Constantine the Great
Constantine the Great (c. 272 – 337) was Roman emperor from 306 to 337. After winning the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312, he agreed at Milan in 313 to freedom of religion, Christianity included; in 324 he reunited the empire, in 325 he called the Council of Nicaea, and in 330 he dedicated a new capital, Constantinople. He is known as the first Christian emperor, baptised shortly before his death.
| Lived | c. AD 272 – AD 337 |
|---|---|
| Active in | Nicomedia · Eboracum · Rome · Constantinople |
| Known for | The Edict of Milan; founding Constantinople; the Council of Nicaea |
| Game start | 303 · age 31 · Tribune and hostage at Diocletian's court (knightly rank) — The Edict of Nicomedia |
Life at a glance
- c. AD 272 Born on 27 February at Naissus (modern Niš in Serbia), son of Constantius and Helena.
- AD 293 His father becomes Caesar in the West, while Constantine stays at Diocletian's court in the East.
- AD 303 Witnesses the start of Diocletian's Great Persecution at Nicomedia.
- AD 306 After Diocletian's abdication he slips away from Galerius's court to his father in Britain, and when his father dies at Eboracum (modern York) on 25 July, the army proclaims him emperor. The next year he marries Fausta, daughter of Maximian.
- AD 312 On 28 October he defeats Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge and enters Rome. The next year he and Licinius agree at Milan on freedom of religion (the Edict of Milan).
- AD 324 Defeats Licinius at Chrysopolis and rules the empire alone.
- AD 325 Calls the first council at Nicaea.
- AD 326 Has his eldest son Crispus executed at Pola, and soon afterwards the empress Fausta also dies.
- AD 330 On 11 May dedicates the new capital, Constantinople, on the site of Byzantium.
- AD 337 Baptised near Nicomedia, he dies on 22 May.
Family
The family members who appear with this character when you start the game. Years follow the historical record; where none survives, a ? is shown.
| Relation | Name | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Father | Constantius I | c. AD 250 – AD 306 | Caesar in the West (293), Augustus (305); died at Eboracum in 306 |
| Mother | Helena | c. AD 248 – c. AD 330 | Later a saint; made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land around 326 |
| Half-sister | Constantia | c. AD 293 – ? | Married Licinius in 313 |
| First partner | Minervina | Dates unknown | Mother of Crispus; whether she was a lawful wife is disputed |
| Son | Crispus | c. AD 300 – AD 326 | Executed at Pola in 326 |
| Later wife | Fausta | c. AD 289 – AD 326 | Daughter of Maximian, married 307. In the game you marry her after winning the West |
In the game
You begin in February AD 303 as a tribune of thirty-one at Diocletian's court. It is a court in name, but you are really a hostage for the loyalty of your father, who rules in the West, and you have no land. Minervina and your three-year-old son Crispus live near the palace, and the Caesar Galerius is watching you.
In the first event, “The church opposite the palace”, if you hide a Christian weaver's manuscripts, that weaver reappears at Nicaea in 325. If you slip away from court in 305's “Hamstringing the post horses”, the army proclaims you emperor at Eboracum in 306, and from then on the Western Roman Empire is your realm.
The turning point is “If Maxentius had won at the Milvian Bridge”. Win, and real history runs through the marriage at Milan, Cibalae and Chrysopolis, the Council of Nicaea, the winter at Pola and Helena's pilgrimage to the new Rome and the white robe (deathbed baptism) of 337; lose, and another branch follows in which a separate Western empire survives with neither the Edict of Milan nor Constantinople.
- Scenario guide The Edict of Nicomedia
- Era guide Roman Empire
- Related turning points What if Maxentius had won at the Milvian Bridge?
Frequently asked questions
What was the Edict of Milan?
The policy of religious toleration agreed at Milan in 313 by Constantine and Licinius, emperor in the East. It granted freedom of worship to all religions, Christianity included, and ordered the return of church property confiscated in the persecution. It did not make Christianity the state religion; that came under Theodosius in 380.
When was Constantine baptised?
Shortly before his death in 337, near Nicomedia, by Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia. At the time it was believed that baptism washed away sins, and being baptised near death was not unusual.
Why is Constantine called “the Great”?
Because he reunited an empire divided by civil war, recognised Christianity and drew the Church into the centre of the empire, and founded Constantinople, which would be the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire for more than a thousand years. The Eastern Orthodox Church venerates him as a saint.
Sources
Eusebius, Life of Constantine; Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors; general histories of Rome.