Constantine I

* Child
* Tetrarch
* Sole Augustus
* Elderly

Maximian (Father-in-law)

Maxentius (Brother-in-law)

Licinius (Brother-in-law)

Minervina (Wife)

Fausta (Wife)

Crispus (Son)

Constantine II (Son)

Constantius II (Son)

Constans (Son)

Constantia (Daughter)

Helena the younger (Daughter)

Fausta the younger (Daughter)

Gallus (Nephew)

Julian (Nephew)

Dalmatius (Nephew)

Hannibalianus (Nephew)

Nepatianus (Nephew)

*This article is about the emperor Constantine the Great. For the episode, see Constantine the Great.*

Flavius Valerius Constantinus (272-337), better known as Constantine the Great or Constantine the first, was a man who deserved that epithet. He rose from a struggling area and invigorated the Roman Empire for another century, or another millennium if you count the Eastern Empire becoming the Byzantines.

## In "Unbiased History"

### **"Rome XV - Diocletian's Tetrarchy"**

Constantine is very indirectly mentioned during certain parts of the episode (especially the part where Dioclesian speaks with Constantius), and makes a cameo as a teaser for the next episode, with his face in shadow as he walks in from the light.

### **"Rome XVI - Constantine the Great"**

#### **Early Life**

Claudius Gothicus had recently freed Naissus from the Goths, allowing his great nephew to have his wife give birth to Constantine. Growing up near the Danube river, Constantine had a somewhat rough childhood without his father, offset by his saintly mother. When his father became a Caesar, he was taken to Diocletian's court, where he was to be trained by him. Constantine was a natural-born leader, helping to drive away the Goths alongside Diocletian and the Sassanids alongside Galerius. When he came back to Nicomedia mid-Great Persecution, he saw it as the futile effort it was.

Constantine was denied the role of Caesar after Diocletian's retirement in fear of throwing the Tetrarchy into disarray. Galerius, testing his co-emperor's son, threw him into a lion ring, which he won effortlessly. He also hunted Sarmatians, beheading the king and throwing his head back at Galerius. Constantine found his first wife soon after, having his first child, Crispus, before requesting to Galerius to meet up with his father again. Galerius agreed, having Constantine reunite with his father in Bononia, just before helping Constantius fight in Britain, being told about heroes like Aurelian during the trip... as well as the treacherous actions of those like the Praetorian Guard, influencing him greatly.

#### **Western Caesar and Western Augustus**

On his way to conquering Caledonia, his father got ill and died, declaring his support for Constantine to become Augustus, and then the legions in Eboracum declared him as the new Augustus. Galerius had heard of this, and having already made Severus II as Augustus of the West, he made Constantine a Caesar instead. After becoming Caesar, Severus's distant relationship with Hispania had them join Constantine's territory. During his time as Caesar, he protected his territory from all barbarians who dared to invade it, going to Trier in the process, ending the persecutions there, and overseeing his first wife's burial.

While Constantine was on a campaign against some Germs, Maxentius, who had just recently overthrew Severus II, begged him for help, which he did, being neutral as good faith due to his engagement to Fausta. He ascended to Augustus soon after, while Galerius was on his way to Rome to fail at his attempt to defeat Maxentius. Maximian oversaw Constantine's ascension to Western Augustus, having him marry Fausta and proclaiming himself as the Senior Augustus.

Some time later, after Maxentius and Maximian basically severed their relationship with each other, Galerius organised a deal with Maxentius and Constantine to give them both the title of Augusti Filius, "sons of the Augusti." Constantine refused, seeing the title as vain. Maximian, meanwhile, fled to Constantine's court, being welcomed with respect. He was sent to guard the Alps from Maxentius. Not long after, during another campaign on the Rhine, Constantine got word of Maximian proclaiming that he was dead and thus should hail Maximian as their Senior Augustus. He then chased Maximian to Massalia, was let in without conflict, and ultimately spared his life. This would lead to an assassination attempt from Maximian on his life, but he ended up killing a decoy placed by Fausta, leading to Maximian's forced suicide.

