Constantine: Roman Emperor, Christianity and Legacy Constantin, more commonly known in English as Constantine, was a Roman emperor whose rule altered the empire’s political structure, religious life, and geographical centre of power. Known as Constantine the Great, he ruled from 306 to 337 and rose during a period of competing emperors, defeated major rivals, backed Christianity, and created Constantinople as a new imperial capital. The importance of Constantine rests on the combined effect of these actions. He did not simply win a series of civil wars: Constantine helped define a new model of imperial authority, one more closely connected to the Christian Church and increasingly centered on the eastern Mediterranean.…