Constantine The Great

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or 273 C.E. When his father had become Caesar in 293 A.D., Constantius had sent his son to the Emperor Galerius as hostage for his own good behavior; Constantine, however, returned to his father in Britain on July 25th, 306. Soon after his father's death, Constantine was raised to the purple by the army.
The period between 306 and 324, during Constantine’s rule, was a period of constant civil war. Two sets of campaigns not only guaranteed Constantine a spot in Roman history, but also made him sole ruler of the Roman Empire. On October 28th, 312 he defeated Maxentius at The Battle of the Milvian Bridge. In 314, 316, and 324, he repeatedly defeated his last remaining rival Licinius. Once he had overcome him, he was the undisputed ruler of the Roman world. Incidentally, Maxentius and Licinius were both brothers-in-law of Constantine.

Of the two campaigns, however, it was the first against Maxentius which guaranteed Constantine an important place in the history of western civilization ...

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