Illyrian "Albanians" emperors formalized Christianity - "Constantine I and Justinian I "

Constantine was very generous toward the Church, although his gifts, in general, derived from looting pagan temples

Aurelio Constantini (Constantine I)

 Known as Constantine the Great, was born on February 27, 274 and died on May 22, 337. Constantine was one of the most important figures of the Roman empire that reshaped it, and created the formalization of Christianity. It is considered sacred, like the Apostles of Orthodox Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church.

Constantine (Flavius Valerius Constantinus) was one of many Illyrians who managed to be emperors of Rome. He ruled 31 years (306- 337). His birth name was Flavius Valerius Constantinus. Was the boy was Constantinus Chlorus, Illyrian commander. In 305 his father was co emperor.

Constantine was the first Roman emperor who supported and tolerated Christianity in his empire. Many legends were created around his name. He systematically eliminated other Caesars and destroyed Diocletian tetrarch. Voltaire has defined his character in one sentence: "The main objective of Constantine was to be a God".

Undoubtedly, he deserves the title Constantine "the Great" for the reforms made in army, in the monetary system, as well as in the integrity of his administration. This was also an expression of his boundless ambition. It is an undeniable fact that he has left lasting traces in history. The transfer of the imperial capital from Rome to Constantinople and the adoption of the Christian religion, he radically changed the face of the empire.

(Constantine  I)

Constantine was proclaimed August of West, in York, in the year 306, after the death of his father, one of four tetrarch. Constantine was held captive by Gallery, Western Empire Caesar in order to prevent him to inherit his father's function. But the young man managed to escape and foiled all attempts of the prosecution, killing all horses of imperial troops following him on the way. Constantine exercised power in Britain and Gaul, but to govern the whole empire, he had to defeat two powerful rivals. In 312, Constantine marched on Rome to overthrow the tyran Maksenc. In the Milvian Bridge, he defeated a much larger army in numbers, sent to defend the city. The swollen river tore down the bridge, killing thousands of people, among whom the Maksenc himself.

According to legend, Constantine turned to Christianity, because saw a vision in the sky, and commissioned him entrusting the fate of his army to Christian god. He pointed as the emblem on the shields of his soldiers the cross that he say in the sky, with the motto: "With this sign you will win." But, however, he celebrated the victory by traditional Roman way, with a triumphal arch. Once Constantine felt (after a 9-year waiting) that he had the necessary forces to move to the attack, he broke his alliance with Licinius, who ruled the other half of the empire. He once defeated Licinius at Adrianople, then eventually drove him from Byzantine at the Battle of Krizopolisi.

Two spectacular changes undertaken by Constantine was the construction of the "New Rome", Constantinople, and his embrace of Christianity. Shifting the center of gravity of the empire in the East, begun by Diocletian, but the city of Byzantium, chosen by Constantine, was much more strategic than the Nikomedisa, Diocletian capital. It is thought that the transfer of the capital of the empire in Byzantium was motivated by a sense of guilt, as well as strategic reasons. In fact, Rome was the city where Constantine (according widespread noise) had killed his wife, Fausta, and his son, Chrisp. Whatever the reason for the choice of Constantinople, the city was built quickly and was inaugurated with great pomposity in 330.

Justinian I

While the Western Roman Empire had disappeared under the onslaught of the barbarians, in Constantinople Justinain I throne shone, sung so beautifully by Dante Alighieri in the masterpiece "The Divine Comedy".

The acts of this empire are great and immortal. The largest work is the codification of Roman Prerogative. A job that was supported by a committee composed by 17 jurists, headed by Triboniani. They reviewed 2000 books and over 3 million written texts and were compiled "Corpus Juris", that is the foundation of modern jurisprudence.

In this gigantic work, Justinian, under the influence of Christianity changed and softened many old points, as the father power, and improved the situation of women and proclaimed the equality of all citizens before the law.

Justinian gave incentives on trade, art and literature. He built the famous Agia Sofia, for which was worked six years in a row.

The great Russian historian Vasiliev, in his monumental work, "The History of Byzantium" says the first and second Justinian who reigned in 518-568, were Illyrians and Albanians.

Justinian was born in Sabbatius Petrus Tauresium in the province of Dardania, in 483 AD.

During the reign of Justin (518-527), Justinian was a close friend of the emperor. Justinian showed ambition and initially worked as an officer and was a friend of the emperor. Thanks to this friendship and his skills he became emperor on April 1, 527, although there is no conclusive evidence of this.

During the reign of Justinian, Byzantine empire reaches its highpoint in all spheres of life. Thanks to him the Byzantine empire stretched from Armenia at the banks of Danube in Spain and Africa.