CONSTANTINE I

Constantine I has been selected by Roberto Amati in relation to the real history of european integration, then enlisted in the People, Dates, Places and Events category, accompanied by own fact SHEET useful to the comprehension, completed of historical MAPS AND IMAGES or with a direct linking to the related Blog contents dedicated to the entire history of european integration and the future of Europe.

Constantine is one of the most important figure of the history of european integration and even will have influence on the future of Europe. Born in 272 A.D. in Naissus (nowadays Niš in Serbia), he was the son of the emperor Constantius Chlorus, of illyrian origin but probably a descendent of the Romans GensFlavia, and of Saint Helene member of the britton royal dinasty of Gewissi, founded by joining the "divine" dinasties of Brutus and GensJulia: his complete name in latin was Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus.

Constantine received a formal education at the emperor Diocletian's court, where he learned Greek, latin literature and philosophy, and after many years of militar campaigns in Eastern he served in Britannia under his father and when died Constantine was proclamed Emperor by the troops in York in 306 AD: so he asked for the title of Augustus but the eastern emperor Galerius, to avoid a civil war, gave him only the Caesar power in the Tetrarchy organigram of that period and sent him the traditional purple robes. Constantine's share of the Roman Empire consisted of the dioecesis of Britannia, Gallia and Hispania, so he commanded one of the largest Roman armies which stationing along the important Rhine frontier, where he pursued successful campaigns against the Germans tribes of Franks, Alemanni and Goths settled along the western limes. Then he settle definitely in Trier, that empowered and enlarged as well as Arles because of their imperial seat status.

Constantine was considered a predestined since younger and had inherited the title of Dux Britannorum, meanwhile was the chief of the brittons and germans and illyrians Legios, so some years later he pointed to the power against Galerius, that was defeated in 312 A.D.: after that proclamed Christianity freedom together with Licinius emperor (Edict of Milan) but when him rejected for paganism they had a final fight in 325 A.D. and Constantine became the lonely emperor of the Roman Empire reunited. Even if he was a mitraist never persecuted the Christians and some times later converted thanks to his mother, who discovered the Jesus relics in Jerusalem: to celebrate his winning in the battle of Ponte Milvio, Constantine built an Arch in Rome (in front of the Colosseum) with the Cross as simble of "True Faith".

That sign came from the last winning battle that allowed him to rejoin the originary Imperium Romanum, when he saw and dreamt a cross in the sky that made paint on the shields of his legions (from there came the "crucisignati" style recovered centuries after during the Crusades indicating the miles Christi), since then singing the Laudes regiae "Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat!" adopted centuries after by Charlemagne, then in England at the time of the anglican reform and in many other sits during the whole history of european integration.

The impact of Constantine on Christianity had been crucial for many reasons: having sanctioned it as "licita religio in Imperium", he stopped the religious civil wars and the persecutions! Then to refund the damages, Constantine made build many churches in the principal Christian civitas of the empire (as Rome, Antioch, Nicomedia, Heliopolis and Jerusalem) and grant them fiscal exentions and jurisdictional powers to local bishops. Among them the christian basilicas of Nativity and Saint-Sepulcre in Jerusalem and in Rome (Saint Peter, Saint John Lateran, Saint Paul outside the wall, Santa Maria Maggiore and San Clemente), giving start to the pilgimages to the "holy city" and the urbs aeterna visited still today by millions of christians every years!

But the most important act of Constantine "the great" for Christianity was the reform of the empire that transformed the ancient role of Imperator Pontifex Maximus in the "secular arm of God", the Vicarius Dei Sol Invitus et defensor Ecclesia Christiana, head of the Episcopus Sinod that he put as guides of the communities of christian faithful: so Constantine drived the history of european integration towards the ancient tradition of the universal Monarchy (read this article), in particular when in 325 A.D. issued the Constitutum Costantini that received the Nicea council establishment of the Primus episcupus Romae as spiritualibus potestas in Pars Occidens under the whole Christianity imperial leadeship of the Patriarc of Constantinople, underponed to the Emperor. That was a political proto-Feudalism model (founded on the dogma of duplex corpus and the concept of duplex potestas), recovered later by the carolingian empire, and the byzantine model (a militar-burocratic order and headless Church), perpetuated by the byzantine empire until the fall of Constantinople.

Constantine I became decisive in the history of european integration for having founded the new aeternitas of Constantinople (an habit of the ancient emperors such as Alexander the great or Augustus): the city became the capital of the Christian Empire and centre of European culture for centuries, called the "new Rome" (or second Rome) because it was built specularly to the first capital of the Roman Empire. Then Constantine adopted the "Chi-Ro" icon (initials greeks letters of Christus Rex), nowadays shown by the Pope, and a cross hanging the greeks letters of Alpha and Omega (indicating God), the same attached centuries after at the Asturias cross used during the Reconquista. Before to leave, he refounded the Roman army reorganised in mobile units (comitatenses), often around the Emperor to serve on campaigns against external enemies or Roman rebels (that became the medieval Count Palatines of the Sacer Roman Empire), and frontier-garrison troops (limitanei) which were capable of countering barbarian raids, before to enroll them from other european peoples.

Constantine had married Fausta Maxima Flavia, daughter of the emperor Maximian, but his hereditary emperors were born from the second wife Minervina as weel as his daughters that married the emperor Julian and Constantius Gallus, the lonely survivors of the Costantini dinasty to the extintion followed his dead in 337 A.D.! Time afte his nepew married the emperor Gratian but several descendances are attribuited to Constantine among the european generalogies...

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