The Arch of Constantine

The arch of Constantine was built in 315 AD to commemorate Constantine’s victory over his rival to the throne of Rome, Maxentius. The arch is sixty-nine feet tall and, rather than commission entirely new works of art depicting himself as a powerful leader or conqueror, Constantine chose to take works of art from the time of other favorable Roman rulers to place as a sort of mosaic inside his own arch. Constantine specifically chose the works from Hadrian, Trajan and Marcus Araelius to be specific. This

compared him to other rulers that had done good things in and for Rome rather than per say works from Nero who is famously one of the least popular Roman emperors. Constantine gave himself some pretty big shoes to fill in comparing himself to these powerful men and most would say that he lived up to what he knew he could do. Constantine is famous for removing the cult of Christianity out from persecution and making it legal to be a Christian in Rome. Constantine himself was even baptized and converted, most likely on his death bed. The arch now stands in remembrance of all the good that he did in his time as ruler and what he has done for Christianity as a whole.