All language subtitles for Rome Rise and Fall of an Empire - S01E10 - Constantine the Great_track3_[und]

[music playing]

\h\h\h\hNARRATOR: Faced with
barbarians at his doorstep,

usurpers on the frontiers, and
\hrebellious subjects in Rome

\h\h\hitself, the third
century emperor Aurelian

turns to the soldiers’
\h\h\hown god for help

and manages to restore and
\hunite the broken empire.

\h\h\hBut before his
work can take root,

\hhe is assassinated, leaving
the empire at risk once again.

Now, in the troubled days
of the late Roman Empire,

many rulers vie for power.

\h\h\h\hFrom this chaos, one man
emerges, eliminating his rivals

\h\h\hand uniting the empire
under the sign of a new god.

His name is Constantine.

And he will stop at nothing
\h\hto save a dying empire.

\hThird century Rome is wracked
by internal strife and barbarian

invasions.

\h\hBut by 295 AD, a
powerful new emperor

has emerged as the
\hempire’s savior.

His name is Diocletian.

\h\hWhat Diocletian has
chosen to do addresses

a number of the concerns and
\ha number of the challenges

the empire faced in
\hthe third century.

\hOne element that
Diocletian brings

in is a redefinition of the way
frontiers were to be defended.

\h\hNARRATOR: Emperor
Diocletian collection

\h\h\hcreates a mobile
imperial army, always

available to send reinforcements
to the vulnerable frontier.

One of his most capable
\h\h\himperial soldiers

\his Constantine,
only 17 years old.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hHe was a
distinguished soldier.

That is to say that he was
very courageous in battle

\hand that he performed all
sorts of feats of daring do.

NARRATOR: These early signs
of greatness in Constantine

have not escaped the notice
\h\h\hof Emperor Diocletian.

Diocletian keeps the young
\h\hsoldier close at hand,

claiming a desire to groom
Constantine for a position

of power within the empire.

Diocletian’s other
\hmajor reform is

to divide the empire between
\hfour co-emperors, one each

in Illyricum and Italy while
\hConstantine’s father rules

from Gaul.

\h\hDiocletian himself governs
from Nicomedia in Asia Minor.

But Diocletian knows how easily
his chosen co-emperors could

turn on him.

To prevent this, he keeps their
sons, including Constantine,

in his court where they are
\htrained as master soldiers

under his watchful eye.

\h\h\h\hRICHARD BURGESS:
Constantine was sent off

\hto the courts of Diocletian
to obtain the proper education

\hfor a member of the upper
class, a literary education,

philosophical education.

He learned Greek, which
he wouldn’t have known.

\h\hBut most important, he
had a military education.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNARRATOR: But
Constantine’s life in court

is anything but comfortable,
\h\h\hfor as a father figure

and an emperor, Diocletian
\hrules with an iron fist.

DAVID S. POTTER: He begins
\h\h\hto rule increasingly

by issuing a whole series of
extremely heavily moralizing

\h\hedicts telling
people what to do,

\h\h\h\htelling them how to be
better citizens and so forth.

NARRATOR: Diocletian insists
\h\hthat everyone at court,

including Constantine, make
\h\hregular sacrifices, for,

\h\h\habove all, Diocletian
believes unity in the empire

comes from appeasing
\hRome’s pagan gods.

But another religion is
gathering many converts,

putting Diocletian’s
\h\h\hplans at risk.

Its followers worship the son
\hof a new god, Jesus Christ.

\h\h\hThe church had not
only grown numerically,

\h\hbut it had also
grown quite wealthy.

It had come to control
\h\h\hlarge buildings.

It was, in many ways, a thriving
institution within the Roman

Empire.

NARRATOR: An institution
that Diocletian believes

is a threat to Rome.

\hMICHAEL KULIKOWSKI: He
was extremely concerned

\hthat the health of the state
and the health of Rome itself

was tied up with Roman religion.

And Christians were
\ha threat to that.

\h\h\hChristians who had been
tolerated for nearly 40 years

\h\h\h\hwere clearly a large
percentage of the population

in the big cities.

\hAnd it’s clear that there
were Christians in the army.

And there were Christians
\h\hin the imperial court.

\hNARRATOR: Diocletian begins in
his own imperial army, where he

requires that all soldiers make
sacrifices to the gods of Rome,

though many Christians refuse.

MICHAEL KULIKOWSKI: Diocletian
\hbelieved that anything that

interfered with the cultivation
of Rome’s protecting gods

\h\h\hwas a genuine
threat to the state

and could destroy the state,
\h\hcould destroy the state

from within.

