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The Life Of Constantine The Great
Constantine the great was one of the greatest and most successful rulers. He didn’t live a life of royalty but rather lived a life which was adventurous and full of struggles.
Researching about the life of Constantine the great and how he has changed our society we live in today was my first assignment for this course. I am to discuss what his characteristics, upbringing, leadership and contributions to the people’s lives were like.
Child Hood Life Of Constantine The Great
Constantine the Great, who became sole emperor of the Roman Empire in 324, was born on February 27, 272. He was the son of Constantius I Chlorus and Helena, daughter of an innkeeper. His father was a Roman general and his mother was a Greek from Bithynia (in present-day Turkey).
Constantine received his first name in honor of his father’s close friend and co-emperor, Flavius Valerius Constantius (Constantine I). As a youth he was trained as a soldier.
Constantine grew up in a world troubled by warfare, famine and disease. In 285, when he was about 15 years old, Diocletian became emperor and reorganized the empire into four parts called tetrarchies with himself as senior ruler in charge of each one.
The tetrarchy included two senior emperors to whom Constantine’s father belonged along with two junior emperors who were under his command.
Middle Age Life Of Constantine The Great
After taking power, Constantine had to put down several revolts against his authority. He quickly controlled the areas under his control, but he was challenged by revolts in the Danubian provinces – modern-day Romania and Eastern Europe – and also by the southern provinces of Palestine and Egypt.
Constantine took up arms against these revolts and defeated them. In 313, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, officially legalizing Christianity. Under this edict, Christians were free to worship as they chose.
In 325, Constantine began construction of a new imperial capital at Byzantium on the Bosporus. The city was dedicated on 11 May 330 as Constantinople (now Istanbul).
On 26 June in that same year he declared a new era for himself which began on 25 July, equivalent to 11 September 312 in our calendar. It is from this date that we now count “Anno Domini”.
The city became the center of Constantine’s political life for most of his life, although he would campaign throughout the empire with varying degrees of success.
Educational Life Of Constantine The Great
Who was Constantine the Great? He was a Roman emperor who ruled in 306-337 CE. He is known for being the first Christian emperor of Rome and is venerated as a saint by both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Church.
Before he became emperor, he had to be educated like any other Roman. It was not enough to just be born into royalty—you also needed to be educated before you could rule. His tutor was a pagan philosopher named Mardonius.
There were many other tutors that taught him different subjects such as rhetoric, grammar, philosophy and music. The problem with this type of education is that it did not teach him how to run a country or how to be a military leader. T
his means that when he became emperor he had no experience with these things so he would have relied heavily on his advisers for guidance in matters of state and war.
He later converted to Christianity which meant that his children were raised as Christians even though their mother (Constantine’s wife) Eutropia was still pagan until her death sometime during the reign of either their son or grandson (I don’t know which one yet).
Constantine The Great Became Emperor
When Constantine the Great became emperor, he decided to unify the Roman Empire under one religion. He and his mother, Helena, chose Christianity, which eventually led to the Catholic Church. Constantine was born in the year 272 and lived until 337—he only lived 65 years and yet changed the world forever.
The Roman Empire was divided into Eastern and Western parts and he ruled over the Eastern part from 330 to 337. This region later became known as the Byzantine Empire and it lasted another 1,000 years.
He was an ambitious man who wanted to rule all of Rome. To achieve this, he planned an invasion of Rome in 312 that resulted in a battle with Maxentius at Milvian Bridge.
Before the battle began, he saw a Christian symbol in the sky with Greek words that said “in hoc signo vinces,” or “with this sign you will conquer.” After seeing this, he ordered his soldiers to paint their shields with this symbol before they went into battle.
Constantine won this battle and then took over Rome as its sole ruler in 313. Once there, he issued a decree that ended all forms of torture against Christians and made them free to practice their religion openly.
Constantine The Great Battles
Constantine the Great was well known for his battles. He was a great emperor and an even greater warrior. He had many fights throughout his life.
