Term Papers on Constantine Was Not A Religious Man. In Fact Much Of What He Cared About Was His

Term Paper Title	Constantine Was Not A Religious Man. In Fact Much Of What He Cared About Was His
# of Words	898
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	3.59

     Constantine was not a religious man.  In fact much of what he cared about was his power over the Roman Empire and the Roman Empire’s power over the rest of the world.  He would stand by any god or force that would gain him victory in the battlefield. (Burckhardt 280)  He did not look at anything religious with an inner reflection to his own feelings or ideas but with a goal or a need that the religious thing could provide him with.  He would back any people of any religion that would be loyal and would cooperate with him. Reasons such as these and many more have led me to believe that Constantine converted and encouraged Christianity in the Roman Empire as a means of propagating power, rather than because of a strong religious belief on his part. (Burckhardt 281)
     According to Eusebius, Constantine’s personal biographer and close friend, Constantine was born between AD 273 and 275 in the city of Naissus. (Smith 1) He was enrolled in the military at an early age and thus did not have a formal education.  As a teenager he was enrolled in the military group known as the Protectors. (Smith 21)  Protectors were used to guard high-ranking officials and even the emperor himself.  He was not religious as a young man and was concerned with politics and military strategies.  His father was Flavius Valerius Constantius, an army officer and his mother who he loved dearly throughout his life was Helena.  His father was promoted to the rank of Caesar or deputy emperor in AD 293 and thus Constantine was destined to be emperor some day. (Smith 2) After his fathers promotion Constantine served in Augustus Maximian’s court in the west. He later became Emperor of the west in AD 306.  (Smith 20-24)
     Constantine knew that Christian people were numerous in places all over the empire and that the persecutions were only making the empire weaker.  He knew that persecuting them was somewhat ridiculous, as they were good people, smart and very down to earth.  The church was also far more organized and powerful than any one pagan institution and Constantine could benefit from a friendship or even an alliance with it. (Burckhardt 281-282) That is why Constantine began to support Christianity in the beginning of his career as emperor. (Burckhardt 282-283)
     In June of 313 Constantine met with Licinius, emperor of the eastern part of the empire. (Britannica 1) The meetings were conducted in the city of Milan, the subject was religion in the empire.  The outcome of these meetings was outlined in the Edict of Milan in which the two emperors granted all people the right to worship any deity they pleased. (Brit...

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