Regan Olak
World History, Period 6
December 13, 2015
Essay #144
Diocletian and Constantine had policies that were similar yet different in many ways. Diocletian ruled from 284-305 A.D. During his time as emperor, he divided the empire into four prefectures. This also separated the Roman Empire into east and west. The west was known as the Western Roman Empire and the east was known as the Eastern Roman Empire. Diocletian did not allow Christians in his empire and therefore persecuted them.
However, this was different compared to Constantine who converted to Christianity and evangelized people to convert to Christianity as well. Constantine ruled as emperor from 306-337 A.D. and was the first Christian emperor of the time and credited
Christianity for getting him there. He came to the throne by civil war. During Constantine's rule he gave freedom of religion to the Christians and allowed all people to practice their beliefs. Even with all of their differences, the two had some similarities in their policies as both emperors expanded the military and civil service as they created mobile units so they could quickly transport troops. In addition, both built the Roman Empire as they used control and coercion in setting social and economic policy. They created policy through edicts. Regarding social policy, they both required workers to stay in their vocations. Both used price and wage controls to stabilize and govern the economy. The effect of doing this made the Roman Empire more stable and extended the reign of the Roman Empire long term.
While Rome was being ramp sacked from Germanic and other barbaric groups, the imperial power shifted to the eastern part of the Roman Empire, where the center city was Byzantium (Craig/Graham/Kagan/Ozment /Turner, 354, 2009). Between 324 and 330 BCE, Constantine the Great became emperor and rebuilt the city and renamed it after himself (Craig/Graham/Kagan/Ozment /Turner, 354, 2009). After Constantine died, power shifted to Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora in 527 BCE (Craig/Graham/Kagan/Ozment /Turner, 354, 2009).
When he won the throne, similar to Emperor Han Wudi’s conversion to Confucianism in Han Dynasty China, converted to Christianity. Because of this conversion, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Christian way became very involved in government in the Roman Empire. Even though Christianity’s message is a sense of universal love, because of it intolerance of other religions, there was persecutions of pagans that lead to death. It was not until 450 CE. that a small majority of the Roman Empire was Christian. There ultimately was a split in the empire between the east and the west. The Western Empire struggled on its survival unlike the eastern Empire. The Eastern Empire strived because it stayed involved in Roman politics, administration, and armies. Because the east stayed involved within the government, they were able to last longer. The east was able to spread Christianity more effectively than that of the
Somewhere around 320 B.C.E.; Christianity began its spread to Axum. This was a very big step for Christianity as a religion because Axum was a very powerful nation. Axum had a vast trading network, which was very important in that time period. A man named Frumentius who was an advisor to the King of Axum, and a tutor for the two Princes of Axum introduced Christianity into the community. Before he introduced Christianity he traveled to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem the patriarch in Alexandria named Frumentius Bishop of Axum. After he received this title he went back to Axum and baptized the Princes. This resulted in the King of Axum deeming Christianity the official religion of Axum. Christianity spread to Axum not only because of Syncretism and Frumentius’ influence over the royal family but also other factors. One factor given by Johnson was “conversion would enhance trading relations with Constantinople and with its large, prosperous Christian community.” This was one of the motivating factors that led to Chr...
