272.AD – Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor was born #onthisday in history. He was a Roman Emperor from 306 A.D. until the year of 337 A.D. he was the son of Flavius Valerius Constantius a Roman Officer and his consort was Helena. His father became Casear, the deputy emperor in the west of the year 293 A.D. Whilst Constantine was sent to the east, he rose through the military ranks and Tribune under the Emperors Diocletain and Galerius.
Constantius was raised to the rank of Augustus in the year of 305 A.D. as a senior Western Emperor, he was recalled to the western campaign under his father in Britain (Britannia) . he was later acclaimed as emperor by his army at Eboarcum ( Modern day York) when his father had died in the year of 306 A.D. Constantine won the civil wars against the Emperors known as: Maxentius and Licincus, and he became the sole ruler of both west and east by the year of 324 A.D.
When constantine was Emperor he changed many administrative, financial, social, and military reforms to strengthen the empire. There was a change of government from civil to military authority was separate. Constantine issued a new gold coin known as Solidus, which was introduced to solve the inflation problem caused by the wars, this would lead to the standard Byzantine and European currency for a 1000 years. He was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity.
He built a new imperial capital in Byzantium which was called Constantinople which became known as the “New Rome”. His legacy changed the Roman Empire from a pagan religious Empire to a Christian one and changed the imperial capital.
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