\hThis is the way he looked
upon Christians in the army.

\h\h\hNARRATOR: Punishment for
rejecting the emperor’s edict

is death, a brutality
\h\hthat Constantine,

as a soldier in Diocletian’s
army, is forced to witness.

\h\hConstantine grows troubled
by the fear and discord borne

of Diocletian’s reforms.

\hIt is a discord that will
soon spread beyond the army.

\h\h\h\hIn 303 AD, Emperor
Diocletian issues an edict

against all Christians that
\hbecomes known as the Great

Persecution.

DAVID S. POTTER: As soon as the
persecution edict was issued,

it unleashed what is
virtually a culture

of administrative cruelty.

\h\hRoman officials, in
carrying out the edict,

\h\h\h\h\hwhen they met
resistance were expected

\h\h\h\hto bring the
defendants to court,

\h\hand to torture
them for evidence,

\h\h\h\hand try to force them to
officially and publicly give up

their Christianity.

\h\h\h\h\h\hNARRATOR: The Great
Persecution marks the beginning

\hof what the Christians
call the Era of Martyrs.

Any Christian who proclaims
\h\h\h\hhis faith in public

is subject to death.

FLORIN CURTA: In many ways,
\h\hDiocletian’s persecution

\h\h\h\h\hbrought previous
persecutions way farther.

It’s probably the closest Roman
emperors came to destroying

the entire system.

\hThat is probably why so
many martyrs commemorated

\h\hby the Christian church are
said to have suffered for Christ

during Diocletian’s reign.

NARRATOR: Despite
\hhis reservations

about the persecutions,
\h\h\h\h\h\hConstantine

must stay on good terms with the
man who will likely determine

his future.

But when Diocletian unexpectedly
falls ill and is forced

\h\hto retire, Constantine is
surprised to find himself shut

out of the succession plan.

\h\h\hEDWARD J. WATTS:
Diocletian, it seems,

understood that Constantine
\h\h\hrepresented something

of a threat.

\h\h\h\h\hConstantine had
campaigned with Diocletian

and had done a reasonably good
\hjob during these campaigns.

\hWe’re told that
later in his life,

Diocletian actually had
\himprisoned Constantine

\h\hin his court to
prevent Constantine

from going to his father’s court
and establishing a relationship

with his father’s army.

NARRATOR: But now, with nothing
left to keep him in the east,

Constantine resolves to
grab hold of his destiny

\hand finally escape
Diocletian’s grasp.

\h\hConstantine travels from
Nicomedia to Boulougne, Gaul

\h\h\hto meet his father who now
rules Spain, Gaul, and Britain.

Constantine’s father,
\hEmperor Constantius,

\h\h\his by now old,
unwell, and troubled

by the extended absence
\hof a son he longs for.

\hBut in 305 AD, Constantine is
finally united with his father,

a man more like him in nature
\h\hthan Diocletian ever was.

DAVID S. POTTER: Constantius, as
far as we can tell in the west,

\hwas a good deal more relaxed
in his approach to government.

And he certainly found that it
\hwas quite possible to ignore

\hsome of the things that
Diocletian told him to do.

NARRATOR: Constantine
\hfinds in his father

a more compassionate leader.

And Constantius finds his son
has grown into the kind of man

\hwho could one day take
his place on the throne.

When Emperor Diocletian
\h\h\hretires in 305 AD,

Constantine is finally released
from his controlling grip

\h\h\hand free to join his aging
father Constantius in the west.

\h\h\h\h\h\hOne of Rome’s four
co-emperors, Constantius rules

over Spain, Gaul,
\hand Britain, now

threatened by barbarian Picts.

In 305 AD, he and
Constantine travel

from Boulougne to Britain
to put down the rebellion.

\h\hThe Picts are a ferocious
tribe in present day Scotland

that has long plagued
\h\h\h\hRoman Britain.

\h\h\h\hIn battle, these
bloodthirsty barbarians

\h\hpresent a serious challenge
for Constantine and his father.

These barbarian neighbors
\hin the fourth century

\h\h\h\hare much better
organized than they had

been in previous generations.

The Roman armies faced far more
difficult campaigns in Europe

than they previously had.

NARRATOR: To make matters worse,
Emperor Constantius’ health is

in serious decline.

The ailing emperor,
\h\hhe clearly was

\hsick by the time he
had come with his son

to face the danger of the Pict.

