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Constantine I “the Great” ruled as emperor of the Roman Empire from 306 to 337 AD. Known, perhaps incorrectly, as the first emperor to claim conversion to Christianity, he promulgated a number of reforms to strengthen the empire militarily, as well as financially and socially. Of interest to the numismatist, he called for a new gold coin, the solidus, to address inflation.
He was influential to the growth of Christianity having decreed tolerance for the religion and calling the First Council of Nicaea in 325. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built in Jerusalem by his order.
He made Byzantium the new capital city of the empire and renamed it after himself to Constantinople. He restored dynastic succession to the benefit of three of his sons who ruled as emperors after his death.
Although venerated by several religions today, including Eastern Orthodox Christians, he was certainly no “saint” in the strictest sense: his eldest son Crispus and his wife Fausta were executed by his order, possibly (only) for having engaged in incest. Modern historians have often been less taken by Constantine as paragon of virtue than were the early Christians. It has been suggested that his interest in Christianity was based in political expediency, for example.
His legacy includes reunification and extension of the empire. He died while making plans for an expedition to address incursions of the Persians in the east.