Milan. The consequences that it had for the relationship between Christians and Jews in the Roman Empire was that most of the Christians were pleased with the edict. It had meant an end to the persecutions that most had suffered from time to time, and a new access to power and influence. Others had seen reason to be concerned, because the edict had only mentioned Christians. The laws that came afterward impacted the Jews, for it had limited their rights as citizens of the Roman Empire.

Constantine the Great, first Christian Emperor, originator of Constantinople, creator of the Byzantine Empire, military conqueror, and honored saint, has been labeled by many the most instrumental emperor of the Roman Empire. Constantine played a crucial role in the development of Europe during the Middle Ages, and founded Christianity as the formal religion of the Roman Empire. His dynamic yet effective predominance laid the infrastructure of European development. From his humble beginnings, to his command of the Roman Empire, to his final days, Constantine’s impact on world history and Christianity has left behind an unforgettable legacy. He was described by Eusebius as “such an emperor as all history records

Beginning in the first century C.E., Christianity, a religion started by the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, extended across the Roman empire. Christianity provided Roman citizens with the prospect of forgiveness, ideal of achievement, and sense of community; however, along with this growing recognition followed the opposition of Christianity, which was initiated by Roman officials and sometimes emperors. Gradually the animosity directed towards Christianity declined and in 313 C.E. Constantine, emperor of Rome at the time, issued the Edict of Milan, demanding the toleration and acceptance of all religions. Eusebius of Caesarea, a Greek historian of Christianity, records Constantine’s reign and his eventual

On observation of the many ideologies that have gathered followers and made their mark in Ancient Rome, two draw attention as having been particularly prominent in their influence of the state and the attitudes they had gathered towards themselves within the Roman Empire- these being the Roman state religion and Christianity. These two ideologies contrast in their ideas, structure and the time period in which they reached their height in popularity and persecution. The polytheistic and ritualistic Roman state religion was widely in practice within the Roman Empire until its major decline in 4th century AD, during which it was supplanted by Christianity, a monotheistic ideology with more emphasis on individual faith and morality, as Rome’s official religion, the formal declaration of this being the Edict of Thessalonica issued on 27 February 380AD. The general attentive desire to upkeep the traditions of the state religion declined with increasing dominance of Christianity which during the first four centuries Anno Domini was in turn tolerated, persecuted, accepted and revered. The attitudes toward both of these ideologies (in Rome before 392 AD) can be better understood with the exploration of the reasons behind them and the changes that they undergo.