Most of these were against other Roman emperors, but he also fought against outside forces. Constantine the Great was an amazing leader and an excellent fighter.
His first major battle was against Maxentius, emperor of Rome at the time. Constantine the Great fought Maxentius at Milvian Bridge in 312 A.D., where he won and became emperor of Rome.
Next, he fought Licinius in 324 A.D. This battle took place at Adrianople in Thrace and again, Constantine won.
The next battle was against Licinius again, this time at Chrysopolis (now Scutari). This occurred in 324 A.D., right after the last battle with Licinius.
In 337 A.D., Constantine fought against Sarmatians near Constantinople and defeated them as well.
Constantine The Great Built Constantinople
Constantinople, officially known as the City of Constantine during its heyday, was built by the emperor Constantine the Great in 330 AD. As the capital city of the Roman Empire at the time, it was a major cultural center that was home to over a million people.
Constantine’s decision to build Constantinople as the new capital city of Rome came from his desire to have a fresh start after his victory in the Battle of Milvian Bridge.
He had survived an assassination attempt and then defeated his rival Maxentius in battle, which he took as a sign from God that he should convert to Christianity—thus paving the way for the rise of Christianity’s influence during his reign.
As you might imagine, building an entirely new city is no easy feat. For starters, it involves finding a suitable location with access to water (which can make or break a settlement) and fertile land (for growing food).
As part of this process, Constantine conducted extensive research on previous settlements in this region and how they fared based on their proximity to water resources.
He also studied how they were affected by floods and other natural disasters—an important consideration given that one-third of all human settlements have been abandoned due to these types of environmental issues.
Constantine The Great Achievements
Constantine laid siege to the great city for three years (324-326), finally conquering it after 28 years of war between Rome and Persia.
Constantine ended this conflict with victory at the Battle of Chrysopolis on 18 September 324, establishing new boundaries for the empire that left him in control of the eastern Mediterranean. The next year he was in Antioch making plans for a grand expedition against Persia’s main rival on the eastern frontier: The Sassanid Empire.
-Constantine restored peace within the empire after several years of civil war by defeating his rival Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge outside Rome in 312.
-He is said to have ended the practice of crucifixion.
-He made Sunday a day of rest for Christians.
-He created Constantinople (modern Istanbul), which became the capital city of the Byzantine Empire.
-He made Christianity legal by ending persecutions against Christians with the Edict of Milan in 313.
Interesting Facts About Constantine The Great
Here are some interesting facts about Constantine the Great:
Constantine was born on February 27th, 272 AD in Naissus (modern-day Nis) in the province of Moesia Superior. His father was Constantius Chlorus and his mother Helena.
Constantine’s father served as a military officer under Emperor Diocletian before becoming Caesar (co-emperor) in 293 when Diocletian retired. In 305, Constantius became sole ruler after defeating rival Emperors Maxentius and Licinius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge outside Rome.
Constantius died at York in 306 and left his son Constantine II as co-emperor during his campaign against Maxentius who had been declared emperor by his troops after killing Galerius in 309.
After defeating Maxentius at Rome in 312 and Licinius at Chrysopolis near Chalcedon on April 27th 324; he became sole ruler of both East and West until his death on May 22nd
Constantine The Great Death
The death of Constantine the Great was announced on May 22, 337. He was in his villa in the town of Pola (modern Pula), Istria (then part of the Western Roman Empire). T
he cause of death is unknown; most historical sources say he died from natural causes, but the lack of an official autopsy means that this is not certain.
According to some sources, he was buried in Constantinople next to his mother Helen, but this has been contested by others who believe that Constantine was buried in York Minster in England.
In any case, Constantine’s body was later moved from York to Constantinople by his nephew Julian where it was laid to rest in a porphyry sarcophagus which bore an inscription proclaiming him “Great Emperor Konstantinos” (“Great Sovereign Emperor Constantine”).