He had gone on to this campaign
as yet another indication

of how serious the threat was.

NARRATOR: With Constantius’
\h\h\h\hhealth in question,

it is up to Constantine to
\hlead his father’s troops

\h\h\hand secure their
allegiance in battle.

\h\h\h\h\hDAVID S. POTTER: When
Constantine rejoined his father

\h\h\h\h\hin the west,
Constantius made sure

that he began to assume a place
in the higher command echelon,

\hthat he joined the army on
campaign, that the soldiers

came to know him, and that
\h\hhe would actually have

a natural place within
\h\hthe administration

of the Western Empire.

\h\h\hThis had always been
Constantius’ hope for him.

NARRATOR: With his
military prowess,

Constantine wins the
loyalty of the army.

\hBut the victory cannot
save his father’s life.

In the end, Constantine
\h\hwill lose the father

he has only just come to know.

[music playing]

\h\h\hEDWARD J. WATTS:
When his father died,

\h\h\hthe army thought
enough of Constantine

that they immediately
\hclaimed him empire.

In a way, this is a
natural occurrence.

It was an army that knew
\hConstantine’s father,

respected Constantine’s father,
and now knew the son as well.

They understood, in
\ha sense, what they

were getting with Constantine.

\h\hNARRATOR: In an empire
where the death of a ruler

too frequently leads to violent
coups and ambitious plays

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hfor power,
Constantine’s succession

is smooth and bloodless.

But when barbarian Franks
\h\hattack Gaul in 306 AD,

\h\h\hConstantine faces his
first challenge as emperor.

He heads south from Britain
\h\hto meet them in battle.

\hEDWARD J. WATTS:
The Franks clearly

\h\h\hunderstood the
death of Constantius

was an opportunity,
\hand an opportunity

\hthat they could
take advantage of.

Constantine though demonstrated
a great capacity as a commander

and beat back this
initial incursion.

NARRATOR: As a new emperor,
\hConstantine wastes no time

proving his worth.

DAVID S. POTTER: The
emperor was expected

\hto be in personal
command of the army

and was very often
\h\hexpected to be

in command in the front rank.

\hConstantine seemed himself
to have been a very capable

frontline soldier.

He is often seen to be leading
cavalry charges in his battle.

He’s a very able tactician.

\h\hNARRATOR: He is
also wise and knows

\h\h\hthat to establish his
power, he must win the trust

of the populace as well.

\hThe captured Frankish leaders
provide the perfect opportunity

to do just that.

\hConstantine parades
the barbarian captives

in the streets of Trier,
\hin modern day Germany,

\h\hto show his people
he will protect them.

\h\h\h\h\h\hNOEL LENSKI:
Constantine’s well aware

\hthat the primary objective
of any empire at this point,

if he wants to gain
\h\hand hold power,

is to fight with barbarians.

\hSo Constantine does
this in grand fashion.

\h\h\h\hConstantine undertakes
campaigns against the Franks.

\hAnd we have evidence that he
captured a couple of Frankish

\h\h\hkings, whom he
then put on display

in the arena for the delight
\h\h\hof the Gaulic masses.

NARRATOR: Ultimately,
\h\h\h\hthe barbarians

will be thrown to the beasts,
\h\h\hsending a clear message

that Constantine will
\h\hnot tolerate those

who threaten the Roman Empire.

But in 306 AD, the empire is
threatened from within when

\h\h\ha usurper named Maxentius
seizes power in Rome, declaring

himself emperor and taking
\hcontrol of most of Italy

and North Africa.

The usurper Maxentius
\h\h\h\h\hwins support

by promising to cut taxes
\h\hand provide free grain

to the people of Rome.

Like Constantine, he is the
son of a former co-emperor.

RICHARD BURGESS: Constantine
\h\h\hwas proclaimed emperor

by the troops in July 306.

And Maxentius is sitting
\h\hin Rome is thinking,

well, he’s emperor.

I want to be emperor too.

\hAnd so what happens
is at the end of 306,

he is proclaimed emperor.

\h\h\h\h\h\hNARRATOR: But unlike
Constantine’s, Maxentius’ claim

to the throne is not legitimate.

\h\h\h\hMaxentius defeats,
imprisons, and eventually

murders the rightful
co-emperor of Italy.

And soon, the people of Rome
will learn his promises are

nothing but lies.

In 311 AD, the Romans revolt
when the free grain and tax

cuts are only offered
\h\h\hto the wealthy.

