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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
7 pages in length. The significant strides made by Constantine the Great to bring unity back to the empire called for relocation of the capital that currently stood in Rome. Having been instrumental in reforming government and consolidating the Church, the Emperor had no intention of keeping the capital where it was due to a number of reasons, not the least of which included its unfavorably distant proximity to the Imperial courts, legions and eastern Imperial boundary because of its central location. Additionally, the ruinous aspects of malaria and flooding - not to mention Rome being overrun with detached politicians - made the decision to move all the more effortless. Constantine ultimately chose Byzantium as his capital's idyllic location, boasting most confidently of its two primary attributes - "strategic significance…situated at the crossroads of two continents, Europe and Asia" (Lascaratos) and a fortress that would endow him with supreme protection against enemy attack, the latter of which was a conviction that became the capital's inevitable undoing. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
7 pages (~225 words per page)
File: LM1_TLCconstine.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
stood in Rome. Having been instrumental in reforming government and consolidating the Church, the Emperor had no intention of keeping the capital where it was due to a number
of reasons, not the least of which included its unfavorably distant proximity to the Imperial courts, legions and eastern Imperial boundary because of its central location. Additionally, the ruinous
aspects of malaria and flooding - not to mention Rome being overrun with detached politicians - made the decision to move all the more effortless. Constantine ultimately chose Byzantium
as his capitals idyllic location, boasting most confidently of its two primary attributes - "strategic significance...situated at the crossroads of two continents, Europe and Asia"i and a fortress that would
endow him with supreme protection against enemy attack, the latter of which was a conviction that became the capitals inevitable undoing. Constantine was too clear-headed and too successful over
many years to be self-indulgent on an issue such as a new imperial headquarters. While he was no Roman aristocrat and most of the Roman senators and aristocrats were
pagans, the choice of Byzantium as the empires capital beside the narrow strait of the Bosphorus, on a triangular peninsula protected by the sea and easily fortified by land was
brilliant strategy. It commanded the trade route between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, and was an important staging post for trade between Europe and Asia. Most importantly
of all it was midway between the two pressure points of the barbarian tribes beyond the Danube and the aggressive kingdom of Sassanid Persia, and the site was eminently defensible.ii
II. THE RISE AND FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE As much as Constantine purported to dislike the physical location of Rome, not to mention its collection of unsavory political characters and
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