Constantine I (emperor)

Constantine.
Head of the colossal statue. Musei Capitolini, Rome

Flavius Valerius Constantinus (February 27, 272–May 22, 337), commonly known as Constantine I or Constantine the Great, was proclaimed Augustus by his troops on July 25, 306 and ruled an ever-growing portion of the Roman Empire to his death. Constantine is famed for his refounding of Byzantium as "Nova Roma" (New Rome) ,which was always popularly called "Constantine's City"— (Constantinopolis, Constantinople). With the "Edict of Milan" in 313, Constantine and his co-Emperor Licinius removed all onus from Christianity. By taking the personal step of convoking the Council of Nicaea (325) Constantine began the Roman Empire's unofficial sponsoring of Christianity, which was a major factor in that religion's spread. His reputation as the "first Christian Emperor" was promulgated by Lactantius and Eusebius of Caesarea, gaining ground in the succeeding generations.

1 Early life
2 Constantine and Christianity
- 2.1 Persian reaction
- 2.2 Constantine's Christianity
3 Other achievements
4 Geoffrey of Monmouth and a Constantine made British
5 Links
6 Further Reading

Early life

Bronze statue of Constantine I outside York Minster, near where he was acclaimed Emperor in 306

He was born at Naissus, (today's Niš, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro) in Upper Moesia, to Constantius I Chlorus and an innkeeper's daughter, who at the time was an adolescent of only 16 years, Flavia Iulia Helena. His father left his mother c. 292 to marry Flavia Maximiana Theodora, daughter or step-daughter of Western Roman Emperor Maximian. Theodora would give to six half-siblings of Constantine, including Julius Constantius.

Constantine was well educated and served at the court of Diocletian in Nicomedia as a kind of hostage after the appointment of his father, a general, as one of the two caesares or junior emperors in the Tetrarchy in 293. In 305, the Augustus, Maximian, abdicated, and Constantius succeeded to the position. However, Constantius fell sick during an expedition against the Picts and Scots of Caledonia and died on July 25, 306. Constantine managed to be at his deathbed in Eboracum (York) of Roman Britain, where troops loyal to his father's memory proclaimed him an Augustus ("Emperor"). For the next 18 years, he fought a series of battles and wars that left him first the Western Roman Emperor in co-rule with an Eastern Roman Emperor, and then the supreme ruler of the Roman Empire.

Constantine and Christianity

Constantine is perhaps best known for being the first Roman Emperor to freely allow Christianity, traditionally presented as a result of an omen — a chi and rho in the sky, with the inscription "By this sign shalt thou conquer" — before his victory in the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312, when Constantine is said to have instituted the new standard to be carried into battle, called the labarum. There are at least 3 different surviving ancient versions of this battle in greater detail. See: Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died, Chapter 44, by Lactantius, The Life of Constantine, Chapters 24–31, by Eusebius of Caesarea, and New History, Book 2 43,44 by Zosimus; this version seems to have numerous owls as an omen of victory.

At this point it should be noted that historical sources of the 4th century Roman Empire seem to be unusually rich in omens, magic, hexes and spells, while lacking in critical inquiry. A suspicion of literacy and higher learning which began at least a century before has grown. These may have been the results of the fear and high mortality rates caused by the first and second outbreak of the Antonine Plague (165 – 180 and 251 – 266 respectively).

Christian historians ever since Lactantius have adhered to the view that Constantine "adopted" Christianity as a kind of replacement for the official Roman paganism. Though the document called the "Donation of Constantine" was proved a forgery (though not until the 15th century, when the stories of Constantine's conversion were long-established "facts") it was attributed as documenting the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity for centuries. Even Christian skeptics have accepted this formulation, though seeing Constantine's policy as a political one, unifying and strengthening the Empire, rather than a spiritual move. Still the Edict of Milan indicated that reverence to the Divine, as shown by past history, was for the good of the Roman Empire. The Roman Emperor has become more responsible to the Divine for giving religious guidance to its people than in the past.

