Obverse: [VRBS] ROMA; Helmeted Bust of
Roma Facing Left
Reverse: She-Wolf Standing Left, Suckling
Romulus and Remus, Two Stars Above; SMANΘ
(in exergue)
Constantine I, called Constantine the Great,
was the first Roman ruler to be converted to
Christianity. He was the founder of
Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), which
remained the capital of the Eastern Roman
(Byzantine) Empire until 1453. Constantine
the Great unified a tottering empire,
reorganized the Roman state, and set the
stage for the final victory of Christianity at the
end of the 4th century. Many modern scholars
accept the sincerity of his religious conviction.
His conversion was a gradual process; at first
he probably associated Christ with the
victorious sun god. By the time of the Council
of Nicaea (325), however, he was completely
Christian, but still tolerated paganism among
his subjects. Although criticized by his enemies
as a proponent of a crude and false religion,
Constantine the Great strengthened the
Roman Empire and ensured its survival in the
East. As the first emperor to rule in the name
of Jesus Christ, he was a major figure in the
foundation of medieval Christian Europe.
