John Yowan

Mr. Bruner

Government

4 April 2004

                                                Constantine the Great

Flavius Valerius Constantinus who became the emperor Constantine I of Rome was born at Naissus in the province of Moesia Superior, which is now in Modern Day Serbia, on February Twenty-Seventh of 271, 272 or 273 A.D. His father Constantius was a military officer. Constantius was raised on March First 293 A.D., to the rank of Caesar by Diocletian.1 Diocletian and Maximian2 announce their retirement on May First of 305 A.D., making Constantius an Augustus. Constantine during the time his father was Constantius Augustus, had served under both Diocletian and Galerius3 in the East.

Constantine was later allowed to join his father who was in Britain to help him in a campaign against the Picts where his father died on July Twenty-Fifth 306 A.D. When his father died the soldiers loyal to his father proclaimed Constantine Emperor, but there was a lot of rivalry over the position. Maxentius the son of Maximian, Severus and Galerius also wanted the position. Constantine, accepting the lesser title of Caesar from Galerius, while Maxentius and Maximian defeated Severus and Galerius.

In Britain Constantine succeeded in all his campaigns, and also defeated the Franks on the Rhine. In 307 A.D., Constantine married Maximian's daughter and Maxentius’ sister Fausta. At the same time the Senate and the Praetorian Guard 4 in Rome had allied themselves with Maxentius. On October Twenty-Eighth 306 A.D. they proclaimed Maxentius emperor.

Constantine and Maxentius did not trust each other, even though they were brothers-in-law. Open hostilities between the two started in 312 A.D. Constantine won an important victory in the famous Battle of the Milvian Bridge5 on October Twenty-Eighth 312 A.D. This made Constantine the sole ruler of the western half of the Empire. The night before the battle Lactantius, the tutor of Constantine’s son Crispus, said that Constantine was commanded in a dream to place the sign of Christ on the shields of his soldiers.

Twenty-Five years later a different story was given that said, when Constantine and his army were on their march toward Rome they saw in the sky a cross of light and the words "by this sign you will be victor." Next according the account “Christ appeared to Constantine and told him to place the heavenly sign on the battle standards of his army.” From that day forward he committed himself to the Christian faith.

Now Constantine and Emperor Licinius6 were the sole rulers of the Roman Empire. In February 313, probably, Constantine and Licinius met at Milan. At this time Constantine's half-sister Constantia was married to Licinius. Several months later Licinius and Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which said Christians were no longer to be persecuted, tortured or killed because they were Christian. The document went further than that and said if their land or houses had been taken away, they were to be restored without having to go to court to get their property back. If new owners objected they were to receive compensation from the government.

Later that year Licinius left Milan to defend his territory against Maximinus who attacked the east in Licinius’ absence. Once Licinius had defeated Maximinus he began to restore paganism, then to persecute Christians every chance he got. Now the ultimate goal pursued by both Constantine and Licinius was sole power. Both Emperors were looking for an excuse to attack the other. In the first war between the two Emperors two battles were fought. The First at Cibalae in Pannonia. When the battle was over Constantine won. The second battle was on the campus Ardiensis in Thrace in which neither side won a clear victory. On March First 317 A.D., at Serdica, Constantine announced the appointment of three Caesars: his own son Crispus, about twelve years old, his other son Constantine, less than seven months old, and Licinius' son, also named Licinius, twenty months old.

War started again in 324 A.D. Constantine defeated Licinius two times, the first at Adrianople in Thrace, and then at Chrysopolis on the Bosporus. Constantine spared the life of Licinius, but some months later he ordered his execution. Later Constantine had Licinius’ son killed too. Constantine was now the sole and undisputed ruler of the Roman Empire and set about rebuilding the strength of old Rome. He continued to tolerate Paganism and even to encourage the Imperial Cult. At the same time, however, he tried to unify and strengthen Christianity.

 Shortly after the battle against Licinius, Constantine summoned what is now known as the First Ecumenical Council of the Church, known as the Council of Nicaea. The council started as a resolution to a debate started early in the forth century between the bishop Alexander and Arius.  Arius was a Presbyter (pastor, or priest) in Alexandria. Arius taught that if the Father created the Son, the latter must have had a beginning. There was a time when he was not, and that his substance was from nothing like the rest of creation. These teachings were condemned and Arius was excommunicated in 318 A.D.

The council started on May twentieth 325 A.D. in the great hall of the palace at Nicaea and was over the exact relationship of the Son to the Father. There were about three hundred Bishops gathered at the Council of Nicea from all around the world. A supporter of Arius, Eusebius of Nicomedia, read a letter containing Arius' teaching as well as an Arian confession of faith, which the bishops tore to pieces. The Council then tried using Scripture against Arius, only to find that he had a new way of interpreting every verse they brought before him. In the end they used the argument that Arius' view had to be wrong because it was new.