The rise of Christianity in Rome did not come easily. It came with much destruction and death. The spark of Christianity in Rome came from an appearance of Martyrs in Rome. Martyrs were people that were executed for going against the common beliefs of pagan (polytheistic) ways. (Tignor, 2011, p. 286) Because of these awful executions, Christianity is said to be based off of “the blood of martyrs.” One of their main ways of spreading Christianity was through the sharing of their writings and by 300 CE there was an exceptional amount of book production throughout Rome. (Tignor, 2011, p. 289) “Christianity operated as one among many minority religions in the Roman Empire, and on several occasions experienced widespread persecution, especially under the emperors Nero (r. 54–68), Decius (r. 249–251), and Diocletian (r. 284–305). However, the situation changed radically under the emperor Constantine (r. 306–337), who in 313 issued the Edict of Milan that made Christianity a legitimate religion in the empire.” (Melton, 2010, p. 634)
The first clear instance where Christianity is seen in Constantine's life is during his campaign against Maxentius. In the spring of 311, when Constantine was marching to Rome to battle against Maxentius, he saw a vision in the sky, a bright cross along with the words "by this sign conquer." Later that night, he had a dream in which God told him to use that sign as a safeguard to use in all of his future battles. Constantine awoke and immediately ordered his troops to inscribe the chi-rho, the sign he saw a combination of the Greek letters chi and rho, onto their shields (Constantine Converts to Christianity 312). Some historians have deemed it more appropriate to consider Constantine a patron of Christianity at this point rather than a convert as it appears that he is using it as a means to conquer and attributes his success to it rather being convicted and committed to Jesus Christ as a true Christian should (Legitimization Under Constantine). Meanwhile, at the same time that Constantine is having holy visions and dreams, Maxentius sought guidance and confirmation from pagan oracles and found a prophecy declaring the "the enemy of the Romans would parish." Emboldened by this prophecy, he left the defensive position of Rome and met Constantine at Milvian Bridge. Constantine was victorious despite having an army about a third of the size of Maxentius'. It is said that Maxentius' army became confused and scattered during the battle. Maxentius was drive...
Constantine I February 27, 280 C.E.- May 22, 337 C.E. ), also known as Constantine the Great, was the first Roman emperor to not only abolish persecution of Christians, but he was also the first to convert to Christianity in 312 A.D. Around 200 years later, in 496 A.D. Clovis I (466 C.E.- 511 C.E. ), the King of the Franks, converted to Christianity, in which he was called a “new Constantine”. Constantine and Clovis’ reign through Christianity was alike in the way that they decided to convert. However, the two emperors were different in their commitment to God and their impacts on the church and state.
“Roman Empire divided into West and East in the 4th Century” (101 Q&A). Eastern Part (“Byzantium”) gathered power in Middle East and North Africa, same area that the Islamic Empire later controlled.
Roman-Byzantine Empire and Sassanian Empire were very powerful neighboring empires during third century CE to sixth century CE. Two different readings, On the Conversion of Constantine by Eusebius and Sasanian Empire: Alliance of Religion and Politics by Taraneh Farhid, were compared to investigate the historical significances among Roman-Byzantine Empire and Sasanian Empire. Roman Empire was a united empire under Constantine’s reign but most interactions between Roman Empire and Sasanian Empire occurred in Eastern Roman Empire in which it is called the Roman-Byzantine Empire. The Sasanian Empire was created by Ardashir I, who overthrew the Parthian King, after Roman Empire was created hundreds of years ago. After the comparison of two readings,
Shortly after that, they named Diocletian Emperor on 20 November AD 284 When Diocletian took the throne he took the name Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletian. Diocletian was sharing the throne with former Emperor Carus other living son and Co-Emperor Carinus. Both of the Emperors went into battle for the chance to rule alone. While in battle Diocletian was in fact losing, but one of the Diocletian officers
The reign of Diocletian and Maximian came for a brief period between 284 C.E. and 324 C.E. after the murder of Commodus. Civil wars broke through out the Roman Empire as various military factions fought for power. Diocletian restored order by dividing the empire into four sections. This was known as the tetrarchy. Diocletian assumed control over Syria, Egypt, and Asia Minor. Maximian was Diocletian’s counterpart as well. Diocletian took care of matters in the eastern regions of the empire, while Maximian similarly took charge of the western regions, thereby cutting in half the administrative work required to oversee an empire as large as Rome’s. The four tetrarchs based themselves not at Rome but in other cities closer to the frontiers, mainly intended as headquarters for the defense of the
Constantine’s conversion made him more tolerant of Christianity in Rome, allowing the Church to spread to other parts of his empire and to preach in public society. Constantine is praised as the emperor who made Christianity no longer anti-Roman. Had Constantine not converted and reformed Rome, the Church would have never been able to gain as much of a foothold in Rome and the West. His conversion ended the widespread persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire and greatly increased Christian power and influence in Rome. Additionally, his conversion contributed Roman law to the Catholic Heritage of the West, forming a basis of Western thought on law and justice. The time frame significant to Constantine and the Church stretches back to as early as Nero’s persecution in AD 64 all the way to after the death of Constantine in ca. AD 400, when paganism in Rome finally fell.
