Who is Constantine exactly? Constantine, or Flavius Valerius Constantinus, is most commonly known as the first Christian emperor of the Roman world and the founder of the ancient city Constantinople. Born February 27, roughly 285 AD to Helena, a common innkeeper’s daughter, and Constantius Chlorus, there is a high possibility that the infamous Constantine was an illegitimate child.
In 293 AD Constantius Chlorus was elevated to the rank of Caesar and his son replaced him as a member, of the then current emperor Diocletian’s, court. This was the beginning of a long and illustrious career that often bordered on cruelty and betrayal. While Diocletian was the main emperor, he served along with Galerius and Maxmian, also known as co-emperor’s or co-augusti. Eventually Constantius Chlorus died as an augusti and Constantine took his place alongside Galerius in 306 AD. Constantine married former Augustus Maxmian’s daughter, Fausta, who then finally acknowledged Constantine as an emperor.
During the conference of Carnuntum in 308 AD, where all the Caesars and augusti met, it was demanded that Constantine return to being a Caesar but he refused, causing much political unrest. In retaliation, Maxmian turned against Constantine and began to attempt to dethrone the young emperor. Constantine drove Maxmian to Massilla where Maxmian either committed suicide or was executed in 310 AD. When Galerius died in 311 AD, Constantine was joined by Valerius Licinius Licinianus, or Licinius and Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus, or Maximinus to complete the tetrarchy that Diocletian had originally established.
While Licinius and Maximinus battled for supremacy, Constantine began a war against Maxentius. Constantine, on his march to Rome, supposedly had a ...
... middle of paper ...
... death bed. May 22, 337 AD, the great Flavius Valerius Constantinus left the empire he worked his entire life for in the hands of his offspring. Ironically, the Roman senate elevated Constantine to the rank of a pagan deity. Though perhaps not kind, Constantine was a great and powerful man; the first Roman emperor of his kind and the creator of Constantinople.
Works Cited
• "Social Studies Homework Help." Free Teacher Resources | Discovery Education. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. .
• "Emperor Constantine." The Roman Empire. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. .
• "Diocletian Biography | BookRags.com." BookRags.com | Study Guides, Lesson Plans, Book Summaries and More. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. .
Similar to celebrities today, Clodia was able to network with powerful people because she was a formidable character as well. Clodia was associated with the dictator L. Cornelius Sulla, the great orator Hortensius, and the main conservative spokesman Cato the Younger (Skinner, 2010). Clodia’s esteemed position in society permitted her to marry her cousin. Clodia’s husband, who was named, Quintus Metellus Celer, was a Roman tribune, a brother-in-law of Pompey the Great, and a legate in Asia (Badian, 2014). Because of her husband’s involvement in Roman politics, Clodia was able to gain a widened array of political contacts. Clodia was also able to influence her husband’s political choices because of her forceful nature. Clodia was also afforded more economic freedoms once she was married as opposed to still being under her father’s control. Clodia, although it was looked down upon, used her wealth for her own aims instead of the considering the interests of her male relatives. When Metellus husband died in 59 BC under mysterious circumstances, Clodia became a widow with a vast amount of wealth (Kamil, 2014). Being a widow also gave Clodia more leverage to lead the type of life she saw fit, and Clodia never remarried after. Clodia assisted her brother Clodius in his political career. Clodia’s birth name was Claudia, but she changed it when her brother changed his
Dio, Cassius. "Roman History published in Vol. II of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1914 ." 10 2006. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/13*.html (accessed 3 1, 2010).
The Byzantine Empire, the eastern half of the Roman Empire, flourished as an impressive medieval civilization. This empire was rich with geography, culture, and trade connections due to its location in Constantinople, the isthmus between Asia and Europe. It also lasted for over a thousand years and reached its height and glory during the sixth century, under the reign of Justinian I (Justinian the Great) and his empress, Theodora. They both came from the lower class and gained status to work their way to being rulers of the empire. Justinian and Theodora are important figures in history because they ruled the Byzantine Empire at its height and made many reforms during that time which many still exist today.
However, this was different compared to Constantine who converted to Christianity and evangelized people to convert to Christianity as well. Constantine ruled as emperor from 306-337 A.D. and was the first Christian emperor of the time and credited
Constantine lived from 280-337 CE, and in 312 CE moved his army in on Rome and began his powerful uprising in the Mediterranean. Constantine looked to God in all his battles and it was said that he once saw an emblem and was told to put the symbol on his shield i...
Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, or Constantine, is commonly referred to as the fist Christian emperor of the Roman Empire and as the defender of Christianity. Such grand titles are not necessarily due for the reasons that people commonly think of them today.
Justinian was one of the most influential rulers of Byzantium. When he came into power in 527 AD, he inherited a civilization in disarray. Justinian had a positive impact on the Byzantine Empire. Most notably, he introduced an improved set of laws and conquered many surrounding nations, nearly restoring the former glory of the Roman Empire. In addition to these contributions, Justinian also made advances with the Christian Church and Byzantine architecture.
Augustus Caesar, Emperor Constantine, and Pericles were all significant leaders and each of their cultures were very influential. Augustus Caesar led Rome’s transformation from republic to empire, and served as its first emperor until his death. Emperor Constantine on the other hand served as a Roman army officer, as well as emperor of Rome from 306 to 337 CE, generally understood as the first Christian Emperor of the Roman world. Pericles, was a prominent Greek statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the Golden Age. All were indeed significant leaders that lived through very important time periods. But once they were all deceased and united in the afterlife, the big question of whose time period or culture had a greater influence
Constantine I February 27, 280 C.E.- May 22, 337 C.E. ), also known as Constantine the Great, was the first Roman emperor to not only abolish persecution of Christians, but he was also the first to convert to Christianity in 312 A.D. Around 200 years later, in 496 A.D. Clovis I (466 C.E.- 511 C.E. ), the King of the Franks, converted to Christianity, in which he was called a “new Constantine”. Constantine and Clovis’ reign through Christianity was alike in the way that they decided to convert. However, the two emperors were different in their commitment to God and their impacts on the church and state.
Diocletian was born Diocles in 245 CE to an Illyrian family of modest status. Like many Illyrians, he proved to be brave soldier,
As the Imperial system gained hold, it was common practice for the Emperors to accept divine honors before their deaths. These living gods, in some cases, required sacrificial rituals as signs of loyalty and ingrained themselves with the older more traditional pagan gods. The requirement of a sacrifice to the emperor, as well as the forced belief in the complete pantheon became a significant source of conflict with early Christians. As Christians refused to worship the emperor as a god, persecution of the Christians and conflict with the cult was a constant source of strife. Emperor worship would continue until late in the western Empire until the reign of Constantine. In the early 4th century AD, Constantine either converted to Christianity or made it an acceptable part of Roman religion, eliminating the emperor deification altogether. Later Emperors such as Julian attempted to revive the old ways, but the deeply rooted Mithraism, and Christian cults combined were firmly set within Roman society. By 392 AD, Emperor Theodosius I banned the practice of pagan religions in Rome altogether and Christianity was, without question, the official religion of the state.
Augustus Caesar was very ambitious leader. He is best known for bringing peace to Rome. Augustus was considered the first great roman emperor, because He didn’t care about wealth and fortune. Augustus cared about the people of Rome. He was a great military leader and was successful in most of his missions. He showed people that being a good ruler requires a lot of hard work and dedication. He was a very generous man. Augustus was greatly admired by the Roman people.
and Aurelia Cotta. Julius Caesar was born in a senatorial, patrician family and the nephew of the Roman general, Marius. As a child he didn’t have a formal education, but was tutored by a private tutor where he achieved skills in writing and reading. He eventually received secondary education that acquired skills in music, geography, history, science, and Greek philosophy. He then studied Rhodes rhetoric, which later prepared him in his law career in the courts. At the age of 18 he married Cornelia Cinna, the daughter of a prominent member of the popular party, and later they had a daughter named Julia, who was the only legitimate child of Caesar.
Octavian Augustus is known as the first, and one of the greatest, Roman Emperors ever. Octavian enabled the long, peaceful time of the Pax Romana by changing Rome from a fragile, crumbling republican government to a mighty empire. Octavian’s government was strong enough to withstand weak emperors who mismanaged the Empire as well. His changes proved to be the cornerstone of the greatest empire the world has ever seen.
Throughout history, the world has seen a copious amount of emperors, but Julius Caesar was a historic model to the society of Rome. According to McKay, Hill, Buckler, Crowston, Weisner- Hanks, and Perry, (2014), born in 100 B.C. to an honorable family, Caesar went to school and received an outstanding education, which he later advanced by studying in Greece with some of the famous Greek teachers we learn about today. Caesar’s first wife Cornelia was the daughter of the consul at the time, Lucius Cornelius Cinna. His original plans were to marry the daughter of a wealthy business class family, but considering he wanted to be the flamen he had to marry a patrician. Even though he fulfilled the requirements and married Cornelia, consul Cinna never