Constantine sent a letter to Arius and Alexander in an attempt to persuade them to lay aside their differences. He wrote, "This contention has not arisen respecting any important command of the law, nor has any new opinion been introduced with regard to the worship of God; but you both entertain the same sentiments, so that you may join in one communion. It is thought to be not only indecorous, but altogether unlawful, that so numerous a people of God should be governed and directed at your pleasure, while you are thus emulously contending with each other, and quarrelling about small and very trifling matters."

Constantine decided to move his government to a place that was safe from foreign invasion. Rome was under attack from barbarian invaders north of the Italian peninsula. On November Eighth 324 A.D. less than two months after his victory over Licinius, Constantine laid out the boundaries of his new city, Constantinople, which he declared the new capital. By 328 A.D. the new walls were completed, and on May Eleventh 330 A.D. the new city was formally dedicated. In the city he also built two major Churches, Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) and Hagia Eirene (Holy Peace). Unlike the Old Rome, which was filled with pagan monuments and institutions, Constantinople was a Christian capital. By Constantine’s tenth anniversary of his acclamation as Emperor the famous Arch of Constantine was completed.

In 326 A.D. Constantine ordered the execution of his oldest son Crispus. Nobody is sure why, but many people say that Crispus and his stepmother Fausta were involved in an illicit relationship. Constantine also ordered the execution of Fausta.

Shortly after Easter in the year 337 A.D. Constantine began to feel ill. He traveled to Drepanum7 in honor of his mother, where he prayed at the tomb of his mother's favorite saint, the martyr Lucian. After that he went to the suburbs of Nicomedia, and was baptized. A few weeks later, on May Twenty-Second, Constantine died at Nicomedia. His body was escorted to Constantinople and lay in state in the Imperial Palace. His sarcophagus was then placed in the Church of the Holy Apostles, as he himself had directed.

Constantine changed history in many ways. He changed Christianity, government, the rights of the people of Rome, and the capital of Rome.

Soon after Constantine accepted Christianity he began to regulate the Church. Many of his laws helped the Church. Christian followers were safe from persecution, and Christian leaders were given many gifts by the Emperor. He also made Sunday an official Roman holiday so that more people could attend church. Many people were attracted to the Church because of the money and favored positions available to them from Constantine rather than from piety, which became a problem. The growth of the Church prompted the building of specialized places of worship, which were different to the earlier house Churches, which were small and informal.

Constantine believed that the Church and the State should be as close as possible. From 312 to 320 A.D. Constantine was tolerant of Paganism, keeping Pagan gods on coins and retaining his pagan high priest title, Pontifex Maximus, in order to maintain popularity with his subjects. Then from 320-330 A.D. he began to attack paganism through the government but in many cases he persuaded people to follow the laws by combining pagan worship with Christianity. He made December Twenty-Fifth, the birthday of the pagan Sun god8, the official Holiday for the birth of Jesus.

Constantine began a series of reforms in the civilian field as well as in the military. One of these reforms concerned the way in which taxes were calculated. Before the taxes had been determined by setting definite amounts of money or percentages. The first method did not produce sufficient amounts during periods of high price increases; the second did not enable the government to predict the amount of tax they would receive. Constantine made a new method of paying taxes, Instead of payment in cash; it became possible to settle by paying in kind. These new methods of tax collection and distribution would help to bring about a stable currency.

This new way of collecting taxes also brought new problems. The administration was so complex it increased the number of people it took to manage the system. This meant the cost of collecting taxes increased, which was counter productive. To overcome this the best they could, they separated the administration into two parts, one to handle the cash and two the payment in kind aspects. This reorganized the central finance department.

“The main character of Constantine's government was one of conservatism. His adoption of Christianity did not lead to a radical reordering of society or to a systematic revision of the legal system. Constantine also made a new type of coin, the gold solidus, which was widely accepted and remained the standard for centuries to come.” 9

Constantine helped lead to the Roman Empire to its downfall by splitting it.  When Constantine died Rome was divided between Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans. Constantine II got Constantinople, Constantius II got the east, and Constans got Italy, Africa and Western Illyricum. Constantine also helped divide Rome by making the new capital. By making Constantinople he unwillingly made it so East Rome and West Rome would be two separate places instead of one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

Gibbon, Edward.  The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire II, Constantine And The Christian Empire. London: The Folio Society 1984.

Hadas, Moses. Imperial Rome. Canada: Time inc. 1965.

Asimov, Isaac. The Roman Empire. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company 1967.

 Unknown author http://www.roman-emperors.org/

Unknown author http://campus.northpark.edu/

Unknown author http://www.romans-in-britain.org.uk/