Constantine I The Great Emperor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Constantine I The Great Emperor - Essay Example The right of choosing one’s religion earned him a place in people’s hearts and his actions earned him great public support. Not only did he ‘legalize’ Christianity, he took deep interest in their matters and formed the Ecumenical Council of Catholic church which was the first of its kind (Odahl). To make worship easy for the public, he constructed a lot of Churches in his empire which was previously only filled with Roman temples. The property that was seized during the great persecution was returned to the rightful owners and the Christian officials were restored to their ranks (Kousoulas). All the wrongs done by his predecessors were corrected and a new era started which offered a promising future for the Christians. All of his actions not only allowed the Christians to practice their religion freely and proudly but it also created a scenario in which it was advantageous to be a Christian. The political image of Constantine improved after Galerius recogni zed Constantine as an emperor. As a customary act, a portrait of Constantine was brought to Rome as recognition of his emperorship. Maxentius was the son of Maximan, the former emperor and also the son-in-law of the emperor Galerius. He had an arch rivalry with Constantine and wanted to take over the empire as his own. Maxentius was full of hatred and jealousy and he could not bear his powerlessness while Constantine having so much authority. The empire faced serious threats from the side of Maxentius when he seized the title in 306. Galerius did not recognize Maxentius as an emperor but he was not strong enough to depower him. Galerius sent a military force against Maxentius under the leadership of Severus but they were defeated and Severus was taken... The political image of Constantine improved after Galerius recognized Constantine as an emperor. As a customary act, a portrait of Constantine was brought to Rome as recognition of his emperorship. Maxentius was the son of Maximan, the former emperor and also the son-in-law of the emperor Galerius. He had an arch rivalry with Constantine and wanted to take over the empire as his own. Maxentius was full of hatred and jealousy and he could not bear his powerlessness while Constantine having so much authority. The empire faced serious threats from the side of Maxentius when he seized the title in 306. Galerius did not recognize Maxentius as an emperor but he was not strong enough to depower him. Galerius sent a military force against Maxentius under the leadership of Severus but they were defeated and Severus was taken prisoner. Constantine tried to reestablish old ties so that empire does not suffer from bloodshed and chaos. Maximan offered Fausta, his daughter to Constantine which wou ld promote him to the rank of an Augustan. In return, Constantine offered his support for Maxentius and the family ties were reformed. During his rule, Licenius also had to suffer defeat. Licenius’ defeat symbolized the defeat of the pagan practices prevalent in the East. In order to integrate the East into the Roman Empire, it was suggested that a new capital of the empire should be formed. Constantine planned a strategic campaign in companionship with the Sarmatians against the Goths.