On This Day in Ancient History: On this date in A.D. 306, Constantius Chlorus (Constantius I) died at York -- where he'd gone to fight the Picts, but died of natural causes.
Public Domain picture courtesy of Wikipedia.
with his son beside him. His son was Flavius Valerius Constantinus, who was to be known as Constantine the Great. Constantine did not automatically become emperor upon the death of his father, although his troops hailed him as such. He had to fight another contender at the Milvian Bridge, which is the site of Constantine's famous vision that led to his conversion to Christianity.
Public Domain picture courtesy of Wikipedia.
Constantine presided over the First Council of Nicaea in the spring of 325. The dates and people in attendance are subject to dispute. It may have begun May 20 and ended July 25. July 25, 325 is the date on which Constantine celebrated his 19th anniversary on the throne while in attendance at the Council of Nicaea. The Nicene Creed was a product of this convention of church members, but it wasn't finished until 381 in Constantinople.
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Comments
Hi! I stopped by for a look, and had to comment on this picture.
It really looks like a peacock’s tail! Or perhaps a single Hindu deity with all of his/her avatars.
Great image!
You are right, of course. It’s interesting to me that they all have halos or solar wreaths around their heads.
The Eastern Orthodox icons have halos around just about everyone’s heads! You have had to have been just evil to be in an icon-story and not have one, I suppose.
Constantius was pretty savvy to request Constantine’s assistance from the East. Had Constantine still been serving under one of the co-emperors at the time of his father’s death, history surely would have been altered.
My interest in Constantine is sparked chiefly by his mother Empress Helen. It was she who found pieces of wood from the true Cross and built churches at Olivet and Bethlehem. Read Evelyn Waugh’s rendition of this facinating story
Constantius Chlorus did not die in battle.
Thanks for that. I’ve changed it. I even say he died of natural causes elsewhere: http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_tetrarchytable.htm
What did ancient peoples use for toilet paper?