Wars, politics & history

Death of Constantine the Great

22 May 337 CE

Constantine the Great died on 22 May 337 CE in Nicomedia, aged 65. A Roman emperor born in what is now Serbia, Constantine was proclaimed emperor by his troops in York in 306. After his victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312, he became ruler of the western empire and, in 324, defeated Licinius to rule the whole. He and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which gave Christians legal toleration, and he later presided over the Council of Nicaea in 325, which addressed disputes in the church. In 330 he dedicated a new capital at Byzantium, renamed Constantinople. He was baptized shortly before his death, and his policies helped set the course of Christianity and the Byzantine Empire.

Open on the timeline

Before and after

More in Wars, politics & history

The era

This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 4th century.