Ordinary citizens must steal
\hwhat they can to survive.

RICHARD BURGESS: Maxentius
\his not a popular leader.

He was a particularly
\h\h\hruthless leader.

He put down revolts
\h\h\hvery bloodily.

There were rumors going around
that he was seducing senators’

daughters.

\hThere were problems
with the grain supply.

\h\hHe was taxing people, which
they’d never been taxed before.

NARRATOR: The desperate uprising
of Rome’s oppressed masses

\h\h\h\hoffers an unexpected
opportunity for Constantine.

\h\hHoping to save
the people of Rome

and expand his own
reach into Italy,

Constantine travels
\hfrom Gaul to Milan

\h\h\h\hto strike a deal with
another co-emperor, Licinius.

\hIt is a deal to
consolidate power.

To seal their alliance,
\hLicinius is betrothed

to Constantine’s sister.

\h\h\hNOEL LENSKI: Constantine
played every game in the book.

He was an extremely
\hambitious person.

\h\h\h\hAnd there was no
avenue to power that he

was going to leave open.

\h\hThat meant that,
in his early years,

he was willing to do all
\hsorts of manipulations

\hto try to continue
to climb the ladder.

\h\hNARRATOR: Together,
Licinius and Constantine

\htrick their co-emperors
in the east into believing

\h\htheir intentions are
only to oust Maxentius.

\hConstantine looks to take
advantage of the situation

and starts calling Maxentius
\h\han illegitimate emperor

and usurper.

\h\h\h\h\hConstantine and his
supporters justify an invasion

\h\h\h\hagainst Maxentius as a
necessary removal of a tyrant

from the city of Rome.

NARRATOR: But once
\hRome is secure,

Constantine and Licinius will
\hset their sights on seizing

control of the entire empire.

\h\hIn 306 AD, when the usurper
Maxentius seizes power in Rome,

Constantine strikes an alliance
with his equally ambitious

co-emperor Licinius
to destroy Maxentius

\h\h\hand divide the
empire between them.

\hWhile Licinius is occupied
with defending the empire’s

northern border from
barbarian invaders,

\hConstantine marches
on Rome, laying siege

\hto the imperial city
where Maxentius hides.

Within the walls of Rome,
\hthe devout pagan senses

will base his strategy on
\hthe sheep entrails read

by his priest.

NOEL LENSKI: When it came
\htime to fight a battle,

\h\h\hMaxentius was
interested in having

some sort of divine protection.

And he followed the procedures
\hthat any good Roman emperor

would have followed in order
\h\hto seek that protection.

\hNARRATOR: But desperate
to determine if he should

\hwait Constantine out
or face him in battle,

\hMaxentius also seeks guidance
from the words of the Sibylline

prophecies.

NOEL LENSKI: One of the sources
that Maxentius turned to

were the Sibylline oracles.

These were books of prophecies
\h\h\hthat were kept by Roman

priestly colleges.

\hAnd these priests would then
investigate certain questions

and pull out an oracle.

\hThis is an oracle in which he
is told that an enemy of Rome

will die today.

For this reason, it seems
Maxentius changes his plan

and makes a decision that he
won’t wait Constantine out.

He’ll go out and meet
Constantine in battle.

NARRATOR: Assuming
\hthat Constantine

\h\h\his the enemy of Rome
referred to by the oracle,

Maxentius prepares
his army for war.

Meanwhile, just outside
\h\hof Rome, Constantine

prepares to meet Maxentius
\h\h\hon the battlefield.

Knowing his troops will
be severely outnumbered,

Constantine grows uneasy.

\hEDWARD J. WATTS:
Constantine began

to get very concerned about
the strength of his forces.

\h\hAnd we’re told he prayed
that some god would help him

\h\h\hand received a
vision in response.

And this is interpreted
\h\h\h\h\hby Constantine

as a Christian vision.

\h\h\hNARRATOR: The fourth
century historian Eusebius

of Caesarea records
\h\hwhat is supposed

to have happened as recounted
to him by Constantine himself.

ACTOR AS EUSEBIUS (VOICEOVER):
Around noon time, when the day

\h\h\h\h\hwas already
beginning to decline,

\hhe saw before him in the sky
the sign of a cross of light.

He said it was above the sun
and it bore the inscription

"conquer vitus."

NOEL LENSKI: What he
claims to have seen

was a symbol that looked like
a cross with a sort of P form

at the top of it.

That is the letters Chi Rho that
would have formed the first two

letters of Christ’s
\h\h\hname in Greek.

