Constantine

272 - 337 AD

An event which clearly did have an enormous effect on the position of Egypt was the foundation of Constantinople. Constantine marked out the perimeter of his new city on November 8, 324 AD not long after he had taken control of the east, including Egypt, from his rival. By 324 AD, Constantine ruled the whole empire. One important step in this rise had been his invasion of Italy from Gaul in 312 AD. In 325 AD, Constantine the Great convened the first church council.

Here the Nicene Creed was formulated and the Arian heresy condemned. He converted to Christianity and established Constantinople as the new capital of the empire. Constantine made his councilor entrance into the Church of Hagia Sophia, thereby establishing the tradition of sartorial magnificence that was to earn the Byzantine emperors such an undeserved reputation for effeminacy in later centuries.