Constantine essays

Constantine essays Constantine was not a religious man. In fact, most of his cares rest upon his power over the Roman Empire and the Roman Empires power over the rest of the world. He stood by any god or force that would gain him victory in the battlefield or prosperity at home. (Sayers 280) He did not look at anything religious with an inner reflection to his own feelings or ideas but with a goal or a need with which the religious scheme could provide him. He would back any person of any religion for loyalty and cooperation. Reasons such as these lead to the belief that Constantine converted and encouraged Christianity in the Roman Empire as a means of propagating power, rather than because of strong religious belief on his part. (Sayers 281) According to Eusebius, Constantines personal biographer and close friend, Constantine was born between AD 273 and 275 in the city of Naissus (a city in the Balkan Islands). (Varner 1) He was enrolled in the military at an early age and thus lacked a formal education. As a teenager he was enrolled in a military group known as the Protectors. (Varner 21) Protectors were used to guard high-ranking officials and including the emperor himself. He was not religious as a young man, concerned only with politics and military strategies. His father was Flavius Valerius Constantius, an army officer, and his mother, who he loved dearly throughout his life, was Helena. His father was promoted to the rank of Caesar, or deputy emperor, in AD 293, thus Constantine was destined to be emperor. (Varner 2) After his fathers promotion Constantine served in Augustus Maximians court in the west. He became Emperor of this western area in AD 306. (Varner 20-24) Constantine knew that Christian people were numerous in places all over the empire and that the persecutions of these people only made the empire weaker. He disliked their persecution as they were good people, smart and very down to earth but most importantly...