Constantine The Great? Constantine - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Constantine

The Great?Slide2

Constantine

Before battle at

Milvian

Bridge, Constantine had been preparing for battle

Took 5 years strengthening borders along the Rhine

Constantly courting favor from his subjects

He loved luxury and pompSlide3

Constantine

Neglected some public works

Allowed vineyards to be flooded by neglect which was important part of economy

Able to survive

Taxed just enough to not be unpopularSlide4

Constantine

Won favor of many by having extravagant circus shows which threw the barbarians to the beasts

Challenged his rivals one at a time so his campaign against

Maxentius

was not ill conceived or sudden

Only committed ¼ of military to

Maxentius

so the barbarians were not left unattendedSlide5

Constantine

He offered his half sister Constance in marriage to

Licinius

so he wouldn’t pursue some of

Maxentius

’ territories

Malvian

Bridge gave him the western half of empire with east still divided between

Licinius

and

Maximius

Daia

until

Licinius

forced

Daia

out

Even though

Licinius

married his sister, both wanted to be sole rulerSlide6

Constantine

A conspiracy to kill Constantine was discovered and traced back to a

Licinius

relative and fled to his territory

Licinius

refused to give him up to Constantine and declared war on Constantine

Licinius

was outmatched so he sued for peace and Constantine was content with taking his territoriesSlide7

Constantine

Constantine set up his base in the east near

Licinius

In 322 more trouble occurred

Still ambitious and wanted titles for their sons but religious policy was also a piece of contentionSlide8

Constantine

Licinius

was not overly hostile to Christians

Some public disorders so

Licinius

made them find peace and some Christians didn’t like this

They then prayed for Constantine to defeat him and claimed Constantine as the defender of Christianity

Licinius

took measures against them which gave Constantine a reason to defend themSlide9

Constantine

In 322, Constantine invaded his territories saying he was pursuing a band of barbarians

Licinius

told his soldiers to avoid looking at the labarum

Constantine won and

Licinius

fled to Byzantium

Constance and Eusebius asked Constantine to spare

Licinius

which he did for abdication but

Licinius

was murdered shortly afterSlide10

Constantine

Constantine now sole emperor for next 13 years until his death in 337

Relative peace but still people put to death for conspiracies against the emperor including

Crispus

, his son, who had commanded Constantine’s fleet in defeating

Licinius

Constantine wanted to restore Roman glory and believed it could be best achieved by Christianity

Many in the senate hated this ideaSlide11

Constantine

He built Constantinople or city of Constantine

Formerly the city Byzantium

In 1930, the Turks renamed Istanbul

Edge of Europe-Could serve as a bridge for Europe and Asia

Also control the Bosporus which was major shipping passage from the Mediterranean to the Black SeaSlide12

Constantine

A peace treaty with Persia was expiring and Germanic tribes on the Rhine also made Constantinople a wise choice

The city proved to be too small for his grandiose ideas-walls were only 2 miles long

He began construction expanded the walls saying he will go as far as “the One who guides him.”Slide13

Constantine

Other cities were stripped to decorate Constantinople

Statue of

Apollos

was taken and placed on pillars to make taller but Constantine’s head was now on it

He granted tax and military exemptions to those who came to live there along with free oil, wine and wheat

The city then began to grow rapidlySlide14

Constantine

The move has historical ramifications

Shortly after the move, the west and Rome included were ransacked by barbarians

Constantinople thus kept alive the political and cultural importance for 1,000 years

Since in Byzantium the Eastern Roman Empire is also called the Byzantine empire