324–330

The Founding of Constantinople, the "New Rome"

In 324 Constantine defeated Licinius and became sole emperor of East and West. He decided to build a new capital on the site of Byzantium. The plan met resistance from the old pagan aristocracy and the Senate of Rome.

The city was consecrated in 330. It was adorned with statues and columns brought from across the empire. In Jerome's words, "they dressed it by stripping the whole empire." The courts and senate functioned without pagan rites, and settlers were given privileges.

For a thousand years Constantinople was the capital preserving the heritage of what was later called the Byzantine Empire. In the 4th century five sees – Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Constantinople itself – contended for ecclesiastical primacy.