Constantine the Great

Epic card · No. 4359

Constantine I (27 February 272 – 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, co-ruling as part of the Tetrarchy until 324. The first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine played a pivotal role in elevating the religion's status in the Roman Empire, with the Edict of Milan decriminalising its practice and ceasing Christian persecution. He founded the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul) and made it the capital of the Empire, which it remained for over a millennium. Born in Naissus, a city located in the province of Moesia Superior (now Niš, Serbia), Constantine was the son of Flavius Constantius, a Roman army officer from Moesia Superior, who would become one of the four emperors of the Tetrarchy. His mother, Helena, was a Greek woman of low birth, probably from Bithynia. Later canonised as a saint, she is credited for the conversion of her son in some traditions, though others believe that Constantine converted her. He served...

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