Constantine the Great: The Emperor Who Changed Christianity Forever
Fexingo History · Mediterranean
Constantine the Great: The Emperor Who Changed Christianity Forever
Constantine the Great reshaped the Roman Empire and the course of Western civilization. This show follows his rise from the chaotic tetrarchy of Diocletian to his sole rule after the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 CE, where he famously saw the Chi-Rho symbol. Lucas and Luna explore how Constantine legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan, convened the First Council of Nicaea in 325 to settle the Arian controversy, and built a new capital at Constantinople on the Bosporus. They examine his military campaigns against Licinius, Maxentius, and the Sarmatians, his reforms of the Roman currency and bureaucracy, and his complex relationship with the pagan aristocracy. The show also delves into the Donatist schism, the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and Constantine’s deathbed baptism in 337. Why does a ruler who never fully abandoned pagan sun worship end up a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church? This series unpacks the contradictions of an emperor who fused imperial power with Christian faith, setting the stage for medieval Christendom.
