Constantine the Great (I) was an Emperor of the Roman Empire from 306-324 A.D. and The Emperor of the Roman Empire from 324 until his death in 337. One of the few Roman Emperors to be considered great, Constantine reigned during a period of great upheaval in the Empire, but still managed to enact reforms and stabilize the state, thus on these bases, he was an exemplary ruler.
Constantine came to power first as the Caesar of the Western Empire in 305 A.D. when his father Constantius was raised to Augustus of the Western Empire. In 306, his father died and Constantine was raised to Augustus of the Western Empire. His early rule saw a series of civil wars after the death of Galerius, threatening the existing system of the Tetrarchy, wherein there were four “Emperors.” First, Constantine put to rest conflict in the western Empire, by deposing Maximius of Italia and Africa, and becoming the sole ruler of the Western Empire. This was followed in 313 by the issuing of the Edict of Milan along with …show more content…
By re-concentrating power in the Imperial office, and centralizing administration in a new capital, Constantine brought political stability to the empire. Through his Christianizing reforms, Constantine brought a renewed social order where the old one had been decaying. These reforms, taken in sum, allowed Constantine to protect the Roman people and reinvigorate the empire. For this, Constantine was not only a good ruler, but indeed an ideal one.
Though his reign had a troubled start, by the end, the Roman Empire had been reformed. Increasingly Christianizing and finally stable, the crises of his early reign seemed a distant memory. The bureaucracy and social structure were strengthened, the monetary system was expanded, and there was peace. The times of trouble brought to an end, the empire finally safe, Constantine I breathed his last in 337
Constantine came to power first as the Caesar of the Western Empire in 305 A.D. when his father Constantius was raised to Augustus of the Western Empire. In 306, his father died and Constantine was raised to Augustus of the Western Empire. His early rule saw a series of civil wars after the death of Galerius, threatening the existing system of the Tetrarchy, wherein there were four “Emperors.” First, Constantine put to rest conflict in the western Empire, by deposing Maximius of Italia and Africa, and becoming the sole ruler of the Western Empire. This was followed in 313 by the issuing of the Edict of Milan along with …show more content…
By re-concentrating power in the Imperial office, and centralizing administration in a new capital, Constantine brought political stability to the empire. Through his Christianizing reforms, Constantine brought a renewed social order where the old one had been decaying. These reforms, taken in sum, allowed Constantine to protect the Roman people and reinvigorate the empire. For this, Constantine was not only a good ruler, but indeed an ideal one.
Though his reign had a troubled start, by the end, the Roman Empire had been reformed. Increasingly Christianizing and finally stable, the crises of his early reign seemed a distant memory. The bureaucracy and social structure were strengthened, the monetary system was expanded, and there was peace. The times of trouble brought to an end, the empire finally safe, Constantine I breathed his last in 337