How Did Flavius Valerius Augustus Influence The Reign Of Augustus?
Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus
Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus was one of few who went to the extremes of killing his own family members just to keep his new booming Empire up and running. Constantine ruled from 306 A.D. until 337 A.D. During Constantine the Great’s thirty-one years of ruling, he influenced the Roman Empire that affected the Roman people in a virtuous way. He strengthened Christianity in Rome and was a martyr in making Christianity a respected religion, he created economic reforms that helped the common people, and crafted impressive structures throughout the Empire.
Throughout Constantine’s reign, he strongly enforced Christianity and made it more popular throughout the Empire. Constantine …show more content…
the Great was a very influential man on Christianity and many admired what he did. He was the first roman emperor to ever support Christianity and make it a religion that was commonly used and allowed throughout Rome. Constantine strived vigorously to get Christianity into the world. He built buildings and supported the upbringing of Christian churches from all over Rome. Constantine’s partner Esebius, who was also really into religious politics once stated “No Roman Emperor before Constantine had ever done this. Eusebius of Caesar was to see in Constantine the first emperor who was a ‘friend of god’ and thus chosen to proclaim his message to the world.”(Hardenbrook) Constantine himself was so into this religion, which was a religion that no one in Rome has ever embraced, that he urged the acceptance of Christian faith whenever he could. (Constantine)
By keeping the Divine faith, I am made a partaker of the light of truth: guided by the light of truth, I advance in the knowledge of the Divine Faith. Hence it is that, as my actions themselves evince, I profess the most holy religion; and this worship I declare to be that which teaches me deeper acquaintance with the most holy God; aided by whose Divine power. (Jennings) Constantine did things such as participating and being a major role in the Edict of Milan. The Edict of Milan was moreover a response to a problem in the churches of Alexandria. It was an assembly over the dispute weather Christians should be given the toleration, and restoration of any personal property that was confiscated during the prosecution. (Matthews) When Constantine put his time in to deciding the Edict of Milan it was just after the defeat of Maxentius at Milan. Contributing to the Edict of Milan made him so empowered by the Christian faith he went beyond what the Edict of Milan concluded and donated bishops to imperial property. (Matthews)
All through Constantine’s childhood he was brought up in a monotheistic household. His father enforced the rule that there must be strict adherence to the all mighty Sun God, which was popular in early day Rome. (Hardenbrook) During the course of his childhood he was obeying to his father’s rule, until Constantine saw the failure of the people who practiced polytheism as he grew apart from his dad. From that day on Constantine slowly moved away from his ‘old ways’ and started turning to Christianity instead. “Every day at an exact hour he shut himself up in the most secluded part of the palace, as if to assist at the sacred mysteries, and there commune with God…on his knees, for his necessities.” (Living) This quote shows how he would give time out of his day to God to show that he was a Christian himself and placed his faith in him. Although he wasn’t baptized until 312, which occurred right before his death, a bishop in Nicaea eventually baptized him before the Council of Nicaea began. It was said that Constantine had a direct connection with God and was even appointed an apostle. (Hardenbrook)
As Christianity started to become more popular throughout Rome, Constantine slowly started moving away from pagan religions and more specifically pagan sacrifices. Constantine remained persistent in following his Christian ways so he gradually stopped making pagan sacrifices, stopped following religious traditions, and most importantly stopped traveling to the Gra Sacra to make sacrifices. (Hardenbrook) Towards the end of his reign he let the imperial cult forbid the pagan sacrificial rights that the Christians were strongly apposed to. (The Cambridge) Even though Constantine’s transition from pagan religions to Christianity was slow “He was anxious not to alarm those who still clung to the old gods… he didn’t hesitate refusing taking part in the traditional sacrifices to Jupiter.” (Norwich 28, Pg. 42-43) Accepting the fact that not everyone in his Empire would accept Christianity, Constantine made sure to slowly move away from old religions so the commoners would not be infuriated. As Constantine over powered Rome’s previous emperor, Rome was falling apart economically. So he enforced new economical reforms. Trying to save Rome from an economic down fall Constantine tried various things to assist the economy. He tried a variety of things from simply stabilizing the prices to more drastic things like creating new laws that helped benefit the free man. (Halsall) “Tenants also who mediate flight may be bound with chains and reduced to a servile condition… they shall fulfill duties that befit free man.”(Jones 1970:312) No matter what Constantine did it ensured a positive impact on the Roman economy. Other things like ensuing social stability to make the people within the empire come and worry-free. Though his less drastic measures were working he knew that he needed more powerful actions to fully restore the Roman Empire to its’ original state. Such administrative reforms like the monetary reform were introduced into the economy, which ultimately lead to the establishment of the gold coin. The gold coin had a great succession and was used for trade throughout the whole world. (Several) The coin was a gold solidus that had very little change and was stable in the entire empire until the fall of the Byzantine Empire.