#### **The Tetrarchic Civil War**

In his sleep, he was brought to a divine realm, seeing Apollo and Victoria give him a golden crown, wishing him to rule long and with health. This lead him on the path to a monotheistic belief, known to all Romans then as DEVS\*SOL\*INVICTVS. Afterwards, Maxentius declared war on him, causing the Tetrarchy to fall apart into civil war, just after Diocletian's suicide. For god and empire, he vowed to restore the Tetrarchy by removing the tyrant Maxentius from the Roman throne. He asked a fellow Augustus, Licinius, to aid him against Maxentius, in exchange for Constantia's hand in marriage, just as Daia allied with the usurper.

HIs army suggested him to be on the defensive, saying that Maxentius would eventually give. He agreed, but then dismissed the suggestion, going on the offensive instead. On his way to Italy, he was blocked at Segusium, but took it over by setting its wall alight and scaling the gates, disallowing any looting from his troops. Near Turin, Maxentius sent a cavalry unit to take down Constantine, only to be encircled by his foot soldiers and slaughtered. After refusing the survivors of that conflict, Turin allowed Constantine in, swearing loyalty to him. More cities, including Mediolanum, would defect from Maxentius and join Constantine's territory.

Constantine fought another wave of Maxentius' army at Verona, this particular fight having Maxentius' army led by his Praetorian prefect. Said prefect noticed a small scouting unit that Constantine had sent out, and sent a bigger army to get crushed by this unit. Constantine sieged Verona, letting the prefect escape to organise an even bigger army, for which it not only lost to a small battalion that Constantine sent out, but also causing the prefect to die in battle, which in turn had Verona, and then all of northern Italy, become loyal to Constantine.

While Constantine marched onto Rome, camping near the now-destroyed Milvian Bridge, the citizens proclaimed him to be invincible. He organised his men to go on a march, a march that would change the course of the world forever...

#### **In Hoc Signo Vinces**

The Constantinian troops began their march when everyone, including Constantine, saw in the sun a symbol, with the immortal words of "In Hoc Signo Vinces" ("By this sign, conquer.") above it. None of the troops could really interpret it, so Constantine went to sleep, praying for answers. As a result, he went to an even more divine dimension, encountering someone familiar, but not, all the gods and more, the Alpha and the Omega, DEVS\*SOL\*INVICTVS revealed his face as Jesus Christ(Deadjewonastick), furthermore transforming into DEVS' most primordial essence. Learning to take the first two letters of Christ's name (Chi Rho) as the symbol of his legions, he returned to the mortal realm, hunting down a ton of paint to use for his soldiers' shields.

Constantine's army then confronted Maxentius. Holier, and thus stronger, than ever, the army crushed Maxentius' army, causing him to retreat and be pushed into the Tiber River, where he would drown. Victorious, Constantine went into Rome, being given a triumph for killing the enemy of Rome, refraining from going to the Temple of Jupiter, understanding that all gods are but all different aspects of one. Instead, he went to the Senate, who begged for his mercy. He gave them said mercy, focusing his fury on the other parasites: the Praetorian Guard.

Refusing their pleas for mercy, he slaughtered them all. As he hunted the last one down, he was greeted by the spirits of Caracalla, Pertinax, Probus, Gallienus, Caligula, Elagabalus, and Aurelian, all emperors who were betrayed by those leeches. With that, Constantine plunged his sword into the last of the Praetorians, abolishing them for good.

In honour of those who were betrayed in the past, and of his victory over Maxentius, the Arch of Constantine was built. He then commissioned coins with the Chi Rho, and others DEVS\*SOL\*INVICTVS, two sides of the same coin. He then worked with Licinius to create the Edict of Milan, allowing Christianity into the empire, and thus began its Romanization.

