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Article: Constantine the Great.(Report from Europe)
- Article from:
- The Magazine Antiques
- Article date:
- June 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Brant Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Constantine the Great (c. 275-337) was born in Naissus (now Nis, Serbia). On the death of his father, the Emperor Constantius I, in 306, he became emperor of the western part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 313 he converted to Christianity and announced the Edict of Milan, which allowed religious tolerance by guaranteeing Christians and believers of other faiths the freedom to practice their religions.
Constantine defeated Licinius, the emperor of the eastern part of the Holy Roman Empire, in 324 and thus became its sole ruler. The following year he convened the First Council of Nicaea, which debated the divinity of Jesus and other matters of Christian doctrine. Some ...