In 324, after his defeat of Licinius, Constantine decided to rename Byzantium after himself and make it a governmental rival of the old Empire. For the first time a Christian emperor had ascended the Roman throne. Although there is some dispute about the depth of his faith, it is not disputed that Constantine did much to entrench Constantinople and eventually much of Europe in Christianity.

Among the basic criteria for choosing Byzantium as the location were it's strategic geographical position between Europe and Asia and it's strategic value for the command of the seas and of the main routes over land from all directions.

haracteristic expression of the new Christian spirit of the Empire. The exhaustion of the old Rome had been already widely realized. Surprisingly, in spite of this obvious imbalance in wealth, power, population and general vibrancy, The Byzantium Empire and old Rome briefly participated equally with the political status of one imperial capital. They equally participated in the royal authority of the bearers in the east and west. Gregory the Theologian has expressed this synergy of the two cities with interesting imagery:

Because Constantine wanted to replace paganism with Christianity as the official state religion, he needed a unified faith, which would serve as the religious backbone of the empire. He quickly found that persuasion was not enough to forge a solid, unified faith. In an attempt to resolve the Arian controversy, he convened the first Ecumenical Council in the history of the church. It may be the most profound event of his reign because it set a precedent that remains in place today. When the church had inner conflicts to resolve, they would convene an ecumenical council to settle the matters in dispute.

The peculiar ecumenical policy of Constantine I gave rise to the exceptional role of the capital, the seat of the bearer of the God-given royal authority, for the realization of the vision of Christian Ecumene. This was known as dominus et deus or "lord and god" status. In step, Constantine sapped the senate of all it's power. This, of course, was another long-reaching concept. It set the tone for the forthcoming Medieval kingdoms.

Constantine, having founded a new Christian Roman Empire, died on 22 May 337 near Nicomedia on his way East to fight the Persians. Constantine II, Constantius II,Constans I, Constantina, and Helen, born of h

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