Coin of Constantine I, making a benediction gesture, with his sons, enthroned.

By the end of the 4th century, Christian communities and their bishops had become a force to contend with, in urban centers especially. Possibly because of literacy, Christians were preferred for high government positions; Constantine granted various special privileges; and churches like the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem were constructed. Christian bishops took aggressive public stances that were unknown among other cult leaders, even among the Jews. Proselytism had had to be publicly outlawed, simply to maintain public decorum. In the essential Roman legions, however, Christianity was unpopular because it accepted women , and the soldiers followed Mithras and Isis. Since the Roman Emperors ruled by "favor from the Gods" and stayed in power through the support of the legions, it was important for them to be seen visibly aiding the cause of religion. The insolence of the Christians consisted in their public refusal to "sacrifice and build idols" which some modern writers see as an oath of allegiance. Refusal might easily bring upon all the Roman people the loss of Jupiter's and the other Gods support; protecting the Empire's borders against marauding barbarians, safety from epidemics and natural disasters, (which were thought to be Divine punishments), etc. such were the usual justifications for the murder and mutilations of Christians, the fare of many martyrologies that described Christian agonies in inspiring and inflammatory detail. (See: Diocletian's Edicts against the Christians, Galerius Maximianus, and Lactantius' Of the Manner in which the Persecutors Died, Chapters 21–24) In the 5th century non-Christians will be blamed for the same misfortunes and treated just as terribly, or worse. Fear, ignorance, superstition and mysticism ( Magic) continue to thrive; more books are burned. Education, critical and secular thinking lose their value and are even ridiculed; literacy declines. Blind obedience and mob theology grow in popularity and become the "truth" and the Divine word.

Constantine and Licinius' Edict of Milan (313) neither made paganism illegal nor made Christianity a state-sponsored religion. It gave religious freedom. It legalized Christianity, returned confiscated Church property, and established Sunday as a day of worship. Though the church prospered under Constantine's patronage, its controversies, which had been lively within the Christian communities since the mid-2nd century, now flared in public schisms accompanied by riotous violence; one of the most vehement was the African Donatist schism which began in 311 A.D. Donatists, Christians themselves, would not forgive or recognize other Christians who they thought had betrayed or abandoned Christ during the past persecutions. Constantine, Divinely appointed, saw qualling religious disorder as the emperor's duty. Later he called the First Council of Nicaea (May 20 – July 25, 325) to settle the problem of Arianism, a dispute about the personhood and godhood of Jesus. It produced the Nicene Creed, which favoured the position of Athanasius of Alexandria, that God and Jesus were "of one substance". Jesus was "begotten not made". This became the offical doctrine defeating Arius, the major opponent.

"[Constantine] diminished none of the privileges of the sacred virgins, he filled the priestly offices with nobles, he did not refuse the cost of the Roman ceremonies, and following the rejoicing Senate through all the streets of the eternal city, he contentedly beheld the shrines with unmoved countenance, he read the names of the gods inscribed on the pediments, he enquired about the origin of the temples, and expressed admiration for their builders.( Still he no longer sacrificed to Jupiter in Rome, nor will Constantine's newly constructed Christian churches be built within Rome's walls). Everyone has his own customs, everyone his own rites. The divine mind has distributed different guardians and different cults to different cities. As souls are separately given to infants as they are born, so to peoples the genius of their destiny." (Possible Christian insertion in italics.)

Medieval sourcebook: The Memorial of Symmachus, prefect of the City. (The Memorial has been emended to address three emperors, Valentinian II (died 392), Theodosius I, and Arcadius. Arcadius was named co-ruler of his father and Augustus in January, 383. So the adress to the three Augusti could have been written anywhere between 383 and 392. There may be Christian adulterations of the text. The reply of Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, is appended, which is highly revealing in the character of his argument in rebuttal.)

