Movies |
Constantine - The Christian Emperor. |
Mark Merlino - Home page |
|||||||
Constantine - The Christian Emperor is Volume five in the six part Hail Caesar series co-produced in 1997 by BBC and A&E. This episode is a very skillfully produced biography of a truly remarkable man. This biography begins by setting the context of the world into which Constantine had been born. He was the son a military officer, who eventually became Caesar, and was given a tough pagan military upbringing. As a young man, he spent many years at the imperial court in the eastern Roman Empire as a hostage of his father's co-emperors. At this time he both witnessed persecutions of Christians and distinguished himself as a soldier. The documentary traces how this ambitious young man rose to power, succeeding his father in the West and then eliminating the rival claimants to the throne. In addition to providing a narrative, this documentary gives a detailed analysis of the political philosophy of Constantine. These include his motives for founding Constantinople, his New Rome, for promoting Christianity and even the religious reasons for why he waiting until his deathbed to be baptized. All in all, this is a very professional biography, produced by good historians, of one of history's most influential figures. Highly recommended. |
|||||||||
![]() |
|||||||||