User:Turbansam

Museum Card

Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus February 27, 272 ad Influenced East and West Europe and North Africa.

Constantine was a Roman Emperor from 306 to 324. He is called Constantine the Great because of his contributions to Christianity. When he wasn’t a ruler yet he saw the emperor of Rome, Diocletian, order the persecution of all Christians in what was called “The Great Persecution”. When Constantine’s father died in 305, Constantine became a co-emperor of the European Empire, taking control of Britain, Gaul, and Spain. As Emperor he ended the persecution of Christians, eventually becoming one himself, and took over many other countries. He actually supported Christianity and had the Chi-Ro symbol of Christ put on all his armies battle shields, attributing his victories to God. 1st Icon: The Colossus of Constantine, Middle of Poster: I chose this icon because it represents Constantine’s victory over Maxentius, which was the beginning of Constantine’s conversion of Christianity. It impacts the rest of the world by showing how powerful Constantine was and establishing his rule over the Northern area of the Forum. Also it helped the citizens remember how Constantine amazingly defeated Maxentius’s army even though he was greatly outnumbered. After the Historical battle, Constantine had the stone head of Maxentius cut off the colossus and replaced with his own. 2nd Icon: Jesus in a thought bubble, Upper Right: I chose this symbol because it represents Constantine’s dream where he encountered Christ, who told him that Constantine would have the Christian God’s protection in the upcoming fight against Maxentius. This impacted Christians a lot, because it led Constantine to become Christian and therefore stop the persecution of Christians in Europe. Also it supposedly led to Constantine winning his following battles and defeating his co-emperor Maxentius. Also without Constantine, Christianity might not have survived to this day, as he started the approval of it and greatly promoted it to the point where a majority of Roman’s were Roman Catholics when a few decades previous, Christians were persecuted. 3rd Icon: The Chi-Rho Shield, Middle Right: I chose this because it was a symbol Constantine revered greatly and had put on all of his soldiers shields ensure protection by God and Jesus. This may have impacted this region by aiding Constantine in his battles after this point of time, causing him to take control of Rome and all other places Maxentius ruled. 4th Icon: Roman Coliseum, Bottom Left: I chose this icon because it represents Rome and Rome was greatly affected by Constantine. He helped turn Rome into a haven for learning, prosperity and culture. He was a hero of Rome and was cherished in many ways after that, including all new Roman emperors were called the “New Constantine.” Also he made Rome a Christian city. In addition to the coliseum representing Rome, it is said that Constantine fought a lion in one and came out victorious.