Persian reaction

Beyond the limites, east of the Euphrates, the Sassanid rulers of the Persian Empire had usually tolerated their Christians. A Letter from Constantine to Shapur II of Persia (both lived and reigned from 310 to 379), supposed to have been written in 324 urged him to protect the Christians in his realm… With the edicts of toleration in the Roman empire, the followers of Christ would be regarded as allies of Persia's ancient enemy. The persecutions began. Shapur II wrote to his generals:

You will arrest Simon, chief of the Christians. You will keep him till he signs this document and consents to collect for us a double tax and double tribute from the Christians … for we Gods have all the trials of war and they have nothing but repose and pleasure. They inhabit our territory and agree with Caesar, our enemy. (quoted in Freya Stark, Rome on the Euphrates 1967, p. 375)

It was not an unreasonable demand in the circumstances. The Sassanids were perennially at war with Rome. Christians were now suspected for potential treachery. The "Great Persecution" of the Persian Christian churches occurred in a later period, 340 to 363, after the Persian Wars that reopened upon Constantine's death. In 344 came the martyrdom of Catholicos Shimun bar Sabbae, with five bishops and 100 priests.

Constantine's Christianity

The religion of Constantine the Great, while quite Christian in view of his many Christian qualities and acts later in life, is frequently attacked because of his sinful actions (not unlike Augustine of Hippo, whose early life was debauched, and twisted by ambition).

Bronze coins struck for emperors often reveal details of their personal iconography. During the early part of Constantine's rule, representations first of Mars and then (from 310) of Apollo as Sun god consistently appear on the reverse of the coinage. Mars had been associated with the Tetrarchy, and Constantine's use of this symbolism served to emphasize the legitimacy of his rule. After his breach with his father's old colleague Maximian in 309–310, Constantine began to claim legitimate descent from the 3rd century emperor Marcus Aurelius Claudius Gothicus, the hero of the Battle of Naissus (September, 268). The Augustan History of the 4th century reports Constantine's paternal grandmother Claudia to be a daughter of Crispus. Crispus being a reported brother of both Claudius II and Quintillus. Historians however suspect this account to be a genealogical fabrication to flatter Constantine.

Gothicus had claimed the divine protection of Apollo-Sol. In mid 310, two years before the victory at the Milan bridge, Constantine reportedly experienced the publicly announced vision in which Apollo-Sol appeared to him with omens of success. Thereafter the reverses of his coinage were dominated for several years by his "companion, the unconquered Sol" — the inscriptions read SOLI INVICTO COMITI. The depiction represents Apollo with a solar halo, Helios-like, and the globe in his hands. In the 320s Constantine has a halo of his own.

There are also coins depicting Apollo driving the chariot of the Sun on a shield Constantine is holding and another (313?) shows the Christian chi-rho on a helmet Constantine is wearing.

Another aspect of Constantine's life which these attacks employ is his execution of many. He had deposed Eastern Roman Emperor Licinius, his brother-in-law, strangled in 325. He had publicly promised not to execute him upon Licinius' surrender in 324. In 326, Constantine executed first his eldest son Crispus and a few months later his own second wife Fausta. (Crispus was the only known son of Constantine by his first wife Minervina). There are rumours of step-mother and step-son having had an affair which caused Constantine's jealousy. The rumours were reported however by 5th century historian Zosimus and 12th century historian Joannes Zonaras. Their sources are not stated.

Family influence is thought to account for a personal adoption of Christianity: Helena is said to be "probably born a Christian" though virtually nothing is known of her background, save that her mother was the daughter of an innkeeper and her father a successful soldier, a career that excluded overt Christians. Certainly Helena demonstrated extreme piety in her later life in her trip to Palestine, where she discovered the True Cross and established basilicas.

As the general custom, Constantine was not baptized until close to his death, when his choice fell upon the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia, who happened, despite his being an overt, scheming ally of Arius, to still be the bishop of the region. Also, Eusebius was a close friend of Constantine's sister; she probably secured his recall from exile.

