This sharp, engaging biography details the life and achievements of Constantine the Great who unified the Roman Empire, adopted Christianity as its official religion, and transferred the capital of the Empire from Rome to Constantinople.

The reign of the emperor Constantine (306-337) was as revolutionary for the transformation of Rome's Mediterranean empire as that of Augustus, the first emperor three centuries earlier. The abandonment of Rome signaled the increasing importance of frontier zones in northern and central Europe and the Middle East. The foundation of Constantinople as a new imperial residence and the rise of Greek as the language of administration previewed the establishment of a separate eastern Roman empire.

Author's abstract: The late third century and the early fourth century in the Roman Empire was a period of profound change. The Romans struggled with several internal crises as well as constant harassment from foreign enemies. Because of this downturn, several emperors attempted to consolidate more control over several areas, including economics, the military, bureaucracy, and religion. While these episodes in political and social change are regarded among scholars a watershed moment in history, most historians refuse to acknowledge this era as a revolutionary period. This paper focuses on one aspect of change that occurred during this period, religion. Using a carefully constructed definition of revolution, this re-examination of the religious changes within the empire attempts to demonstrate that an evolution in the religious policies of men such as Decius, Valerian, and finally Diocletian and the Tetrarchy allowed Constantine to initiate a Christian Revolution that forever altered the future of the Roman Empire and molded the future of individual European kingdoms. Decius, Valerian, and Diocletian's religious policies altered the idea of what religion meant for the empire in two ways. First, their attempt to persecute non-traditional religious cults evolved religion from typically local institutions to giving religion a greater role throughout the state. Secondly, all three emperors attempted to use religion as a means of social control both to attempt to deal with the serious crises plaguing the empire and also to instill unity and consolidate power. Both of these changes allowed Constantine in 312 to begin to instill the Christian religion throughout the empire as he eliminated his rivals and became sole emperor.

This biographical narrative is a detailed portrayal of the life and career of the first Christian emperor Constantine the Great (273 – 337). Combining vivid narrative and historical analysis, Charles Odahl relates the rise of Constantine amid the crises of the late Roman world, his dramatic conversion to and public patronage of Christianity, and his church building programs in Rome, Jerusalem and Constantinople which transformed the pagan state of Roman antiquity into the Christian empire medieval Byzantium. The author’s comprehensive knowledge of the literary sources and his extensive research into the material remains of the period mean that this volume provides a more rounded and accurate portrait of Constantine than previously available. This revised second edition includes: An expanded and revised final chapter A new Genealogy and an expanded Chronology New illustrations Revised and updated Notes and Bibliography A landmark publication in Roman Imperial, early Christian, and Byzantine history, Constantine and the Christian Empire will remain the standard account of the subject for years to come.

Peter Leithart weighs what we've been taught about Constantine and claims that in focusing on these historical mirages we have failed to notice the true significance of Constantine and Rome baptized. He reveals how beneath the surface of this contested story there lies a deeper narrative--a tectonic shift in the political theology of an empire--with far-reaching implications.

Constantine's victory in 312 at the battle of the Milvian Bridge established his rule as the first Christian emperor. This book examines the creation and dissemination of the legends about that battle and its significance. Christian histories, panegyrics and an honorific arch at Rome soon commemorated his victory, and the emperor himself contributed to the myth by describing his vision of a cross in the sky before the battle. Through meticulous research into the late Roman narratives and the medieval and Byzantine legends, this book moves beyond a strictly religious perspective by emphasizing the conflicts about the periphery of the Roman empire, the nature of emperorship and the role of Rome as a capital city. Throughout late antiquity and the medieval period, memories of Constantine's victory served as a powerful paradigm for understanding rulership in a Christian society.

Bestselling classical historian Barry Strauss delivers “an exceptionally accessible history of the Roman Empire…much of Ten Caesars reads like a script for Game of Thrones” (The Wall Street Journal)—a summation of three and a half centuries of the Roman Empire as seen through the lives of ten of the most important emperors, from Augustus to Constantine. In this essential and “enlightening” (The New York Times Book Review) work, Barry Strauss tells the story of the Roman Empire from rise to reinvention, from Augustus, who founded the empire, to Constantine, who made it Christian and moved the capital east to Constantinople. During these centuries Rome gained in splendor and territory, then lost both. By the fourth century, the time of Constantine, the Roman Empire had changed so dramatically in geography, ethnicity, religion, and culture that it would have been virtually unrecognizable to Augustus. Rome’s legacy remains today in so many ways, from language, law, and architecture to the seat of the Roman Catholic Church. Strauss examines this enduring heritage through the lives of the men who shaped it: Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Vespasian, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, Diocletian, and Constantine. Over the ages, they learned to maintain the family business—the government of an empire—by adapting when necessary and always persevering no matter the cost. Ten Caesars is a “captivating narrative that breathes new life into a host of transformative figures” (Publishers Weekly). This “superb summation of four centuries of Roman history, a masterpiece of compression, confirms Barry Strauss as the foremost academic classicist writing for the general reader today” (The Wall Street Journal).

Here is the fullest available narrative history of the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine, and a new assessment of the part Christianity played in the Roman world of the third and fourth centuries.