Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus is best known as Constantine

the Great. He was a Roman Emperor who ruled early in the 4th century. His father was

Flavius Valerius Constantius an officer in the Roman Army who later became Rome’s

Western Emperor. His mother was Helena, a woman of Greek Origins. Little is known

about her early life, only that she came from a low background. Constantine was one of

six children. He was born on February 27, circa 272 AD, in Naissus Moesia, which is

now known today as Nis, Serbia. Constantine was a great leader and won many battles,

but what he was famously known for was becoming the first Roman Emperor to convert

to Christianity.

When Constantine was about thirteen years old, the Roman Empire was divided

in two, by the leader of the Eastern Empire, Diocletian. This is what gave birth to the

Western Empire and allowed Rome to view possible attacks from all directions.

Constantine’s father was then appointed Emperor of the Western Empire. Being the son

of an Emperor, Constantine was sent to the court of the Eastern Roman Emperor

Diocletian in 284. This is where the sons of every Roman Emperor would go to be

educated and groomed for the betterment of the empire. They were kept in the East to

make sure their fathers didn’t betray Dioclecian. Constantine was taught Latin, Greek,

battle tactics and things about his religion. He found himself in the company of many

pagan and Christian scholars. He lived most of his life as a pagan, but would later be well

known for his influence on Christianity.

At the age of seventeen Constantine was one of Diocletian’s best soldiers and a

great military leader. He was valiant, intelligent, ambitious, and proved himself to be a

skilled military man. He was victorious over the Franks and Alamanni in 306-308, the
Visigoths in 332, and the Sarmatians in 334. Constantine quickly rose through the ranks

in the military under Emperors Diocletian and Galerius in the East, but when his father

became Emperor, in 305, he returned to the West to join his father’s military campaign.

The next year, Constantine’s farther, Constantius, died and the troops declared

Constantine Emperor. There were many years of turmoil and civil unrest. Constantine

wasn’t only fighting opponents wanting to rule Rome, but also those factions within

Rome namely, Maxentius and Licinius.

Like Constantine, Maxentius was also an emperor’s son. He was able to earn the

people's trust by persuading them that he would “make a twenty five percent tax cut and

give everybody free wheat and grains”. The people liked what they heard, believed what

Maxentius said and without any doubt they all agreed that he would make them a great

ruler. However, they soon found out he was only doing what he said for the rich; this

created civil unrest in the region. The people where ambushing the wagons, and they stop

paying their taxes because they were getting poorer every day and not able to survive.

Constantine was aware of what was going on in the East and began planning an attack.

Maxentius appealed to his pagan gods on how he should handle the attack being planned

against him. When they answered, “one of Rome’s greatest enemies shall fall”, he took it

to believe that Constantine’s Empire would fall, not his own.

Thinking that Constantine would fall Maxentius went into battle with his head up

high not knowing that he would suffer defeat. As Constantine’s outnumbered troops

prepared for battle, he looked up to the sky and saw a Christian cross as if the heavens

were opening up. He claimed to have heard a voice say “all of your battles will be won

through me.” In hearing this, Constantine had all of his troops make a Christian cross on
their shields. Constantine's army went into battle and came out victorious against

Maxentius.

At the age of twenty Constantine succeeded his father as the emperor upon his

death and vastly expanded his empire. He became emperor on the battlefield where

Diocletian had died. Without any discussion the soldiers rewarded Constantine emperor

because he was Diocletian’s right hand man. When Constantine was emperor there was a

strong increase in the empire's success. He was a popular emperor, famous for the

numerous administrative, financial, social, and military reforms he implemented to

strengthen the empire. Under his rule the civil and military authorities were separated

and the government was restructured. He was the first emperor to legalize

Christianity along with all other religions and cults in the Roman Empire. The

Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built at the purported site of Jesus’ tomb in

Jerusalem on his orders

It is not clear how many times Constantine was married. No official

divorce orders were ever found before he married Fausta and there’s a lot of speculation

surrounding his relationship with Minervina; his first wife. Many historians have

concluded, that the relationship between Constantine and Minervina was unofficial, some

believe she may have already been dead by the time he married Fausta, which would

have made Constantine a widow who would need no divorce, and yet others feel, the

story of Minervina is the same as his own mother Helena, and that Constantine married

Fausta for political reasons; to secure an alliance with the East. Constantine and

Minervina had one son together his name was Crispus. It is believed that Fausta had

Crispus executed, which led to her execution three years later as well. Constantine and
Fausta had three sons (Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans) all of whom became

Roman Emperors. They also had three daughters Constantina, Helena and Fausta.

As Constantine grew older he started to become more and more devoted to the

Christian religion. He made time to visit church regularly and conducted himself as a

Christian should. He considered himself to be the thirteenth disciple and got rid of some

of those disciples that he did not deem true believers in Jesus. He made a law that the

Christians were free to practice Christianity but had to try and overcome one of the Ten

Commandments, “thou shall not kill”.

Constantine lived an interesting life. He was well loved and respected. He

successfully ruled for thirty-one years (from 306 to 337). He enacted reforms that

strengthened the Roman Empire. He embraced Christianity legalizing the religion and

making Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. He was influential in

spreading Christianity throughout Europe and parts of Africa, and the proclamation of the

Edict of Milan in 313, which declared religious tolerance for Christianity in the Roman

Empire was signed during his reign. Constantine died at the age of 65 on May 22, 337,

but before he took his last breath, he requested to be baptized and fully committed to

Christianity.