And there are some sources
\hthat claim that he also

\hheard a voice at the same time
that said that he would conquer

by this sign.

\hNARRATOR: Constantine orders
his soldiers to place the Chi

Rho on their shields
\h\h\hand standards,

transforming the Christian
\h\hsymbol from an object

of persecution to one of honor.

NOEL LENSKI: Constantine
\h\h\hassumed a new god,

or a god that had formerly been
rejected as his divine force,

as his victory power.

By taking on the Christian god,
the god that had been subjected

to persecution by
\hformer emperors,

Constantine was therefore doing
something quite revolutionary.

\h\h\hNARRATOR: With his
conversion, Constantine

turns his impending battle
\hwith the pagan Maxentius

into a test of religions.

Constantine meets Maxentius
\h\h\hat the Milvian Bridge

which, passing over
\h\hthe Tiber River,

is the only obstacle
between Constantine

and an open road to Rome.

\h\h\h\h\h\hThough grossly
outnumbered by Maxentius,

\h\hConstantine and his army now
marked by the Christian Chi Rho

ride into battle with courage.

\h\hEDWARD J. WATTS: The
battle of Milvian Bridge

is significant battle.

The forces are arrayed
\hagainst each other.

\h\h\hAnd despite a
numerical advantage,

\h\hMaxentius’ forces are
pushed back by Constantine

towards the river.

\h\hNARRATOR: It is at
the banks of the Tiber

that Maxentous’ fate is sealed.

\hConstantine forced Maxentius
to give battle with the Tiber

at his back.

It’s a terrible position to
be in as Constantine’s force

pressed on his own.

Maxentius’ army fell apart.

\h\h\hWith no other
options, the usurper

Maxentius flees with his
army, attempting to swim

across the Tiber River to Rome.

But Maxentius, with his heavy
\h\h\harmor weighing him down,

does not survive the swim.

Days later, his bloated
\h\h\hand deformed body

is pulled from the
Tiber, final proof

that the usurper’s
regime has fallen.

\hEDWARD J. WATTS: Constantine
has won a significant victory

\h\hat Milvian Bridge that
eliminates the opposition

of Maxentius and, even
\hmore significantly,

gives Constantine control of
\ha full half of the empire,

including the wealthy
\h\hprovince of Italy.

NARRATOR: Maxentius’ fate
\h\his a powerful reminder

\h\hof Constantine’s strength
and of what befalls those who

dare to oppose him.

RAY VAN DAM: Constantine
\h\hwent out of his way

\hto dredge his body out just
so they could parade his head

\hthrough Rome and then
send it to North Africa

\hto demonstrate that this
previous emperor was dead

\h\hand Constantine
had now taken over.

NARRATOR: His victory
\h\h\h\hover Maxentius

\h\halso proves to Constantine
that the Christian god is more

powerful than the pagan
\h\h\hgods of his enemy.

With the defeat of Maxentius,
\h\hall of the Western Empire

belongs to Constantine.

\hAs agreed, he leaves the
east for Licinius to take.

They meet in Milan where
Constantine and Licinius

confirm their mutual support
through marriage as planned.

\hConstantine decides to bind
himself to Licinius or bind

Licinius to his cause.

He takes one of his half
\h\hsisters, Constantia,

\h\h\hand marries her to
Licinius, who recognizes

\hthat this is the natural
way of making an alliance.

\h\h\h\hNow to begin with, the
marriage itself actually marks

the point at which the two,
\h\hConstantine on one hand

and Licinius on the other,
\hagreed on the policies.

NARRATOR: One of these
\h\hpolicies reflects

\h\h\hConstantine’s recent
adoption of Christianity.

MICHAEL KULIKOWSKI:
\h\hThe two emperors

consulted on how they would
carve up power between them.

And one element in
this decision was

to extend toleration
\h\hfor Christianity

throughout the whole empire.

Licinius was not a Christian
himself, although he agreed

with Constantine to
stop the persecution

throughout the empire.

NARRATOR: For now, such
agreements come easily.

\hBut an alliance borne
of ambition is fragile.

And Constantine must recognize
\hthat his sole co-emperor is

also his greatest rival.

After forming an alliance
\h\hwith Emperor Licinius,

\h\hConstantine defeats the
usurper Maxentius in Italy.

Now convinced that the Christian
god granted this victory,

Constantine is determined
to show his appreciation.

For the first time in
\h10 years, Christians

throughout the empire are
\hable to worship freely.