Consequently, Constantine’s hard work did not pay of when the economic stress of Rome ultimately divided Rome. The result of high taxes that couldn’t be resolved caused distress and anxiety among many people in Ancient Rome. Also the Roman government wasn’t supposed to support as big of an empire as the empire grew to be. The government was more comfortable supporting and more experienced with small city-states and never expected for the Empire to grow that drastically. The effect of the economic stress divided Rome into two different capitals and empires. (Cohen) Division between West and East Rome also made the coin that was introduced useless due to inflation, which eventually ended in Rome’s workers to stop working.
During his ruling he also made impressive structures and basilicas in Rome. Almost everything Constantine did during his rule was to help Rome and especially to help the spread of Christianity. Even through the rare form of art. Some of his main contributions to arts in Rome were the grand monumental architecture where he made his first basilica over the tomb of St. Peter, to the arch of Constantine, to the Christo Gram, which later became the symbol of Rome. Eventually Constantine announced the Christo-Gram, which became the first Christian symbol that spread throughout the east and west. Going into the battle against Maxentus, he had the Christo-gram painted on his soldiers shield and was the official symbol at that battle. The Christo-gram came from Greek letters Chi and Ro, which was thought to mean Christ. (Morris) The next spectacular thing Constantine Contributed to Rome was The Arch of Constantine. The Arch of Constantine was built to commemorate the victory of Constantine over Maxentius in the battle over the Milligan Bridge in 312 A.D. The arch was to celebrate Constantine’s tenth anniversary of his reign. (Stilo)
In search to make his already booming empire better, Constantine conquered other empires to further expand his Empire.
To develop his empire even move he went to war with Maxentius, Licinius, and even his own family. The fight first occurred at the bride of Milan and ended the era to political division, which reunified the Roman Empire (Constantine). The reason for the conflict is that Maxentius extended his ruling to Spain and North Africa and Constantine expanding into Gaul (Smitha). However Constantine still wanted to flourish and also tried to conquer Spain and North Africa. Subsequently the dispute between who wanted to expand where and into what part of Rome started the rival between the two. Up until the war with Licinius, there were two rulers in Rome during Constantine’s time. Constantine ruled with another ruler named Licinius until they fought each other in battle twice. The first time Licinius and Constantine clashed was at Adrianople in Thrace, and then later in Chrsopolis on the Bosporus in 324. One known reason for the disagreement was Constantine Violated treaty terms and conditions when Licinius was not ok with his decisions. Winning both wars in 325 Constantine showed he was the sole and undisputed master of the Roman World, and became a solo ruler.
(Gill)
To keep his prosperous Byzantine Empire up and running Constantine even went to extreme like moving the capital and even killing his own family members. Constantine killed every family member that tried to intervene with his Empire, such as his son Crispus, his wife Fausta, and his daughter Maximian. (Hardenbrook) Killing his family members insured that they would not bring down his newly rising Byzantine Empire, because Constantine saw them as enemies and not friends. Moving away from the Pagan encrusted Rome to an all-new capital in the Byzantine Empire called Constantinople, established old Rome into a more successful place. In 286 Diocletian moved the Roman Capital to Italy where Constantine wrote religious toleration documents, which “established a compelling capital in the East and put another nail in the Comans figurative coffin.” (Gill) The new capital Constantine moved into helped him further his conquest in making Christianity even more popular. The capital was mainly focused on being a good empire and making Christianity accepted. Overall the moving of the capital to Constantinople got the Roman people away from the polytheistic and pagan Rome, which helped the people accept the religion more easily.
Some people would argue that Constantine was a bad emperor because he used Christianity to gain political power and not to support Christianity for the good of it. Although people say his conversion was used for political gain and only accepted Christianity to get something from it. “He knew nothing of religion without politics, or politics without religion.” This quote shows that he basically based everything of politics and religion and they both helped him make executive decisions throughout his reign. However Constantine wasn’t the only one who used Christianity to help his political career. “People like Alexander Nevsky, Stephan, first Christian kind of Serbia and Vladimir, enlightener of Russia” used violence and political manipulation to bring people to the Christian faith.” (Hardenbrook) Clearly Constantine wasn’t the only emperor or ruler that used political manipulation; nonetheless Constantine used it for good the good of spreading Christianity throughout Rome. In the end of Constantine’s ruling, he brought more worthy and respectable contributions to the Roman Empire then bad. In addition to Constantine becoming the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity and he was a benevolent ruler that looked after the well being of his people. He gave his time and used his political power to let Christianity become a accepted religion in Rome, set new economic reforms in motion to keep the Empire from falling, chipped in to the uprising artistic world, and even fought his own family to keep Rome functioning properly. “ This great king was the first Roman ruler to champion the cause of Christ. He spared no efforts, dedicating his life to the promotion of the principles of the Gospel, and he solidly established the Roman government.” (The Secret of Divine Civilization, p.80) All in all Constantine was a great ruler who strived to be a good role model and make a positive impact on the Roman world.
