Constantine's ruthless rise to power as emperor of the new Roman Empire | Anthony Kaldellis
Anthony Kaldellis discusses Constantine's rise to power through civil wars in the fractured Roman Empire and his founding of Constantinople in 330 AD as a strategic new capital. Constantine is ranked as the top Byzantine emperor due to the world-historical consequences of his decisions, particularly establishing Constantinople and converting the empire to Christianity, despite his ruthlessness and family murders.
Summary
Constantine emerged as the sole Roman emperor in 324 AD through a series of civil wars following the non-hereditary system established by Diocletian. Although initially passed over by the system in favor of merit-based succession, Constantine's military competence and popularity with the armies allowed him to defeat numerous rivals, including fathers-in-law and brothers-in-law. As Constantine gradually moved eastward during these conflicts, he defeated his final rival Licinius in 324 and chose the strategic location of Byzantium on the Bosphorus as the site for his new capital, Constantinople (New Rome).
Constantinople's geographical significance was paramount to Constantine's vision. Located at the intersection of Europe and Asia on the Bosphorus, the city occupied a midpoint between the two major imperial frontiers—the Danube in the north and the Euphrates in the east. Unlike Rome, which was geographically distant from these military frontiers, Constantinople allowed emperors to respond effectively to threats across the empire. The city also functioned as a unifying point between the Black Sea and Mediterranean, and historically, the empire had repeatedly fractured at the Bosphorus with one emperor ruling Europe and another Asia. Constantinople ultimately served as a "clamp" that kept these regions unified by creating a new Senate composed of 2,500-3,000 elites from the Eastern Mediterranean who became invested in the city's success.
Despite his consequential achievements, Constantine was ruthless and murderous. He eliminated numerous family members and allies whose usefulness had expired, most notably executing his competent and popular son Crispus and his wife shortly after defeating Licinius. The sources offer no justification for these murders, and contemporary historians simply erased Crispus from their records after his execution. Kaldellis ranks Constantine first among Byzantine emperors not because of his personal character but because his decisions—founding Constantinople and converting the empire to Christianity—were world-historical in their significance. While other top emperors performed their roles competently and improved their subjects' lives, Constantine's impact transcended normal imperial achievement.
Key Insights
- Diocletian designed a non-hereditary succession system intended to be meritocratic, but Constantine—initially passed over as the son of a colleague—ultimately rose to power through civil wars because the armies favored him despite the system's design.
- Constantinople functioned as a 'clamp' that unified the Eastern Mediterranean by recruiting 2,500-3,000 wealthy elites from the Aegean region, Asia Minor, and Eastern Mediterranean into a new Senate, making them invested in the city's success and preventing the empire from fragmenting at the Bosphorus as it had historically done.
- Constantine murdered his own competent and popular son Crispus and his wife with no apparent justification shortly after defeating Licinius, and contemporary historians simply erased Crispus from their records, suggesting the murders were so unjustifiable that even Constantine didn't attempt to explain them.
- Constantine is ranked the top Byzantine emperor not for personal qualities but because his decisions—founding Constantinople and converting the empire to Christianity—were world-historical in consequence, placing him in a different league from emperors who merely performed their roles competently.
- Constantinople's location at the midpoint between the Danube and Euphrates frontiers allowed emperors to be militarily active on both frontiers, unlike Rome which was geographically far from military borders and became inconvenient for frontier-focused emperors.
Topics
Transcript
[0:02] All right, we're back and let's talk about Constantine and uh Constantinople. Let's go to the rise of the East Roman Empire. Who was Constantine? Tell me about uh his rise to power and the founding of Constantinople in uh 330 AD. >> Sure. So, Constantine was a son of one of Diocletian's colleagues. So, he comes from within the system. And uh the system is actually designed to be non-hereditary. In other words, the senior emperors would retire, the [0:33] junior ones would move up to the senior position, and then they would recruit two new ones. >> Mhm. >> And they tried to skip the dynastic element. So, it So, it would be kind of let's just…
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