Constantine I

• NAME: Constantine I
• OCCUPATION: General, Political Leader, Religious Leader, Emperor
• BIRTH DATE: c. February 27, 280
• DEATH DATE: May 22, 337
• PLACE OF BIRTH: Naissus, Moesia (now Niš, Serbia), Serbia
• PLACE OF DEATH: Near Nicomedia, Bithynia (now ?zmit, Turkey), Turkey
• AKA: Constantine the Great
• Full Name: Flavius Valerius Constantinus 

Constantine I was born on February 27, around 280, in modern-day Serbia, to an army officer named Flavius Valerius Constantius. In 305, he was passed over in imperial succession, so Constantine fought a series of civil wars, finally becoming the sole Roman emperor. He ascribed his success to his conversion to Christianity. He renamed Byzantium Constantinople, which he made his capital. Constantine died in Ancyrona, near Nicomedia, Bithynia (now ?zmit, Turkey), on May 22, 337.