Works Cited
Cohen, Shay I.D. "Legitimization Under Constantine." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
"Constantine | Christian History." Constantine | Christian History. Christianity Today, 8 Aug. 2008. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .
Farber, Allen, Dr. "Early Christian Art & Architecture after Constantine." - Smarthistory. Khan Academy, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .
Halsall, Paul. "Ancient History Sourcebook: Diocletian (284-305 CE) and Constantine (308-337 CE): Efforts to Stabilize the Economy." Internet History Sourcebooks. Internet Ancient History Source Book, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Hardenbrook, Thaddaeus. "Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337)." The Journal of the Chicago Pastoral School. The Pastoral School of the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .
Jennings, Rev. Daniel R. "Letters from Constantine the Great 330-335 Book 3." Letters from Constantine the Great 330-335 Book 3. Constantine the Great Coins, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
" Living the Orthodox Life." Constantine the Great. Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .
Morris, Roderick C. "Constantine 's Stamp on Early Christian Art." The New York Times. New York Times, 2 July 2005. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
"The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine." Google Books. Ed. Noel E. Lenski. Cambridge University Press, 23 May 2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
Gill, N.S. "Constantine the Great - The Roman Emperor Constantine I." About.com Ancient / Classical History. About.com, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
Matthews, J.F., and Donald M. Nicol. "Constantine I (Roman Emperor)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sept. 2006. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
"Several, Four, Many." Several Four Many. Several Four Many, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .
Smitha, Frank E. "Order under Diocletian and Constantine." Order under Diocletian and Constantine. Macro History and World Timeline, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Stilo, Aelius. "Archof Constantine." Arch of Constantine. Aelius Stillo, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus was one of few who went to the extremes of killing his own family members just to keep his new booming Empire up and running. Constantine ruled from 306 A.D. until 337 A.D. During Constantine the Great’s thirty-one years of ruling, he influenced the Roman Empire that affected the Roman people in a virtuous way. He strengthened Christianity in Rome and was a martyr in making Christianity a respected religion, he created economic reforms that helped the common people, and crafted impressive structures throughout the Empire.
Throughout Constantine’s reign, he strongly enforced Christianity and made it more popular throughout the Empire. Constantine …show more content…
the Great was a very influential man on Christianity and many admired what he did. He was the first roman emperor to ever support Christianity and make it a religion that was commonly used and allowed throughout Rome. Constantine strived vigorously to get Christianity into the world. He built buildings and supported the upbringing of Christian churches from all over Rome. Constantine’s partner Esebius, who was also really into religious politics once stated “No Roman Emperor before Constantine had ever done this. Eusebius of Caesar was to see in Constantine the first emperor who was a ‘friend of god’ and thus chosen to proclaim his message to the world.”(Hardenbrook) Constantine himself was so into this religion, which was a religion that no one in Rome has ever embraced, that he urged the acceptance of Christian faith whenever he could. (Constantine)
By keeping the Divine faith, I am made a partaker of the light of truth: guided by the light of truth, I advance in the knowledge of the Divine Faith. Hence it is that, as my actions themselves evince, I profess the most holy religion; and this worship I declare to be that which teaches me deeper acquaintance with the most holy God; aided by whose Divine power. (Jennings) Constantine did things such as participating and being a major role in the Edict of Milan. The Edict of Milan was moreover a response to a problem in the churches of Alexandria. It was an assembly over the dispute weather Christians should be given the toleration, and restoration of any personal property that was confiscated during the prosecution. (Matthews) When Constantine put his time in to deciding the Edict of Milan it was just after the defeat of Maxentius at Milan. Contributing to the Edict of Milan made him so empowered by the Christian faith he went beyond what the Edict of Milan concluded and donated bishops to imperial property. (Matthews)
All through Constantine’s childhood he was brought up in a monotheistic household. His father enforced the rule that there must be strict adherence to the all mighty Sun God, which was popular in early day Rome. (Hardenbrook) During the course of his childhood he was obeying to his father’s rule, until Constantine saw the failure of the people who practiced polytheism as he grew apart from his dad. From that day on Constantine slowly moved away from his ‘old ways’ and started turning to Christianity instead. “Every day at an exact hour he shut himself up in the most secluded part of the palace, as if to assist at the sacred mysteries, and there commune with God…on his knees, for his necessities.” (Living) This quote shows how he would give time out of his day to God to show that he was a Christian himself and placed his faith in him. Although he wasn’t baptized until 312, which occurred right before his death, a bishop in Nicaea eventually baptized him before the Council of Nicaea began. It was said that Constantine had a direct connection with God and was even appointed an apostle. (Hardenbrook)