The great staring eyes in the iconography of Constantine (illustration above, right), though not specifically Christian, show how official images were moving away from early imperial conventions of realistic portrayal towards schematic representations: the Emperor as Emperor, not merely as this particular individual Constantine, with his characteristic broad jaw and cleft chin. The large staring eyes will loom larger as the 4th century progresses: compare the early 5th century silver iconic imperial representation at the entry for Theodosius I.

Other achievements

His victory in 312 AD over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge resulted in his becoming Western Augustus, or ruler of the entire Western Roman Empire. He gradually consolidated his military superiority over his rivals in the crumbling Tetrarchy.

In the year 320, Licinius, emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, reneged on the religious freedom promised by the Edict of Milan in 313 and began another persecution of the Christians. A puzzling inconsistancy since Constantia, half-sister of Constantine and wife of Licinius, was an influential Christian. It became a challenge to Constantine in the west, climaxing in the great civil war of 324. The armies were so large another like these would not be seen again until at least the 14th century. Characteristic of the age, it was a great cosmic battle. Licinius, aided by Goth mercenaries, represented the past and the ancient faith of Paganism. Constantine and his Franks marched under the Christian standard of the labarum. The new religion confronted the old Gods. Supposedly outnumbered, but fired by their zeal, Constantine's army emerged victorious. He was the sole emperor of the entire Roman Empire.

Now with the passing of the her Gods, old Rome was put aside. The new empire would grow and prosper in the east. Constantine rebuilt the city of Byzantium which was said to have been founded by colonists from the Greek city of Megara under Byzas in 667 BC. He renamed the city Nova Roma (New Rome), providing it with a Senate and civic offices similar to the older Rome. Nova Roma was preserved by the True Cross, The Rod of Moses and other holy relics. The figures of Old Gods were replaced and given new faces. On the site of a temple to Aphrodite was built the new Basilica of the Apostles. Generations later there was the story that a Divine vision lead Constantine to this spot, and an angel, no one else could see, led him on a circuit of the new walls. After his death it was renamed Constantinopolis (or Constantinople, "Constantine's City"), and gradually became the capital of the empire.

Constantine also passed laws making the occupations of butcher and baker hereditary, and more importantly, supported converting the coloni (tenant farmers) into serfs — laying the foundation for European society during the Middle Ages.

Although he earned his honorific of "The Great" from Christian historians long after he had died, he could have claimed the title on his military achievements alone. In addition to reuniting the empire under one emperor, Constantine won major victories over the Marcomanni and Alamanni (306–308), the Vandals and Marcomanni (314–315), the Visigoths in 332 and the Sarmatians in 334. In fact, by 336, Constantine had actually reoccupied most of the long-lost province of Dacia, which Aurelian had been forced to abandon in 271. At the time of his death, he was planning a great expedition to put an end to raids on the eastern provinces from the Persian Empire by conquering that nation—something no Emperor since Trajan had contemplated.

Constantine's pro-Christian policies also led to Anti-Judaism policies, the forerunner of the Persecution of the Jews during the Middle Ages.

He was succeeded by his three sons by Fausta, Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans, who secured their hold on the empire with the murder of a number of relatives and supporters of Constantine. The last member of his dynasty was his nephew and son-in-law, Julian, who attempted to restore paganism.

Geoffrey of Monmouth and a Constantine made British

The English chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth, who offered a genealogy of British kings that linked them to the Fall of Troy and whose 12th century history is not considered a reliable source by modern historians, claimed that the Helena, Constantine's mother, was actually the daughter of "King Cole", the mythical King of the Britons. A daughter for King Cole had not previously figured in the lore, at least not as it has survived in writing, and this pedigree is likely to reflect Geoffrey's desire to create a continuous line of regal descent. It was indecorous, Geoffrey considered, that a king might have less-than-noble ancestors. Monmouth also said that Constantine was proclaimed "King of the Britons" at York, rather than Roman emperor.