30 Interesting Facts About Constantine the Great

Constantine the Great is one of the most prominent personalities in history. He was the first emperor to rule in the name of Christ and he was a major figure in the foundation of medieval Christian Europe.

Here are some interesting facts about this great leader in human history.

1.) Constantine the Great was born about 274 CE and died 337 CE.

2.) He was Roman emperor for 31 years from 306-337 CE.

3.) Constantine the Great was the first Roman ruler to be converted to Christianity.

4.) In 330, he founded Constantinople, now known as İstanbul, as a capital of the Roman Empire.

5.) Constantinople remained the seat of the Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman until 1453.

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6.) He was born in Nis, now part of Serbia and Montenegro,

7.) Constantine’s complete name is Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus. He is also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine.

8.) His father is Constantius I (Constantius Chlorus), a former military commander.

9.) Constantine’s mother is Helena who became Saint Helena.

10.)  His father, Constantius, became co-emperor in 305 CE but died the following year.

11.) Upon the death of Constantius in 306 CE, Constantine was proclaimed emperor by his troop.

12.) For almost 20 years, he fought his rivals for the throne and finally established himself as sole ruler in 324 CE.

13.) Constantine was a solar henotheist early in his life – meaning he believed that the Roman sun god, Sol, was the visible manifestation of an invisible “Highest God” (summus deus), who was the principle behind the universe.

14.)  In 312 CE, on the eve of a battle against Maxentius, his rival in Italy, Constantine is reported to have dreamed that Christ appeared to him and told him to inscribe the holy sign ΧΡ, the first two letters of the Greek word ΧΡΙSΤΟS (Christos), on the shields of his troops.

15.) The next day he is said to have seen a cross superimposed on the sun and the words “in this sign you will be the victor” (usually given in Latin, in hoc signo vinces).

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16.) Constantine then defeated Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, near Rome and the Senate hailed the victor as savior of the Roman people.

17.) Through the Edict of Milan, which was issued in 313 CE, persecutions of the Christians ended. This edict mandated the toleration of Christians.

18.) As guardian of Christianity, the church was then given legal rights and large financial donations by Constantine.

19.) Administrative reforms introduced by Constantine include the separation of civil and military authority.

20.) During his reign, the central government was run by Constantine and his council, known as the sacrum consistorium.

21.) The powers of the Senate were given back and new gold coins (solidi) were issued and remained the standard of exchange until the end of the Byzantine Empire.

22.) Constantine built churches in the Holy Land, where his mother Helena supposedly found the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified.

23.) Constantine the Great fell ill in April 337 CE and died one month later on May 22, 337 CE.

24.) He was baptized shortly before his death by the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia (now İzmit, Turkey).

25.) Although he was already a complete Christian by the time of the council at Nicaea in 325 CE, he still tolerated paganism among his subjects.

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26.) The Arch of Constantine, a triumphal arch situated between the Colosseum and the Palatne hill in Rome, was erected to commemorate his victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312.

27.) In June 326, Constantine had his eldest son Crispus, by Minervina, seized and put to death by "cold poison" at Pola (now Pula, Croatia)

28.)  In July 326, Constantine had his wife, the Empress Fausta, killed at the behest of his mother, Helena. Fausta was left to die in an over-heated bath.

29.) At the time of the executions of Crispus and Fausta, it was commonly believed that the Empress Fausta was either in an illicit relationship with Crispus, or was spreading rumors to that effect.

30.) The Byzantine Empire considered Constantine its founder and the Holy Roman Empire reckoned him among the venerable figures of its tradition. 

See also 

• 70+ Interesting Facts About Jesus Christ
• 100 Amazing and Interesting Things About Alexander the Great
• 50 Interesting Facts About Julius Caesar
• Interesting Facts About Augustus Caesar
• 100 Interesting Facts About Temujin or Genghis Khan
• 100+ Interesting and Controversial Facts About Napoleon Bonaparte
• 70+ Interesting Facts About Nelson Mandela
• 40 Interesting Facts About Charles The Great

40 Interesting Facts About Charlemagne

Charlemagne or Charles the Great is one of the most popular figures in history. Charlemagne is well remembered as the absolute sovereign ruler of the state, as well as head of the church.  

