✝ CONSTANTINE AND CHRISTIANITY
PAGE 1 OF 5, A NEW KIND OF EMPEROR
AFTER THE CRISIS
CONSTANTINE THE GREAT
After the chaos described in Topic 18, Rome needed rulers who could rebuild trust. Constantine rose through the ranks of the tetrarchy system created by Diocletian. By the early fourth century he fought civil wars to become sole ruler of the western empire, then the whole Roman world. Constantine is remembered not only as a general and builder, but as the emperor who changed Rome's relationship with Christianity. His reign linked church and state in ways that shaped Europe and the Mediterranean for centuries. The Arch of Constantine still stands near the Colosseum as a stone monument to his victory and fame.
👑 RULE
Constantine ruled as emperor from 306 CE until his death in 337 CE. He reunited the empire and launched reforms in law, coinage, and religion.
CROWN!
YOUTH
- Constantine grew up in the military world of the late empire.
- He learned politics under Diocletian's divided rule.
- His ambition pushed him toward supreme power, not shared office.
PERSECUTION
- Christians had often worshipped secretly in catacombs and house churches.
- Some earlier emperors ordered harsh persecutions.
- Constantine's policy would transform their legal status.