ABSTRACT
Constantine the Great, as he came to be called by Christian writers, was the son of Constantius Chlorus, Maximian's Caesar and eventual successor as Augustus in the West. Constantine was sent to Diocletian's court in the East, where he received excellent training in the arts of politics and war. Constantine had ruthlessly eliminated all political rivals and reunited the Roman Empire under one ruler. He had taken Christianity, a small, persecuted sect, and given it the impetus that made it one of the major religions of the world. Indeed, he greatly influenced the formulation of its most widely accepted creed and institutional structure. Finally, by following up and skillfully modifying Diocletian's reforms and by his splendid choice of a new residence, Constantine laid the foundations of the Byzantine Empire, which was to last 1000 years and have an incalculable impact upon Europe and the Near East.
