Constantine I

Constantine I, aka Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from 306 to 337 CE. Realizing that the Roman Empire was too large for one man to adequately rule, Emperor Diocletian (284-305 CE) split the empire into two, creating a tetrachy or rule of four. While he ruled the east from Nicomedia as an “augustus” with Galerius as his “caesar,” Maximian and Constantius the Pale ruled the west. It was the son of Constantius, Constantine, who would one day rise to defeat all challengers to the throne and reunite the split empire, moving the capital away from Old Rome and build a new eastern capital, a capital that one day would bear his name, Constantinople.