Emperors Titled Great
Historians tend to call successful emperors great but the question is why? From Alexander the Great until the present day there are many who have earned the title but their killing sprees may have marked them as something that might be termed ‘crimes against humanity’ by today’s standards. Blood spilling raids on neighbours, the sacking of cities and the capture of thousands used as slaves to benefit their citizens are just some of the appalling deeds they carried out.
Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great raided the Mediterranean regions of what is now Palestine and Syria. He captured cities, murdered most of the civilians and sent their kings to horrible deaths. The king of Tyre, for example, was dragged behind a chariot for some distance and then nailed to a wall and left to die in front of his people. Others were treated just as brutally as he took city after city across the region. He then rode on to India where he proceeded through the nation until he reached Nepal. It is little wonder that he was eventually poisoned and died at around 32 years of age.
Emperor Constantine
Emperor Claudius Constantine is also titled ‘great’. He rode across Europe to seize the throne of his bother-in-law, Maxentius, while making sure there were no survivors of his army or family to come back at him. One by one he saw five other emperors retire, die or be murdered by his hands on his way to sole rule over the Empire. His last conquest was Licinius who had been his allies in the removal of Maxentius.
Constantine’s Rise to Sole Rule
To perform that task he elevated his son, Crispus, to the role of emperor. With his help he disposed of Licinius in a major sea battle and then slaughtered his entire family while making sure his army had no survivors. Licinius was married to his sister so the family were, in fact, his relatives. That mattered nothing to Constantine who then manipulated the murder of the lad on the ground that he was a traitor.
Constantine Established the Roman Catholic Church
The blood shed did not stop there as Constantine then established the Roman Catholic Church at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. The delegates were a mixed mob and some of them were murdered during the staging of the assembly for bringing forth their views that opposed those of the emperor. Once the church was set up the torture, murder and other atrocities continues against anyone who did not worship the image he put forward, namely that of Jesus Christ and the cross.
Buried Roots
These things are recorded in diaries, letters, and the works of contemporary authors. It probably depends on the background of those who seek out his history as to what they believe as the religion he founded has covered over its roots and tried to hide the horror of its beginning. Not much was allowed to survive but there are other ways of discovering the truth. While the Catholic Church claims Constantine converted to Christianity the facts are he started it.
Hitler Styled Himself on Constantine
It is a cold reality that Hitler modelled himself on Constantine. Had he won the Second World War he may also have set up a religion and buried its roots so future generations would title him great and would fail to see what he was really like? Emperors who performed as they did are called ‘colourful’ and people get carried away with their glory rather than their evil deeds.