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Entry 83 of 240Reform

Constantine and the Christian Turn

313 CE/Roman Empire/Rome
Today The Roman Empire (new capital at Constantinople, modern Istanbul)Span Later Roman Empire · 4th c. CE

Constantine, the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, legalized the once-persecuted faith, championed it, and moved his capital east to a new city he named after himself — Constantinople. In a few decades a hunted sect became the empire's favored religion, on its way to becoming its official one.

◆ Worth knowingConstantine claimed he won a decisive battle after seeing a cross in the sky reading 'by this, conquer' — then made a Christian symbol his army's banner and moved the empire's center to the city we now call Istanbul.
◆ The mechanismIdeological movement

A belief system rises, spreads, institutionalizes, and then schisms — changing the rules people accept as legitimate.

Also: Legitimating-narrative collapse

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