Constantine then heard that Daia was breaking the law, and was set to march, but being too far away from Licinius' army. After hearing of Daia's defeat, and Licinius' subsequent murder of Daia's family, Severus II's son, and both Diocletian's wife and daughter, Constantine's friendship with him began to fracture, but he had no time to focus on the east, for in the West, he faced down some christcuckery in the form of the Donatist Controversy, for which he simply told said Donatists to shut up, for which they eventually did.

#### **A New Tetrarchy**

Constantine would then have six children with Fausta: Constantine II, Constantius II, Constans, Helena, Constantina, and Fausta. With the amount of potential heirs he had, he wanted to revive the Tetrarchy, sending his half-brother Julius to Licinius' court to propose promoting both Bassianus and Crispus as Caesars alongside Constantine and Licinius being Augusti. Bassianus, under Senecio's orders, under Licinius' orders, then tried to assassinate Constantine, but failed, getting executed instead. Constantine demanded that Senecio be brought to justice, but Licinius refused, declaring another civil war against Constantine. Both would fight in Pannonia, where, after a long and gruesome battle, Constantine won, causing the cowardly Licinius to flee, promoting a general named Valens as co-Augustus. Constantine won a second battle, this time near Byzantium, after a peace treaty got denied. Licinius was then forced to acknowledge Constantine as the Senior Augustus, execute Valens, and give all lands west of Thrace to him.

Constantine made a new Tetrarchy afterwards, consisting of Augusti Constantine and Licinius, as well as Caesars Crispus and Constantine II, adding Licinius II in as a fifth wheel. He then changed his capital city to Sirmium to keep watch over Licinius, and then sent Crispus to the West to defend it from barbarians. Constantine dealt with barbarians of his own, defeating the Sarmatians and Goths in the Danube, through both his and Licinius' borders, killing the Gothic king in the process. Afterwards, he had war declared on him by Licinius, who recently broke his own edict and persecuted the Christians relentlessly. Both armies would face off near Adrionople, both of whom had incorporated their own hordes of barbarians (Constantine using the Franks). Constantine built a bridge on the river to distract Licinius' army, getting them flanked and once again making Licinius flee.

He met Licinius's forces again at Byzantium, but seeing how hard it was to siege it, he ordered his son to the East to lead his naval campaign, which was successful, leading Licinius to flee all the way to Chrysopolis, where Constantine caught up with him. He crushed Licinius' army, causing him to flee for one last time. Constantine was then confronted by Constantia, his sister, to spare Licinius, which he did, imprisoning him in Thessalonica instead. Constantine then stopped an attempt on his life from Licinius, freed by his son, and executed them both, leaving him as the sole Augustus of Rome.

#### **The Sole Emperor**

Constantine's first priority was amending his empire's relationship with Christianity, starting by becoming Christian himself, being the first emperor to do so. He then compensated persecuted Christians, let them be allowed into the government, and only gave the pagan temples enough funds to keep going, which made Christianity into a Roman, and then civilizing, faith. He then built churches for all who believe in Christ to worship in, like the original St. Peter's Basilica, near where he was executed by Nero.

Of course, christcuckery still remained. This time, it was the turn of Arius, and the subsequent Arian Heresy. Constantine could not tolerate Arius' actions, so organised an ecumenical council at Nicaea, where it was declared that Arianism, the father being above the son, was heresy. He was then confronted by his wife with an accusation of Crispus trying to rape her. Constantine, fooled and saddened, ordered Crispus to be tried and executed. Afterwards, he went to console with his mother, only to be told that Fausta had lied, which she did. As a result, Fausta was sent to a bathhouse, where she would be suffocated after Constantine turned up the heat in there.

