Constantine I "the Great" - Flavius Valerius Constantinus (February 17, 274 AD - 337): Son of Constantius I Chlorus and Helena; Husband of Minervina and Fausta; Father (by Minervina) of Crispus; Father (by Fausta) of Constantine II, Constantius II, Constans, Constantina (wife of Hanniballianus and Constantius Gallus) and Helena the Younger (wife of Julian II); Son-in-law of Maximian and Eutropia; Brother-in-law of Maxentius; Half-brother of Constantia (wife of Licinius I); Half-uncle of Delmatius, Hanniballianus, Constantius Gallus, Julian II, Licinius II and Nepotian; Grandfather of Constantia (wife of Gratian). AD 306 - 309 - as Caesar AD 309 - 310 - as Filius Augustorum (Son of the Augusti) AD 307 - 337 - as Augustus

Mints: Antioch, Aquileia, Arelate, Cyzicus, Heraclea, Karthago, Londinium, Lugdunum, Nicomedia, Ostia, Rome, Serdica, Sirmium, Siscia, Thessalonica, Ticinum, Treveri.

Biography: No short summary could do justice to Constantine the Great, one of the truly great Roman emperors. He rose to power when his father Constantius I Chlorus died in the year 306 while campaigning against Scottish tribes. During the next several years he gradually consolidated his grip on power, alternating titles between Augustus and Caesar as his rivals died off or were eliminated in the contest for monarchical rule over the Empire. His last rival, Maxentius, was defeated in the decisive battle of Milvian Bridge in 312, which set the seal on Constantine's rise as supreme ruler. He is credited for several great landmarks in history, and rightly so. It was him who prolonged the life of the Empire with another thousands years (1123 years and 18 days to be correct) by inaugurating a new capital, Constantinople, which went on to be the principal city of the Eastern Empire, Byzantium. A decision with even more monumental consequences was his adoption of Christianity as official religion, and the presiding over the Council of Nicaea in 325 which formulated the basics of Christian faith. He abolished the Praetorian Guard, ridding imperial politics of a quite unruly and uncontrollable element. He stabilized the currency--and with it the economy--by re-introducing the gold standard. He presided over a remarkable building program that amounts to an architectural revolution with the introduction of the Christian basilica. His personal life was marred by family tragedies, fuelled by his deep suspicions about anyone who stand between him and universal power. His eldest son, Crispus, fell victim to this obsession in 326. Constantine left behind several other sons who would, after his death, turn on each other and generally undo much of the stability that Constantine had fought so hard to bring about.

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