Constantine the Great Deathbed Memoir

Constantine the Great: A Deathbed Memoir

As I, Constantine the Great, lay on my deathbed, I would like to give an account of my life. On February 27th 280, I was born Flavius Valerius Constantinus in Naissus, Moesia (Nis, Serbia). My father was Flavius Valerius Constantius, an officer in the Roman army. My mother, Helma, a woman from humble beginnings, has been described as either my father’s wife or concubine. The nature of their relationship is an for which I am not clear. When I was 9, my father left my mother to marry Theodora, the stepdaughter of Maximian, the Western Roman emperor. This marriage presented an opportunity for my father to be positioned as deputy emperor under Maximian. I was offered the opportunity to be educated within the court of Diocletian, the Eastern Roman emperor. While in Eastern Rome, I would be educated in Latin and Greek and witness the persecution of Christians. This relationship with Theodora and my father’s influence would provided me the opportunity to embark on my own military career.
In 305, after Maximian’s renunciation of the throne, my father became Emperor Constantius I. I, by now Constatine, joined my father on his military campaign then later fought alongside my father in Britain. One year later my father would die at Eboracum. As a result of his death, I was declared emperor by his troops (Constantine I, 2014)
My rise to power was met with immediate opposition. My reign as emperor is well marked by defending my position against Roman fractions including Maximian, son Maxentius. I made an alliance with Maximian by wedding his daughter, Fausta. During this time, Maximina had a dispute with his son and fled to me for protection (Arakaki). In an attempt to regain the throne, a revolt against me occurred in Gaul. Unsuccessful, Maximina committed suicide.
After the