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Constantine the Great
By Pierre Maraval
| Full Title | Constantine the Great. Roman Emperor, Christian Emperor 306 – 337 |
| Author | Pierre Maraval is a French historian and researcher, professor at the Sorbonne University in France, and a specialist in the history of Early Christianity. He published several books and translations in this field, and executed important researches about Christian fathers, writers, and historians who preceded the emergence of Islam. As for Emperor Constantine the Great, he translated and analyzed his letters and speeches and published them integrally in French. |
| Primary Language | French |
| Publisher | Tallandier, Paris |
| Date of Publishing | 2011 |
| Number of Pages | 399 |
| Content | This book is a biography of Emperor Constantine the Great starting by his childhood in the court of Diocletian in Nicomedia and his move to his father’s court in Gaul in the year 306, where he succeeded his father after his death. The writer details all the events that confronted this young Caesar who left Britain, where he started his reign, towards Rome that he conquered in the year 312, raising the Holy Cross as an emblem for himself and for his army, and refusing to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods.In the year 313, he issued with Licinius the Milan Edit that launched freedom of worship in the Roman Empire and allowed Christians to appear publicly and build churches.In the year 324, Constantine became the sole emperor of the Roman state, and started a great renewal of the empire. He established a new capital for the empire on the Bosporus Strait, called it New Rome and officially consecrated it on May 11, 330. He built in this city imperial edifices and churches, the most important of which was the Church of Agia Irini (Holy Peace).One of the most important achievements of Emperor Constantine was the first Ecumenical Council, called the Council of Nicaea, held in the year 325 with the participation of 318 bishops. This meeting made several decisions, the most important of which was the Credo, in its initial version.Invited by her son Constantine, his mother Helena visited the Holy Land, uncovered the Holy Sepulcher, raised the cross, and began building the Churches of the Resurrection, of the Nativity, and of the Mount of Olives. This book consists of three sections, representing the three periods of the life of Emperor Constantine: the first period concerns his reign in Gaul before 312, the second period extends from 312 to 324 when he was emperor of the western part of the Roman Empire, and the third period from 324 to 337 when he became the sole emperor of Rome and realized most of his achievements.This book includes 98 references. |