The governments of ancient Greece and Rome had many similarities and differences, creating two unique cultures. There were several things that set them apart, and it changed the way each civilization grew and developed. For example, Greece’s social classes were divided into slaves, women and citizens, while Rome had slaves, plebeians and patricians. In ancient Rome, plebeians were the commoners in Rome, such as farmers, and patricians were aristocrats or noblemen. Furthermore, women were treated as citizens in Rome, but more like property in Greece (“Ancient Greece vs. Ancient Rome,” para. 5). In Athens, women were controlled by the men in their lives by having their father control them before marriage, and their husbands after. Another difference between the two countries was how their governments originally began. Greece was originally made up of several city-states, each being an independant nation. Rome, on the other hand, was originally a monarchy. Over time, it eventually became a Republic, in which power is held by the people and their elected representatives. The similarities between the government of Greece and Rome included their beliefs in several gods. Athens was known for worshiping the goddess Athena, their city-god. Rome worshiped several other gods as well, including Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Another similarity was their fierce militaries. Greece was known for having lots of internal warfare, but they succeeded in preventing any military invasions, especially from Persia. Rome is known for having as the most powerful and successful military in the Western region. Their size, strength, and organization helped them to achieve many accomplishments in the expansion of their empire.
Constantine the Great, first Christian Emperor, originator of Constantinople, creator of the Byzantine Empire, military conqueror, and honored saint, has been labeled by many the most instrumental emperor of the Roman Empire. Constantine played a crucial role in the development of Europe during the Middle Ages, and founded Christianity as the formal religion of the Roman Empire. His dynamic yet effective predominance laid the infrastructure of European development. From his humble beginnings, to his command of the Roman Empire, to his final days, Constantine’s impact on world history and Christianity has left behind an unforgettable legacy. He was described by Eusebius as “such an emperor as all history records not.” Ware compared him to, “a watershed in the history of the Church.” Additionally, Meyendorff states, “No single human being in history has contributed to the conversion of so many to the Christian faith.” Norwich declared that “No ruler in all of history has ever more fully merited his title of ‘the Great’…Constantine has serious claim to be considered the most influential man in all of history.” Some of Constantine’s notable acts in the history of Christianity was his calling of the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, his institution of freedom for Christianity with the Edict of Milan, and the relocation of the capital of empire from Rome to Constantinople.
To begin with, St. Luke, a gentile and physician, converted to Christianity and became a witness to Christ. St. Luke was born in Antioch, Syria in the first century. In his early years, he was educated as a physician and was later known as "the beloved physician." He converted to Christ after
As the greatest empire in the western world began to crumble one city at a time, the leader of the Roman Empire, Constantine, under pressure from external and internal sources moved the capital of Rome to Constantinople around 330 AD. The movement of the capital was after his conversion to Christianity in 312 AD, a growing religion throughout the empire despite being officially illegal. Constantine was not the devote saint that the church may speak of today, “from 312-320 Constantine was tolerant of paganism, keeping pagan gods on coins and retaining his pagan high priest title "Pontifex Maximus" in order to maintain popularity with his subjects, possibly indicating that he never understood the theology of Christianity” (Ferguson & Grupp, 1998). The first Christian Emperor claimed to have converted after a victorious battle with his brother and there are many that corroborate this story it appears highly suspicious to only promote Christian ideals and worship. Constantine was not even the Emperor that made Christianity the religion of the Roman people, but simply permitted religiou...