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PEOPLE AND PERSONALITIES OF ROME

Constantine

Key information:

Official Name: IMPERATOR CAESAR FLAVIUS VALERIUS CONSTANTINUS AUGUSTUS

Birthdate: February 27, 272 or 273 CE.

(CIL 12, pp. 255, 258, 259) (Eusebius, Life of Constantine, 1.8) (Eutropius, Short History of the Roman Empire, 10.8.2)

Birthplace: Constantine was born in the city of Naissus in the province of Moesia Superior (modern-day Niš, Serbia).

(Firmicus Maternus, Mathesis, 1.10.13) (The Anonymus Valesianus, The Lineage of the Emperor Constantine, 2)

Parents: Constantine was the son of Constantius Chlorus and his consort Helena. Constantius Chlorus served as emperor, first as caesar and then as augustus, for over ten years as part of the tetrarchy. Helena converted to Christianity later in life and spent time in the holy land searching for relics. For these acts, she was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church.

(The Anonymus Valesianus, The Lineage of the Emperor Constantine, 1-2) (Eutropius, Short History of the Roman Empire, 9.22 & 10.1) (Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, 1.17)

Reign: Constantius Chlorus died on July 25, 306 CE in Eboracum (modern-day York, England). Later that day, troops loyal to his father declared Constantine emperor. 

(The Anonymus Valesianus, The Lineage of the Emperor Constantine, 2) (Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, 1.2)

Marriages: Before he was emperor, Constantine was involved with a woman named Minervina. The nature of their relationship is not clear, some sources call her his wife while others refer to her as a concubine. Once emperor, Constantine married Fausta, the daughter of his imperial colleague Maximian.

Minervina (290? – 307 CE)

Fausta (307 – 326 CE)

(Aurelius Victor, Epitome de Caesaribus, 41) (Panegyrici Latini, 7)

Children:

Crispus (son by Minervina)

Constantine II (son by Fausta)

Constantius II (son by Fausta)

Constans I (son by Fausta)

Constantina (daughter by Fausta)

Helena (daughter by Fausta)

(The Anonymus Valesianus, The Lineage of the Emperor Constantine, 6.35) (Eutropius, Short History of the Roman Empire, 10.9-10) (Aurelius Victor, Epitome de Caesaribus, 41)

Death: Constantine died of natural causes on May 22, 337 CE in Nicomedia (modern-day İzmit, Turkey).

(Eusebius, Life of Constantine, 4.64) (Eutropius, Short History of the Roman Empire, 10.8)

Head of Constantine, Capitoline Museums, Rome, Jan 2020
Head of Constantine, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, June 2023
Bronze Head of Constantine, Musei Capitolini, Rome, Jan 2020

Famous facts and dates

312
In 312 CE, Constantine went to war with Maxentius, his imperial rival in the west. On October 28, Constantine defeated Maxentius outside Rome at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. Constantine had a vision of Christ before this battle, and he attributed his victory to the power of the Christian God.
(Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors, 44) (Eusebius, Life of Constantine, 1.28-29)
313
In 313 CE, Constantine and his imperial colleague Licinius issued the Edict of Milan. This decree protected the legal rights of Christians and established religious tolerance throughout the Roman Empire.
(Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors, 48) (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 10.5)
324
In 324 CE, Constantine went to war with Licinius. After defeating him in a series of battles, Constantine had Licinius executed. This left Constantine as sole ruler of the Roman Empire.
(Eutropius, Short History of the Roman Empire, 10.5-6) (Zosimus, New History 2.28)
326
In 326 CE, Constantine executed his eldest son Crispus and his wife Fausta. What led to these killings is not known for certain, however, some ancient writers have suggested that there was an illicit affair between Crispus and his step mother.
(Zosimus, New History 2.29) (Aurelius Victor, Epitome de Caesaribus, 41)
330
In 330 CE, Constantine refounded the city of Byzantium as Constantinople, and he declared it the new capital of the Roman Empire.
(Zosimus, New History 2.30-31) (The Anonymus Valesianus, The Lineage of the Emperor Constantine, 6.30)
337
Constantine was Rome’s first Christian emperor. In 337 CE, a few weeks before he died, Constantine was baptized by the bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia.
(The Anonymus Valesianus, The Lineage of the Emperor Constantine, 6.33) (Jerome, Chronicle, 2353)

 

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Cite this page as: Darius Arya, The American Institute for Roman Culture, “Constantine,” Ancient Rome Live. Last modified 06/14/2024. https://ancientromelive.org/constantine/

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