Ideas · 312–330 CE
Constantine, Christianity and a new Rome
Constantinople (Istanbul, Türkiye)
After defeating his rival Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge near Rome in 312, Constantine began favouring Christianity, and in 313 he and his co-emperor Licinius agreed at Milan to grant religious freedom and return confiscated church property. In 325 he summoned the Council of Nicaea, which produced the Nicene Creed, and on 11 May 330 he consecrated a new capital, Constantinople, on the site of Byzantium.
Why it mattered
A persecuted faith became the emperor's favoured religion, and in 380 Theodosius I made it the empire's official one; Constantinople remained a Christian imperial capital until 1453.
Related
- The world in 300: Rome of Four Emperors chapter
- Kanishka and the Kushan crossroads previous moment · c. 127–150 CE
- The Gupta age in India next moment · c. 320–550 CE