Then he undertook the most systematic persecution of all *
- Diocletian's goal was to wipe out the who church. He hunted down Christians and their Scriptures. He especially loved to get hold of church leaders. He was trying to turn them back to paganism, to the old Roman religion with the emperor as a God. Therefore, anyone he caught and tried could be released by offering a sacrifice to the gods or to the emperor. Diocletian also decided to burn down all of their church buildings
- When the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, who controlled from 306 to 337 lead Rome, Christianity became the main religion of the Empire. Historians are still unsure about his reasons for favoring Christianity, and theologians and historians debated about which form of Christianity he promised to. Although Constantine had been open to Christianity by his mom Helena, there is no agreement between scholars as to whether he accepted his mother's Christianity in his childhood, or as he got older through his life and he didn’t get baptized until right before he died.
How did he
restructure the empire?*
- Expanded autocratic policies of Diocletian
- Divided into Garrison troops: front lines, and Mobile units: behind as back-up
- Gave empire greater flexibility in responding to invasion
- Managed to introduce new gold coin: solidus, and new silver coins that remained in circulation during his reign
- Building programs
- 324-330 constructed new capital city on Byzantium, shore of Bosporus
- named Constantinople (Istanbul) "New Rome"
- protected strategic location, with a forum, palaces, amphitheater, churches
- public baths, Arch of Constantine, first to build churches, first basilica to Saint Peter
- gave grants to Christian leaders, symbolizing Christianity's growing role
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