Constantine
Constantine was not a religious man. In fact, most of his cares rest upon his power over the Roman Empire and the Roman Empire's power over the rest of the world. He stood by any god or force that would gain him victory in the battlefield or prosperity at home. (Sayers 280) He did not look at anything religious with an inner reflection to his own feelings or ideas but with a goal or a need with which the religious scheme could provide him. He would back any person of any religion for loyalty and cooperation. Reasons such as these lead to the belief that Constantine converted and encouraged Christianity in the Roman Empire as a means of propagating power, rather than because of strong religious belief on his part. (Sayers 281) According to Eusebius, Constantine's personal biographer and close friend, Constantine was born between AD 273 and 275 in the city of Naissus (a city in the Balkan Islands). (Varner 1) He was enrolled in the military at an early age and thus lacked a formal education. As a teenager he was enrolled in a military group known as the Protectors. (Varner 21) Protectors were used to guard high-ranking officials and including the emperor himself. He was not religious as a young man, concerned only with politics an
Constantine was never officially became a Christian until his death as he was not baptized until his deathbed. (Grant 98) To make the Christians believe he was a born again Christian he claimed to see a burning cross, a holy vision while walking with his army. He claimed that his troops saw it also, however this was a lie, as none of them recalled seeing any vision. (Grant 98) This was also not recorded in any of the history of Christianity books that exist. (Grant 99) His legacy, lie or not, was the single biggest step in the history of Christianity, the backbone of western civilazation. Christianity thrived after his reign, splitting into Catholosism, Protestant and Islam, peircing the hearts of thousands of nations to follow Roman times. In effect, it was the cornerstone in the history of Europe, The Middle East and America, all due to one man, The Emperor Constantine. d military strategies. His father was Flavius Valerius Constantius, an army officer, and his mother, who he loved dearly throughout his life, was Helena. His father was promoted to the rank of Caesar, or deputy emperor, in AD 293, thus Constantine was destined to be emperor. (Varner 2) After his fathers promotion Constantine served in Augustus Maximian's court in the west. He became Emperor of this western area in AD 306. (Varner 20-24) Constantine used the Christians to make himself a stronger ruler after he won the
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Approximate Word count = 943
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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