As Christianity started to become more popular throughout Rome, Constantine slowly started moving away from pagan religions and more specifically pagan sacrifices. Constantine remained persistent in following his Christian ways so he gradually stopped making pagan sacrifices, stopped following religious traditions, and most importantly stopped traveling to the Gra Sacra to make sacrifices. (Hardenbrook) Towards the end of his reign he let the imperial cult forbid the pagan sacrificial rights that the Christians were strongly apposed to. (The Cambridge) Even though Constantine’s transition from pagan religions to Christianity was slow “He was anxious not to alarm those who still clung to the old gods… he didn’t hesitate refusing taking part in the traditional sacrifices to Jupiter.” (Norwich 28, Pg. 42-43) Accepting the fact that not everyone in his Empire would accept Christianity, Constantine made sure to slowly move away from old religions so the commoners would not be infuriated. As Constantine over powered Rome’s previous emperor, Rome was falling apart economically. So he enforced new economical reforms. Trying to save Rome from an economic down fall Constantine tried various things to assist the economy. He tried a variety of things from simply stabilizing the prices to more drastic things like creating new laws that helped benefit the free man. (Halsall) “Tenants also who mediate flight may be bound with chains and reduced to a servile condition… they shall fulfill duties that befit free man.”(Jones 1970:312) No matter what Constantine did it ensured a positive impact on the Roman economy. Other things like ensuing social stability to make the people within the empire come and worry-free. Though his less drastic measures were working he knew that he needed more powerful actions to fully restore the Roman Empire to its’ original state. Such administrative reforms like the monetary reform were introduced into the economy, which ultimately lead to the establishment of the gold coin. The gold coin had a great succession and was used for trade throughout the whole world. (Several) The coin was a gold solidus that had very little change and was stable in the entire empire until the fall of the Byzantine Empire.
Consequently, Constantine’s hard work did not pay of when the economic stress of Rome ultimately divided Rome. The result of high taxes that couldn’t be resolved caused distress and anxiety among many people in Ancient Rome. Also the Roman government wasn’t supposed to support as big of an empire as the empire grew to be. The government was more comfortable supporting and more experienced with small city-states and never expected for the Empire to grow that drastically. The effect of the economic stress divided Rome into two different capitals and empires. (Cohen) Division between West and East Rome also made the coin that was introduced useless due to inflation, which eventually ended in Rome’s workers to stop working.
During his ruling he also made impressive structures and basilicas in Rome. Almost everything Constantine did during his rule was to help Rome and especially to help the spread of Christianity. Even through the rare form of art. Some of his main contributions to arts in Rome were the grand monumental architecture where he made his first basilica over the tomb of St. Peter, to the arch of Constantine, to the Christo Gram, which later became the symbol of Rome. Eventually Constantine announced the Christo-Gram, which became the first Christian symbol that spread throughout the east and west. Going into the battle against Maxentus, he had the Christo-gram painted on his soldiers shield and was the official symbol at that battle. The Christo-gram came from Greek letters Chi and Ro, which was thought to mean Christ. (Morris) The next spectacular thing Constantine Contributed to Rome was The Arch of Constantine. The Arch of Constantine was built to commemorate the victory of Constantine over Maxentius in the battle over the Milligan Bridge in 312 A.D. The arch was to celebrate Constantine’s tenth anniversary of his reign. (Stilo)
In search to make his already booming empire better, Constantine conquered other empires to further expand his Empire.
To develop his empire even move he went to war with Maxentius, Licinius, and even his own family. The fight first occurred at the bride of Milan and ended the era to political division, which reunified the Roman Empire (Constantine). The reason for the conflict is that Maxentius extended his ruling to Spain and North Africa and Constantine expanding into Gaul (Smitha). However Constantine still wanted to flourish and also tried to conquer Spain and North Africa. Subsequently the dispute between who wanted to expand where and into what part of Rome started the rival between the two. Up until the war with Licinius, there were two rulers in Rome during Constantine’s time. Constantine ruled with another ruler named Licinius until they fought each other in battle twice. The first time Licinius and Constantine clashed was at Adrianople in Thrace, and then later in Chrsopolis on the Bosporus in 324. One known reason for the disagreement was Constantine Violated treaty terms and conditions when Licinius was not ok with his decisions. Winning both wars in 325 Constantine showed he was the sole and undisputed master of the Roman World, and became a solo ruler.
