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On July 25th 306 AD, Constantine was proclaimed emperor of Rome, in York. But he had to earn the title, and did so at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, where he defeated a persistent usurper, Maxentius. On the eve of the battle, so the story goes, the pagan Constantine was told in a dream, to paint a Christian symbol on the shields of his soldiers.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Constantine associated his victory at Milvian Bridge with the divine Christian intervention, having done as advised in his dream. Christianity and other religions were thereafter tolerated, not persecuted as hitherto.

Alongside reuniting a fragmented Roman Empire and restoring the civil powers of government and the Senate, Constantine the Great’s imperial support for Christianity was one of the key factors which secured his place in history. It’s also what inspired York Museums Trust’s current exhibition, ‘Constantine the Great – York’s Roman Emperor’.

Dr Christopher Kelly

Making an exhibition...

The Yorkshire Museum, in association with the British Museum, has brought together more than 270 beautiful and fascinating objects and works of art of the period, from 36 different museums and private collections across the UK and Europe. Included in the collection are mosaics from late Roman villas, painted plasterwork, sculpture, textiles, silverware, games, weapons, coins, jewellery and even furniture.

The exhibition shows how wealthy the empire was at the time and tells how Constantine’s greatness as a leader meant there was a prolonged period of prosperity during his rule, which continued after his death. It also gives an insight into what it meant to be an emperor in late Roman times and demonstrates Constantine’s power and military might.

Dr Christopher Kelly, a leading expert on the Roman Empire, who was present at the announcement of the exhibition, says Constantine’s was a time of glittering grandeur, a time when those in power were thought to be divine. In the Court, there was no bowing and no hand-shaking; instead, there was ‘adoring the purple’, a practice which involved kissing the hem of the emperor’s robes.

‘Constantine the Great – York’s Roman Emperor’ is open until October 29th 2006. On July 25th, the 1700th anniversary of Constantine’s proclamation in York will be marked by a special service of commemoration at York Minster, the site where the Courts of Eboracum once stood.