\h\hAnd for the first
time ever, their faith

is shared by the emperor.

MICHAEL KULIKOWSKI: Constantine
had converted to Christianity.

\h\h\h\h\hHe had embraced quite
seriously the task of defending

the Christian church.

NARRATOR: His family, including
his son and heir Crispus,

converts as well.

Constantine not only
extended toleration

to the Christian church.

But in the territory
\h\h\hhe controlled,

he favored Christians
\h\h\hvery thoroughly.

NARRATOR: In 313 AD, Constantine
and Licinius jointly issued

the Edict of Milan, recorded
by the fourth century author

Lactantius.

ACTOR AS LACTANTIUS (VOICEOVER):
We grant both to Christians

\h\hand to everyone freedom to
follow whatever religion they

want to so whatever divinity
\hthere is in heaven may be

appeased and made
\hfavorable to us

\hand to all who are
set under our power.

NARRATOR: But in the
years that followed,

\hConstantine’s relationship
with Licinius deteriorates.

As Licinius battles his way
\hto dominance in the east,

his hunger for power grows.

RICHARD BURGESS: So
\hLicinius goes off

and does his own thing,
as it were, in the east.

\hBut Constantine
doesn’t trust him.

\h\hAnd there are growing
tensions between the two.

\hNARRATOR: After nine
years of shared rule,

both emperors covet control
\h\hover the entire empire.

\hIt is a rivalry
that will quickly

drive Rome towards civil war.

\hIn the east, Christians soon
bear the brunt of the growing

conflict.

\h\h\h\h\hAs supporters of the
Christian Emperor Constantine,

they are now Licinius’
\h\h\hgreatest threat.

They pay a heavy price.

MICHAEL KULIKOWSKI: Ultimately,
one of the responses

was a renewal of persecution.

\h\hAnd the reason for that,
of course, was very simple.

Constantine was known to be
\ha defender of Christians.

\h\h\hAnd Christian
subjects of Licinius

\h\h\h\hcould look like a fifth
column, could look like enemies

in Licinius’ own territories.

So he chooses to persecute them.

NARRATOR: As the churches and
\hholy books go up in flames,

so does the old alliance between
Licinius and Constantine.

\h\h\h\h\hFor Constantine, now a
seasoned ruler of middle years,

\h\h\h\h\h\hthe persecution of
Christians is just the excuse

he needs to attack Licinius.

\hHe quickly orders his troops
to march on his eastern rival.

DAVID S. POTTER: Constantitne
\hwas an especially effective

cavalry leader.

\hWe often find himself
at the head of cavalry,

\hmoving around the
flanks of his enemy.

He certainly does
this to Licinius.

\h\hNARRATOR: At Constantine’s
side is his able son and heir

Crispus, who proves his
worth in battle as well.

Together, they drive
\hLicinius eastward.

\h\h\h\hFrom Adrianople,
Constantine and Crispus

pursue Licinius to Byzantium
\h\h\hand on to Chrysopolis

where he makes his final stand.

There, in 324 AD, with the
\hentire empire at stake,

\h\hConstantine and Crispus
face Licinius side by side.

Crispus inherited his father’s
\hability on the battlefield.

Crispus was another
\h\hmilitary genius.

Without Crispus’ help, the
\hsuccess against Licinius

may never have happened.

NARRATOR: Constantine
and Crispus annihilate

\hLicinius’ army, fighting
once more under the banner

of the Christian god.

\hDAVID S. POTTER: The
battle of Chrysopolis

was really over before it began.

\h\hConstantine was able
to bring his own troops

\h\hinto the territory of
Licinius without any kind

of effective resistance.

His own army had been victorious
now easily in several battles.

\h\hLicinius’ own confidence
seems to have been minimal.

\hNARRATOR: And in
the final battle,

\h\h\h\h\htheir victory wins
Constantine’s sole rulership

of the entire empire.

Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea.

ACTOR AS EUSEBIUS (VOICEOVER):
\h\h\h\h\hThe eastern regions

\hwere united with
those of the west.

\hAnd the whole body
of the Roman Empire

was graced by a single
\h\hand supreme ruler.

NARRATOR: Imprisoned
\h\h\hin Nicomedia,

\hLicinius will face
a brutal punishment.

The only witness is
\hhis beloved wife,

the sister of Constantine.

RAY VAN DAM: His relationship
\h\h\h\h\h\hwith like Licinius

is interesting.

\h\h\hLicinius is technically,
remember, his brother-in-law.

