Obverse: VRBS ROMA; Helmeted Bust of Roma Facing Left. Reverse:
She-Wolf Standing Left, Suckling Romulus and Remus, Two Stars
Above. Constantine I, called Constantine the Great, was the
first Roman ruler to be converted to Christianity. He was the
founder of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), which remained
the capital of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire until 1453.
Constantine the Great unified a tottering empire, reorganized
the Roman state, and set the stage for the final victory of
Christianity at the end of the 4th century. Many modern scholars
accept the sincerity of his religious conviction. His conversion
was a gradual process; at first he probably associated Christ
with the victorious sun god. By the time of the Council of
Nicaea (325), however, he was completely Christian, but still
tolerated paganism among his subjects. Although criticized by
his enemies as a proponent of a crude and false religion,
Constantine the Great strengthened the Roman Empire and ensured
its survival in the East. As