Constantine
Constantine names 5 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Constantine CAIUS FLAVIUS VALERIUS AURELIUS CLAUDIUS, a Roman emperor
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
CAIUS FLAVIUS VALERIUS AURELIUS CLAUDIUS, a Roman emperor, surnamed the Great; son of the Emperor Constantine Chlorus; born 274 A. D. After the death of his father he was chosen emperor by the soldiery, in the year 306, and took possession of the countries which had been subject to his father, namely, Gaul, Spain, and Britain. He defeated the Franks who had obtained a footing in Gaul and drove them across the Rhine; and then directed his arms against Maxentius, who had joined Maximian against him. In the campaign in Italy he saw, it is said, the vision of a flaming cross in the heavens, bearing the inscription, "In hoc signo vinces." Under the standard of the cross, therefore, he vanquished the army of Maxentius under the walls of Rome, and entered the city in triumph. In 313, together with his son-in-law, the Eastern emperor, Licinius, he published the memorable edict of toleration in favor of the Christians, and subsequently declared Christianity the religion of the state. Licinius twice took up arms against him, but was on each occasion defeated, and finally put to death. Thus in 325 Constantine became the sole head of the Roman Empire. His internal administration was marked by a wise spirit of reform, and by many humane concessions with regard to slaves, etc. In 329 he laid the foundation of a new capital of the empire, at Byzantium, which was called after him Constantinople, and soon rivaled Rome herself. In 332 he fought successfully against the Goths, relieving the empire of a tribute previously paid the barbarians. In 337 he was taken ill near Nicomedia, was baptized, and died after a reign of 31 years, leaving his empire between his three sons, Constantine, Constantius, and Constans. CONSTANTINE II., called the younger, eldest son of the above, received, as his share of the empire, on the death of his father, Gaul aul, Spain, and Britain. Being desirous, however, of possessing himself of the territory of his brother Constans, he was killed in Italy, in 340. CONSTANTINE III. (Novus), born in 612 A. D.; died in 641. CONSTANTINE IV., Emperor of the East, surnamed POGONATUS, or the Bearded, was son of Constans II., whom he succeeded in 668. His two brothers, Tiberius and Heraclius, shared the title of Augustus, but had little or no share in the government, and toward the close of his reign, Constantine IV., under the influence of suspicion, had them put to death. Constantinople was unsuccessfully attacked by the Mussulmans in 672- 678. During these wars the famous "Greek fire" was invented. Constantine died in 685. CONSTANTINE V., Emperor of the East, succeeded his father, Leo the Isaurian, in 743. He sided with the Iconoclasts, who hurled down the images of the saints, and persecuted the followers of the Roman Catholic Church. He died in an expedition against the Bulgarians in 775. CONSTANTINE VI., Emperor of the East, was the son of Leo IV., whom he succeeded in 780. Being only 10 old when his father died, his mother Irene was his guardian and regent of the empire. After arriving at the mature age he wished to assume the government himself; but Irene had him imprisoned. He escaped in 790, exiled his mothe mother, recalled her, and, finally, finally, ruined ined by his licentious living, and despised by his subjects, a conspiracy was formed against him, Irene leading; and being imprisoned, his eyes were put out by her orders. The blind prince died in 797. CONSTANTINE VII., was named emperor in 868, during the lifetime of his father, Basilius I., but died in 878. CONSTANTINE VIII., surnamed Porphyrogenitus, Emperor of the East, succeeded Leo the Wise in 905. He was destitute of energy, and devoted himself chiefly to study. He admitted colleagues to the throne, so that at last five emperors were reigning together. Constantine VIII. left a treatise on state affairs, a geography of the empire, and the "Life of the Emperor Basilius, the Macedonian." He died in 959. CONSTANTINE IX., son of Romanus I., reigned with his father and two brothers, from 919 to 945, during the time that Porphyrogenitus was deposed. CONSTANTINE X., son of Romanus II., succeeded John Zemisces, and was proclaimed emperor of the East, with his brother, Basilius II., who held the principal authority till 1025, when he died. Constantine X. was, after that, sole emperor. He died in 1028. CONSTANTINE XI., surnamed the Gladiator, obtained the empire in 1042, having married the Empress Zoe, widow of Romanus III. This prince is known alone for his debaucheries. He allowed the Turks to increase their territories at his expense, and to establish themselves in Persia. CONSTANTINE XII., surnamed Ducas, succeeded, in 1059, Isaac Comnenus, who had adopted him. In his reign the Scythians ravaged the empire, and some cities were destroyed by earthquakes. He died in 1067. CONSTANTINE XIII., the last of the Greek emperors, succeeded to the throne in 1448. He was killed in bravely defending Constantinople against Mahomet II., who in 1453 besieged the city with 300,000 men. Constantine displayed great valor, but the city was taken and thus ended the Greek empire.