Licinius’ wife pleads for
\h\hmercy for her husband.

\hFor a while, Constantine seems
to grant that sort of clemency.

They share a meal.

Licinius is sent into exile.

Then he’s executed.

NARRATOR: Despite
his wife’s pleas,

Licinius’ execution is swift
\h\hand bloody, making clear

that Constantine shows no mercy,
even to members of his family.

With the elimination
\h\h\h\hof Licinius,

\h\hConstantine now rules
the entire unified empire

and intends to make his loyal
\hson Crispus a junior emperor

in the West.

As co-emperor, Crispus
shares in his father’s

plans for a new Christian
\h\h\hcapital in the east

to be located at Byzantium.

MICHAEL KULIKOWSKI: After
\h\hConstantine conquered

\hthe entire empire, he
wanted to create a brand

\h\hnew city in his own name
and he did, Constantinople.

He chose a strategic
\h\hlocation halfway

\h\hbetween the most
important frontiers.

And he deliberately chose
to create a new city that

\hwould have no association
with his pagan predecessors.

It was a city that had
\hno rival traditions.

It was a Christian city.

NARRATOR: But even as
\hhis greatest dreams

come to fruition, trouble
brews among those closest

to Constantine’s heart, his
wife Fausta and son Crispus.

\h\hRICHARD BURGESS:
Crispus was the son

of Constantine’s first wife.

\h\hHis last three sons were
the sons of his second wife,

Fausta.

And their can’t help but have
\h\hbeen some kind of tension

\hbetween the two
groups, especially

on Fausta’s side, because she
\hwould clearly want her sons

to get what’s coming to them.

\h\h\h\hBut of course,
Crispus is in the way.

\h\h\h\hNARRATOR: Jealous that
Crispus has been granted power

in the West, Fausta
\h\h\his determined

to secure even greater
\hpower for her sons,

no matter what the cost.

\h\h\h\hWith his son
Crispus, Constantine

defeats his last rival,
\hLicinius, and finally

unites the empire under
his new Christian faith.

But Constantine’s unity is soon
threatened as riots break out

\hover religious differences
within the Christian church.

EDWARD J. WATTS: The situation
\h\hhe finds among Christians

\hin the eastern empire
is one of great turmoil.

\h\hThere’s a controversy raging
about the nature of Christ that

\h\h\his also tied up with the
question of who ought to have

authority in the eastern church.

NARRATOR: Rival bishops
\h\h\hincite mob attacks

against other Christians
\hwith opposing beliefs.

\h\hIt is a violence not seen
since the days of persecution

over 20 years earlier.

\h\h\h\hDesperate for a
resolution, Constantine

\hdemands the church
officials put an end

to the bloody controversy.

MICHAEL KULIKOWSKI:
So he calls together

a council of over 300
\hbishops and has them

meet at a city called Nicaea.

He charges them with arriving
at a single definition of what

Christians believe.

NARRATOR: The result is the
\hNicene Creed, a statement

\h\h\h\hof faith that has
survived over 1,600 years

and is still recited today
\h\hin Christian churches

around the world.

MAN (VOICEOVER): We believe in
one god, the father almighty,

\hmaker of all things
visible and invisible,

\hand in one lord Jesus
Christ, the son of god,

the only begotten of the father.

MICHAEL KULIKOWSKI: But it’s a
definition of Christian belief

that not everyone
\hcan agree with.

\h\h\hAnd this stores up a great
deal of trouble for the future,

because it means that
\h\hrival Christians,

\h\h\h\hrival Christian
beliefs, are constantly

\h\hjockeying for imperial
favor throughout the rest

of the century.

And it means that emperors
\hare regularly distracted

from other business
\h\h\hof government

by trying to manage
\h\h\hthe rivalries

among different Christians and
\hdifferent Christian bishops.

NARRATOR: Perhaps it
is this distraction

that blinds Constantine
to a rivalry much closer

to his heart.

In 326 AD, Constantine’s
\h\h\h\h\h\hwife Fausta

attacks the integrity
\hof his son, Crispus.

MICHAEL KULIKOWSKI: Crispus
was Constantine’s eldest son

from an early marriage.

And he did not have
\h\hthe same mother

as his half brothers had.

And it’s quite clear that
\hhe was in strong rivalry

\h\h\h\hwith his three
younger half brothers.

NARRATOR: As part of
\han elaborate plot,

\hFausta delivers shocking news,
claiming that Crispus has tried

to seduce her.

