Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor who ruled from AD 306 to 337. During his reign he reformed many aspects of the Empire, including the structure of the government in which he separated the civil and military powers. Constantine improved inflation with the creation of a new gold coin named Solidus and was successful with the Roman frontiers. He was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, and with the signing of the Edict of Milan in AD 313, he allowed for tolerance for the religion within the Empire.
Constantine issued the creation of small bronze coins to commemorate the old capital Rome and the new capital Constantinople. These coins were thought to symbolise the equality of the two cities and the new importance of Constantinople to the empire. The reason Constantine moved the capital of the empire was because of the growing success within the eastern part of the Roman empire and it was becoming more important than the Italian location. Constantine moved the capital to be closer to the centre of the empire. It is thought that Constantine split the empire as way to ensure that the political entity remained stable throughout its expansion.
