Constantine the Great
Imperator Caesar Flavius Valerius Constantinus Augustus
Imperator · Augustus · Equal of the Apostles
272 – 337
Biography
The emperor whose reign decided the religious future of Europe. His victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge in 312, supposedly under a vision of a Christian sign, led to the Edict of Milan in 313 ending the persecution of Christians. He summoned the Council of Nicaea, founded a new Christian capital at Byzantium (renamed Constantinople), and became the first Roman emperor to be baptized — albeit on his deathbed.
Events
Joint declaration by Constantine, augustus of the West, and Licinius, augustus of the East, granting toleration to Christianity throughout the Roman Empire and returning previously confiscated church property. The edict ended three centuries of intermittent persecution and put the imperial government in the position of supporter rather than enemy of the Christian church — a shift that decisively shaped European history.
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