Constantine the Great: Who Was Constantine the Great?

Photographs, Illustrations, and Pictures from the Life of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great: Constantine's chief goal was always creating and maintaining unity, be it political, economic or, eventually, religious. For Constantine, one of the greatest threats to Roman domination and peace was disunity.

The Arch of Constantine was dedicated in 315 by the senate and people of Rome along the triumphal route after Constantine's defeat of Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge in 312. It was also designed to commemorate Constantine's tenth anniversary of rule. The current state of conservation of the arch is particularly good and provides people with an excellent way to experience what Roman monumental architecture is like.

The so-called 'Basilica of Constantine' is a good example of Roman massive construction. The main chamber reached 48 meters in height, both the main chamber and the two side chambers were 25 meters wide, and the entire structure took up 6,000 square meters. It is located between the Via Sacra and the Velia Hill, into which the Basilica is partially built.

The Baptistery of Constantine is located adjacent to the Basilica of St. John Lateran. This church is second only in importance to St. Peter's in Rome. The pope is also the bishop of Rome and his 'home church' is here, not St. Peter's. Until the papal court was moved to Avignon in France, this was the main cathedral of Rome and the official...

According to tradition, the night before he was to launch an attack on his rival just outside of Rome, Constantine received an omen. Eusebius records that Constantine saw a vision in the sky while Lactantius says that it was a dream. Both agree that the omen informed Constantine that he would conquer under the sign of Christ (Greek: en touto nika; Latin: in hoc signo vinces). Because he did indeed defeat Maxentius, he was convinced of the truth of Christianity.

Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantine, better known as Constantine the Great, was perhaps the most important person in the development of the early Christian Church (after Jesus and Paul, naturally). He gave Christianity political and social legitimacy in the Roman Empire, allowing the religion to establish itself, obtain powerful patrons, and ultimately dominate the Western world.

Just about everyone familiar with Christian history realizes that Christians achieved its powerful position in the Roman empire because of the patronage of emperor Constantine. A question that vexes historians, though, is why he did it. Why did he choose Christianity over other options, like traditional Roman paganism or even Mithraism?

That Christianity has a legacy of antisemitism is undeniable. That Christianity, and in particular the Catholic Church, has a legacy of suppression of dissent and unorthodox ideas is also undeniable. What is interesting, however, are the ways in which both of these legacies are not only related, but are in fact dependent upon each other.