Constantine then faced another issue: Rome itself. It had become a cesspool of degeneracy, a city in a concerning strategic position with diminishing economic and political influence. As a result, he made a new capital for Rome, turning Byzantium in Nova Roma, soon to be Constantinople, with the approval of an archangel to build it. He would later continue his three-decade-long reign with the revitalization of the Lex Julia to punish degeneracy, had Helena go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to get pieces of the True Cross (The stick the dead Jew was on.), and created a new senate for Constantinople after finishing it. He soon finished many reforms, like the last major reform of the Roman Military and the creation of the loyal Palatini Guard. However, he, alongside a recruit named Valentinian, saw the emergence of half-Germans in the army, but let them be in favor of retaking lower Dacia, and building a new bridge on the Rhine.

#### **Constanine's Last Years**

Nearing his end, he saw his potential heirs: Constantine II was his polar opposite, Constantius II was brilliant, but cynical due to Fausta's upbringing, and Constans was a depraved homosexual that would make Elagabalus blush. This made Constantine look at his nephews instead: Hanniballianus and Dalmatius seemed promising, Gallus was confident, but somewhat incompetent, and Julian displayed great potential, but was way too young at the time. As a result, he gave the far west to Constantine II, Italy and its surroundings to Constans, the Balkans to Dalmatius, the far east to Constantius II, and the entire unconquered Sassanid Empire to Hannibalianus.

After promising to be the guard to all eastern Christians in the empire, he fell ill just before a campaign against Shapur II. Realizing he was about to die, he wished to be taken to Constantinople, but only made it as far as Nicomedia. Legitimizing Christianity by being baptised by Eusebius, he died soon after.

> ***"Having ruled as Rome's Emperor for over three decades, He displayed wisdom and virtue, was never defeated in battle, defended the empire against barbarians countless time, reunited Rome after a terrible civil war, transformed Christianity into a Roman, civilizing faith, and gave the empire a new capital that would last for over a thousand years. And it is for these reasons, and a thousand reasons more, that history will forever remember him, as Constantine the Great."*** *~Dovahhatty, "Constantine the Great"*
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### **"Rome XVII - Imperial Wrath"**

In a flashback, Constantine, during the Arian Heresy, banished Athanasius for his own christcuckery.

Flash-forwarding to Constantius II' preparing to fight Magnentius, who recently usurped Rome from Constans, Constantine's spirit approved the attack, and thus began and won his war against Magnentius.

### **"Rome XIX - The Fall of Rome"**

Constantine is shown in the ending montage, alongside his sons and daughters, his nephew Julian, Licinius and Daia, Fritigern and Shapur II, Bishop Eusebius and Arius, a Palatini guard, and Valentinian and Valens.

### **"Byzantium I - The Eastern Empire"**

Constantine is shown in the beginning, getting praised as the founder of the Eastern Roman Empire. His legacy would be cemented as the founder of one of the greatest economic empires the world has ever seen. He is part-way faded and the common symbols used in his time and some Eastern Roman symbols.

## "Trivia"

* Constantine was considered as catechumen, or an early convert who only learned basic tenets of Christianity, which his baptism upon deaths wasn't unusual as the rite was finalized until the reign of Theodosius I.
	+ Furthermore, he also show respect to Sol Invictus even decades after his favoritism towards Christianity.
* His execution of Fausta via hot bath as a response for Crispus' wrongful death has caused speculation that Crispus may have had adulterous relationship with Fausta and her death by hot bath being a botched attempt to erase her pregnancy as such methods were common in Roman times.
* Constantine did not single-handedly massacre praetorians. He only disbanded them and sent them scattered to guard Roman territories.
* Constantine is one of the only saints to be canonised in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox & Anglican Churches. He is considered an equal to the apostles and was the first ruler to give Christians power in history, though this is now regarded as a controversial move.
* After the execution of Crispus, there was an assassination attempt on Constantine by the friends of Crispus along with restoration the republic. However, Constantine escaped and had all of the conspirators killed. This caused Constantine to erase Crispus out of history.
* His chin, along with Constantius II's, are a different shape than the normal chin, being more smooth on the bottom part. This was done by Dovahhatty to distinguish them from others because they were part of a dynasty.