[inaudible]

\hEDWARD J. WATTS: Things don’t
go very well for Crispus at all.

Fausta was eager to get
\hCrispus out of the way

\h\h\hso her legitimate sons
could succeed without threat

from Crispus.

\hNARRATOR: Constantine, unable
to see that it is his wife, not

\h\hhis son, who has
betrayed him, orders

Crispus to be prepared
\h\h\h\hfor execution.

Imprisoned in distant Pola,
modern day Croatia, Crispus

insists on his innocence.

\hThough his cries
fall on deaf ears,

he has an advocate in
\hConstantine’s court.

Constantine received advice
from his own mother Helena

that perhaps it was Fausta
herself who had engineered

\hthis little plot, had
pretended to be violated

\h\hor to have been set
upon by Crispus in order

that she, Fausta, could promote
the interests of her own sons.

Constantine had certainly
\h\h\h\hacted too hastily

and was aware of that.

\hNARRATOR: Fausta pays for
her treachery with her life.

But Constantine’s realization
\hcomes too late for Crispus.

\h\h\h\hThe prison guards have
already received their orders

to execute the royal son.

NOEL LENSKI: What exactly
\hhappened, we don’t know.

\hBut it was a terrible
blow to the Roman Empire

that Crispus was sacrificed
\h\hon the altar of history.

\h\h\h\h\hNARRATOR: And
Constantine is left only

with a devastated conscience.

\h\h\h\hAs a sort of
penance, Constantine

\hspends the last years of
his life building churches

\hin Jerusalem, Bethlehem,
Constantinople, and Rome.

\h\h\hAmong the most
magnificent of these

churches is one built
\hon the site thought

to be Saint Peter’s tomb in
Rome, a place of pilgrimage

for Christians to this day.

\h\hFLORIN CURTA: It
is for his churches

that Constantine
is better known.

That in itself is
an indication both

of his pro-Christian policies
\h\h\h\hand of the attachment

to the Christian faith.

\h\hNARRATOR: Refusing
to abandon this faith

\hdespite its ongoing
disputes, Constantine

\hdirects the construction of
the glorious basilica of Saint

Peter himself.

\hFLORIN CURTA: It’s an
extraordinary explosion

\hof architecture in a way
that did not exist before

in the Roman Empire.

\h\h\hAnd the variety of
plans could be explained

both by the variety
\h\h\hof architects

that Constantine
involved in this

\hand most likely
by his own ideas.

He was involved in almost
\h\h\hevery project there.

And he was a man that actually
had his own ideas about what’s

going on.

NARRATOR: Constantine
\h\h\h\hcan only hope

that this devotion at
\hthe end of his life

will erase a multitude of
sins for Constantine knows

\h\h\h\h\hthat his day of
reckoning is not far off.

\hOld and unwell, he finally
requests baptism in 337 AD.

EDWARD J. WATTS: It would
make sense for Constantine

to delay his baptism,
\h\h\hbecause emperors

had a dangerous and dirty job.

And sometimes they had to do
difficult and sinful things

as a consequence of their job.

To delay baptism until the end
of one’s life made some sense.

\h\hThose dangerous, and
dirty, and sinful things

that one had to do could be
washed away before you die.

\h\h\hNARRATOR: Haunted by these
sins, Constantine wants nothing

\hmore than to die with a
clean conscience, purified

by the waters of baptism.

\hBy the end of his
life, Constantine

is something of a sort
\hof living visionary

\hwho, at the point
when he’s baptized,

wanted to take off
his imperial robes

and live ever thereafter
\h\has a sort of priest.

NARRATOR: At the
end of his life,

Constantine finally finds peace
in the faith he wrote about

throughout his life.

ACTOR AS CONSTANTINE
\h\h\h\h(VOICEOVER):

\h\hI know that I am in
the true sense blessed,

that now I have been shown
\hworthy of immortal life,

\h\h\hthat now I have
received divine light.

NARRATOR: Constantine
dies in May of 337 AD

\hafter more than
30 years of rule.

NOEL LENSKI: Constantine
\h\h\h\hwas tremendously

successful as an emperor,
\htremendously successful

as a military leader.

\h\h\h\hThis was a man who
clawed his way into power

using raw ambition.

\hAnd at every turn, he
used that same ambition

in order to win the day.

\hNARRATOR: Throughout
his life, Constantine

fights to keep the fragile
\h\hempire whole, unified

under his new religion.

\hBut nothing, not even
faith, can save it now.