(Gill)
To keep his prosperous Byzantine Empire up and running Constantine even went to extreme like moving the capital and even killing his own family members. Constantine killed every family member that tried to intervene with his Empire, such as his son Crispus, his wife Fausta, and his daughter Maximian. (Hardenbrook) Killing his family members insured that they would not bring down his newly rising Byzantine Empire, because Constantine saw them as enemies and not friends. Moving away from the Pagan encrusted Rome to an all-new capital in the Byzantine Empire called Constantinople, established old Rome into a more successful place. In 286 Diocletian moved the Roman Capital to Italy where Constantine wrote religious toleration documents, which “established a compelling capital in the East and put another nail in the Comans figurative coffin.” (Gill) The new capital Constantine moved into helped him further his conquest in making Christianity even more popular. The capital was mainly focused on being a good empire and making Christianity accepted. Overall the moving of the capital to Constantinople got the Roman people away from the polytheistic and pagan Rome, which helped the people accept the religion more easily.
Some people would argue that Constantine was a bad emperor because he used Christianity to gain political power and not to support Christianity for the good of it. Although people say his conversion was used for political gain and only accepted Christianity to get something from it. “He knew nothing of religion without politics, or politics without religion.” This quote shows that he basically based everything of politics and religion and they both helped him make executive decisions throughout his reign. However Constantine wasn’t the only one who used Christianity to help his political career. “People like Alexander Nevsky, Stephan, first Christian kind of Serbia and Vladimir, enlightener of Russia” used violence and political manipulation to bring people to the Christian faith.” (Hardenbrook) Clearly Constantine wasn’t the only emperor or ruler that used political manipulation; nonetheless Constantine used it for good the good of spreading Christianity throughout Rome. In the end of Constantine’s ruling, he brought more worthy and respectable contributions to the Roman Empire then bad. In addition to Constantine becoming the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity and he was a benevolent ruler that looked after the well being of his people. He gave his time and used his political power to let Christianity become a accepted religion in Rome, set new economic reforms in motion to keep the Empire from falling, chipped in to the uprising artistic world, and even fought his own family to keep Rome functioning properly. “ This great king was the first Roman ruler to champion the cause of Christ. He spared no efforts, dedicating his life to the promotion of the principles of the Gospel, and he solidly established the Roman government.” (The Secret of Divine Civilization, p.80) All in all Constantine was a great ruler who strived to be a good role model and make a positive impact on the Roman world.
Works Cited
Cohen, Shay I.D. "Legitimization Under Constantine." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
"Constantine | Christian History." Constantine | Christian History. Christianity Today, 8 Aug. 2008. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .
Farber, Allen, Dr. "Early Christian Art & Architecture after Constantine." - Smarthistory. Khan Academy, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .
Halsall, Paul. "Ancient History Sourcebook: Diocletian (284-305 CE) and Constantine (308-337 CE): Efforts to Stabilize the Economy." Internet History Sourcebooks. Internet Ancient History Source Book, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Hardenbrook, Thaddaeus. "Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337)." The Journal of the Chicago Pastoral School. The Pastoral School of the Diocese of Chicago & Mid-America, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .
Jennings, Rev. Daniel R. "Letters from Constantine the Great 330-335 Book 3." Letters from Constantine the Great 330-335 Book 3. Constantine the Great Coins, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
" Living the Orthodox Life." Constantine the Great. Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .
Morris, Roderick C. "Constantine 's Stamp on Early Christian Art." The New York Times. New York Times, 2 July 2005. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
"The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine." Google Books. Ed. Noel E. Lenski. Cambridge University Press, 23 May 2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
Gill, N.S. "Constantine the Great - The Roman Emperor Constantine I." About.com Ancient / Classical History. About.com, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
Matthews, J.F., and Donald M. Nicol. "Constantine I (Roman Emperor)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sept. 2006. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
"Several, Four, Many." Several Four Many. Several Four Many, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .
Smitha, Frank E. "Order under Diocletian and Constantine." Order under Diocletian and Constantine. Macro History and World Timeline, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Stilo, Aelius. "Archof Constantine." Arch of Constantine. Aelius Stillo, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.