Constantine I Biography

Flavio Valerio Aurelio Constantino, better known as Constantino I the Great, was born in Naissus, present-day Serbia, approximately on February 27, 272, and died in Nicomedia, Kingdom of Bithynia and Pontus, on May 22, 337. He was one of the Roman emperors of the West, appointed by their own troops, and is recognized in history for having established the Christian religion in the Empire, for what is called St. Constantine by some ecclesiastical institutions.

Constantino was the son of Constancio Chlorine and Flavia Julia Helena. Nevertheless, his father soon would marry the daughter of the Maximian emperor, Flavia Maximian Teodora. Therefore, it was easy for Chlorus to be designated as one of the two Caesars of the Tetrarchy imposed in the fourth century, along with Galerius. Thanks to this, Constantino happened to serve in the court of Diocletian in the city of Nicomedia for the year 293. Later, in the year 305, both August of the tetrarchy, Diocletian, and Maximian, resigned to their positions. Then the two Caesars, including his father, went on to August’s office while two Illyrian officers became the Caesars. However, his father would be seriously ill in the expedition that the Empire was carrying out in the Caledonia Picts. Constantine, who was also on the expedition, accompanied him until the day of his death, on July 25, 306.

After this, his father’s legions, commanded by the German general Chroco, named Constantine as Augustus. The news reached the rest of the Empire quickly, where it was approved by the communities of Gaul and Britain, but not by Hispania. Due to this, and to the appointment of Galerius like Caesar by the pair of Severe II, he returned to the political scene Majencio, son of Maximian, to demand powers equal to those of its father.

This is how 20 years of war begin, in which in the end Severo will die when he is betrayed by his own men, tired of not being able to defeat the alliance between Maximiano and Constantino. But this will not solve the political situation of the Empire but would aggravate it by having 4: August, Constantine, Maximian, Galerius and Maxentius, and up to seven for the year 310, where Maximinus, Licinius, and Domitius Alexander came to power. This was because the rulers were no longer elected by the Senate but were proclaimed by their armies.

Thus, began a period of conspiracies and small wars between the men of one and another, which was ending little by little with the other leaders. For example, Maxentius ordered the murder of Dominic Alexander; Maximian preferred to commit suicide before Constantine’s constant siege; and although Galerius died because of his age, this gave opportunity for the other three Augustans to take power from Maxentius, who would end up defeated by Constantine on October 28, 312, at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge.

Later, Maximinio would resist the alliance between Constantino and Licinio until the battle of Tzirallum, where being surpassed it preferred to commit suicide in 313. Thanks to this, a government of Diarquía would begin, in which Constantino and Licinio faced at the beginning soon to be divided the empire after a mutual agreement of peace signed in Serdica, for the 317. But this was not enough for Constantino, reason why he decided to return to the attack, overcoming to the Army of his rival in the battle of the Hellespont and consecrating himself as unique emperor after finishing to the men of Licinio in Crisópolis.

This is how a government begins where laws would be reformed, the Army would be restructured, the monetary system would be revolutionized, and the Court would be reconfigured. After being victorious from the battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantine converted to Christianity as a form of gratitude,

also after being convinced by several of his relatives who already belonged to the religion, including his mother. Seeing the increase in the number of Christians in his Empire, and being himself, Constantine decided to legitimize Christianity as the religion of the Nation after the First Council of Nicaea in 325.

After this, Constantine began to persecute the pagans, destroying their temples, like those dedicated to Asclepius, Aphrodite, and Artesia. Also, it would change the capital of the Roman Empire from the West to Byzantium, which would later be renamed Constantinople.

Finally, before embarking on another of his multiple campaigns, Constantino became seriously ill. Shortly after, after being baptized on his deathbed, he closed his eyes in the year 337, being succeeded on the throne by his three sons: Constant, Constantius II and Constantine II. By his contributions to the expansion of the Christian religion, Constantine would be venerated as a saint by the Orthodox Church shortly afterward, which would also give him the title of Qui apostolic. Likewise, he would be venerated by the Eastern Catholic Churches and added to the Calendar of Saints of Luther.