Constantine FLAVIUS JULIUS, a private soldier
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
FLAVIUS JULIUS, a private soldier, who was raised by the army in Britain to the imperial dignity in 409, on which he crossed over to Gaul, and conquered that country and Spain. He fixed his court at Arles, where he was besieged by Constantius, the general of the Emperor Honorius, to whom he surrendered on the promise that his life would be spared; but it was basely violated, and both Constantine and his son were put to death, 411 A. D. CONSTANTINE L., King of Greece, born in Athens, eldest son of King George I. and Olga, daughter of the Russian Grand-Duke Constantine Nikolayevitch, and niece of the Russian Czar, the Greek Nicholas I. He was reared in Orthodox faith and educated in Germany, at Leipzig and Berlin. In 1889 he married Princess Sophia, sister of Emperor William II. of Germany. In 1897 he took command in the field of the Greek armies engaged in the war against Turwas held key, with the result that he disasters largely responsible for the Greek forces in that which befell the campaign. In 1912-1913 he largely retrieved his military reputation by his successful operations against the Turks before Saloniki, when he was again in full command of the Greek forces. On George March 9, 1913, his father, King Saloniki, and on I., was assassinated in March 21 following Constantine ascended the outbreak of the the throne. one. On World War (1914) he immediately in sympathy with the showed himself Central Empires, for which reason he with the Alcame into constant friction the Greek lies, who had been invited by , to land a force in Premier, Venizelos Macedonia for operations against the Turks. King Constantine persisted in his pro-German policy so assiduously that finally, on June 12, 1917, under pressure from the Allies, he abdicated in favor of Prince Alexander, his second oldest son, the Crown Prince being also CONSTANTINE I. OF GREECE regarded as infected with his father's sympathies. He lived in retirement in was recalled by a Switzerland until he vote of the people held on Dec. 5, 1920. CONSTANTINE I., King of Scotland from 458 to 479. Constantine II., king III., king from 858 to 871. Constantine Constantine IV., from 903 to 943. usurped the throne, and was killed by the brother of Kenneth, 1062.
Constantine surnamed the Great
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
surnamed the Great. Emperor of Rome from 306-337 A. D. Under his rule the warring and seditious elements of the Roman Empire were subdued. His reign is noted for two events of importance,--the adoption of Christianity as the regular religion of the empire, and the removal of the capital to Constantinople. In 313 he issued the Edict of Milan. "We grant likewise to the Christians and to all other, free choice to follow the mode of worship they may wish, that whatsoever divinity and celestial power may exist may be propitious to all that live under our government." This edict put an end to the terrible persecutions of the Christians, and marked the beginning of atrocious persecutions by them; showing that human nature cannot be changed by an edict. In 328 Constantine ordered the old city of Byzantium rebuilt. He named the city for himself, Constantinople, and removed the seat of his government thither. The arch of Constantine, erected in that emperor's honor in Rome 315, is one of the best preserved of Roman antiquities.
Constantine the ancient Cirta
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the ancient Cirta, a fortified city and bishopric, in Algeria; capital of the department ent of Constantine (of which the other chief towns are Philippeville and Bona on the coast , Setif and El Wad in the interior); on a detached rocky height, surrounded on three sides by ravines, crossed in one place by a Roman bridge , elsewhere by four natural bridges. At the bottom of the ravines flows the Wad Rummel. The city has Roman remains , and a citadel on the site of the ancient Numidian fortress, rising 300 feet above the level of the rock. It manufactures saddlery and leather goods, and exports corn to Tunis. It was taken by the French, Oct. 13, 1837, after two memorable sieges.
Constantine NIKOLAEVITCH, the second son of the Emperor Nicholas of Russia
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
NIKOLAEVITCH, the second son of the Emperor Nicholas of Russia, and brother of the Emperor Alexander II., grand-duke and great ad- Petersburg, miral of Russia; born in St. Sept. 21, 1827. In the war of 1854-1856, Baltic intrusthe had the defenses of the decirded to his miral Lütke; but the policy of the emperor hardly allowed the prince any dis- He was made play of courage or ability. 1862. He died in Viceroy of Poland in St. Petersburg, Jan. 24, 1892.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The bare narrative of Constantine the Great stands, but Collier's imperial numbering does not: the Byzantine Constantines have been renumbered since 1921, so the scholar-emperor Collier's calls "Constantine VIII, surnamed Porphyrogenitus" (d. 959) is now universally Constantine VII, and the "Constantine XIII" killed on the walls in 1453 is now Constantine XI Palaiologos, crowned in 1449. Some of the dates have also tightened: Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge is firmly 28 October 312, the new capital was dedicated in 330 rather than merely founded in 329, and his birth is now usually put around 272-273 rather than 274. Historians today also treat the 313 measure — long called the Edict of Milan — as a letter or rescript rather than a formal edict, and argue hard over whether Constantine ever "declared Christianity the religion of the state" in the way Collier's asserts; that step is generally dated to Theodosius I in the 380s and 390s. The cross-in-the-sky story is now read as the work of Constantine's Christian publicists, Lactantius and Eusebius, whose two accounts do not agree.
Written for this edition, 2026.