Constantine The Emperor David Potter Analysis

Constantine’s victory at the Milvian Bridge over the fellow but rival ruler of the Western Roman empire, Maxentius and his army, became a great triumph for the consolidation and growth of Constantine’s power and with it the development of Christianity. David Potter, author of Constantine the Emperor, argues that Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus, or more commonly known as Constantine, “is best known as the emperor of Rome who converted to Christianity and in doing so made it possible for Christianity to become a world religion.” With the growth of Christianity Potter’s assertion is hard to argue – Constantine does indeed deserve his place as the most authoritative ancient force responsible for initially allowing the incubation of the vast faithful following of Christianity to develop to the scale it is today. Further, Potter states with this action that Constantine “changed the modern world” with his acceptance of Christianity (and all other religions) more than any other Roman emperor. But, these arguments are nothing new to the topic and are commonplace …show more content…
His justified argument continues that almost every other action in his life was executed as a calculated decision made for political reasons. Defeating rivals, his involvement with the civil court system, killing family members, allowing pagans and Christians to live in peace, building new churches while leaving pagan temples intact, moving the heart of the Roman empire to Byzantine, forming a consul in Nicaea to unify the faith are all viewed from the same perspective per Potter. Constantine was a man who was born with a special ability to lead and developed a special skill-set that led to him making a series of judgements throughout his life that contributed to the growth of his personal faith but also the expansion of what is today a powerful world religion in