CONSTANTINOPLE, THE NEW ROME
By the time Constantine established his new capital in A.D. 330, the city that would be called Constantinople had
changed hands multiple times among regional superpowers. Darius I of Persia, the Delian League, the Spartans, and
Alexander the Great all had ruled the strategic port known as Byzantium on the Bosporus, a strait between the Black Sea
and Sea of Marmara. Roman emperor Septimius Severus destroyed the city in A.D. 196 and rebuilt a grander version,
which Constantine expanded upon for his New Rome. The city became a prosperous and important center of faith,
power, trade, and architecture. The landmark Hagia Sophia (above) was built by Emperor Justinian during the sixth
century, the peak of Constantinople’s glory.
Who was Constantine?
EMPEROR CONSTANTINE (CA A.D. 280– 337) reigned over a major transition in the Roman Empire—and much more. His
acceptance of Christianity and his establishment of an eastern capital city, which would later bear his name, mark his
rule as a significant pivot point between ancient history and the Middle Ages.
The Roman Empire that Constantine was born into was one of chaos and anarchy. Civil wars, invasions, and disease were
rending the empire so badly that the era is regarded as the Crisis of the Third Century. Emperor Diocletian tried to bring
order by distributing power to a four-ruler tetrarchy that would govern the four quarters of the empire. Constantine’s
father, Constantius I, was one of the rulers.
Diocletian’s plan fell apart. After the death of his father in A.D. 306, Constantine was declared emperor by his father’s
soldiers. He spent the next 18 years battling the three other Roman rulers—his rivals—to become the sole emperor.
The Battle of Milvian Bridge outside Rome in A.D. 312 was a watershed moment for Constantine. He defeated one rival,
his brother-in-law Maxentius, and gained the mantle of western Roman emperor. But of far greater import was a
revelation he experienced before the battle.
According to Constantine’s biographer Eusebius, Constantine and his forces saw a cross of light in the sky, along with the
Greek words for “In this sign conquer.” That night, Constantine had a dream in which Christ reinforced the message. The
emperor marked the Christian symbol of the cross on his soldiers’ shields. When he triumphed at Milvian Bridge, he
attributed the victory to the god of the Christians. Modern scholars still debate the tale and whether Constantine’s
conversion was sincere or a political maneuver. Regardless, in A.D. 313 Constantine met with Licinius, the eastern
emperor, and together they issued the Edict of Milan. The edict granted “to the Christians and others full authority to
observe that religion which each preferred.”
BIRTH OF CHRISTIANITY
Christianity emerged in the far reaches of the Roman Empire sometime around A.D. 26 or 27, when Jesus of Nazareth
began his public ministry. Attracting large crowds throughout his native Galilee (in modern-day Israel), he preached a
message of forgiveness, love, and renewal. He talked about fulfilling the Scriptures but stopped short of openly declaring
himself the “Messiah,” the savior of the Jewish nation prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. Jesus was arrested on charges of
blasphemy and crucified around A.D. 30. The Bible tells that Jesus rose from the dead three days after his Crucifixion. His
followers called him “the Christ,” or the “anointed one,” and referred to themselves as Christians. They began to spread
the Gospel, the “good tale,” of his life and ministry.
CONSTANTINOPLE, THE NEW ROME
A change of scene
Constantine assumed sole control over the empire in A.D. 324. Rome, however, was losing its luster for him. Tensions
remained high between the city’s pagans and the Christian emperor. Moreover, from a military standpoint, Constantine
realized it would be easier to fend off threats from the east and to protect valuable territory—and granaries—in Egypt if
he moved his capital to a more defensible eastern location. He left Rome for good to build an imperial city that would
glorify both his power and his faith.
Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), his capital, was dedicated in A.D. 330. Previously known as Byzantium, it had
been under Roman control for well over a century, but Constantine rebuilt and expanded it on a monumental scale. He
tripled the size of the existing city and offered full citizenship and free bread to encourage men of rank to move there
with their families. A large palace and imposing legislative halls established the city’s gravitas as the new capital.
Churches began to punctuate the skyline; Christians were welcomed, and other faiths were generally tolerated.
The ascendant Constantinople soon eclipsed Rome. The western empire gradually crumbled until Rome’s fall in A.D. 476.
Yet Constantine’s capital—and the Christian foundation he laid there for the empire—continued to thrive for nearly a
thousand years.