Here’s a long list of interesting things about this great leader in history.

1.) Charlemagne was born on April 2, 742 CE and his name in Latin is Carolus Magnus, Charles the Great in English and Carlo Magno in Spanish.

2.) His father is the Frankish leader – Pepin the Short, mayor of the palace under the Merovingian dynasty of Frankish kings and became king of the Franks in 751 CE.

3.) Pope Stephen II officially crowned Pepin in 754 and anointed both Charlemagne and his younger brother Carloman.

4.) Charles the Great was king of the Franks from 768 up to the time of his death in 814 CE.

5.) He was also emperor of the Romans for 14 years from 800 to 814 CE.

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6.) The empire that Charlemagne built included almost all of western and central Europe.

7.) He presided over a cultural and legal revival that came to be known as the Carolingian Renaissance.

8.) Modern-day France and Germany emerged from Charlemagne’s empire, the former as West Francia and the latter as East Francia.

9.) When Pepin died, Charlemagne shared rule of the kingdom with his brother, Carloman and became sole king of the Franks after the death of the latter in 771 CE.

10.) It took 32 years before Charlemagne completely conquered the Saxons from 772 to 804 CE.

11.) He also conquered the Bavarians, Slavs and Avars and obliged them to pay him tribute.

12.) Charlemagne also defeated and ruled the Lombards of Italy in 773 and northern part of Spain in 778 CE.

13.) On December 25, 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne and anointed him emperor of the Romans after crushing a rebellion in Rome.

14.) Charlemagne introduced many reforms in his empire such as judicial and legal reforms.

15.) He ordered bishops and abbots to set up schools for the training of monks and other clerics.

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16.) He made Latin the standard written and spoken language in his huge empire of several languages and dialects.

17.) Charlemagne played a key role in preserving much of the literary heritage of ancient Rome.

18.) After Charlemagne’s death in 814, his sole heir, Louis I, the Pious, ruled until his death in 840.

19.) The Treaty of Verdun of 843 divided Charlemagne’s empire among his three grandsons – Charles, Lothair and Louis.

20.) Louis II, the German, received East Francia.

21.) Charles II, the Bald, received West Francia

22.) Lothair I acquired the title of emperor and an area running from the North Sea through Lotharingia (Lorraine) and Burgundy to northern Italy

23.) The warrior-king image of Charlemagne was the inspiration for all subsequent empire builders in Europe during the Middle Ages.

24.) The word for “king” in several modern Slavic languages such as Krol in Polish and Kral in Czech are based upon the German name of Charlemagne, Karl.

25.) Charles the Great died at the age of 71 in January 28, 814 CE.

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26.) Charles the Great was married 4 times. His first marriage was annulled.

27.) He had 11 legitimate children; two were twins and 9 illegitimate children.

28.) Charles the Great had no children with his first wife and fourth wife.

29.) He had two children with his first relationship which is described as concubinage.

30.) Charles the Great had 5 other known concubines. The first 3 bore him a child each; the 4^th gave him 2 children and the 5^th bore him 4 children.

31.) Physically, Charles the Great was heavily built, sturdy, and of considerable stature.

32.) He had a round head, large and lively eyes, and a slightly larger nose than usual with white but still attractive hair.

33.) He has a bright and cheerful expression, a short and fat neck, and he enjoyed good health.

34.) Charles the Great stood 1.84 meters making him a very tall person during his time.

35.) He wore blue cloak and always carried a sword with him which is typically of a golden or silver hilt.

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36.) Charles the Great wore fancy jeweled swords to banquets or ambassadorial receptions.

37.) He despised elaborated and expensive cloths and usually dressed like the common people.

38.) Charles the Great’s favorite food is roasted meat.

39.) He died of Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs which is often cause by infections.

40.) Charlemagne was buried the same day he died.

See also

100 Amazing and Interesting ThingsAbout Alexander the Great

50 Interesting Facts About JuliusCaesar

Interesting Facts About AugustusCaesar

100 Interesting Facts About Temujinor Genghis Khan

100+ Interesting and Controversial FactsAbout Napoleon Bonaparte

70+ Interesting Facts About NelsonMandela