Diocletian's reforms established the rule of four, called the Tetrarchy, where four emperors controlled the newly redistributed Roman Empire. Unbeknownst to Diocletian, this particular reform would be a recipe for civil war. In 306, a year after the abdication of Diocletian, Constantine I rose to the rank of imperial reign over the Western Empire after the death of his father and then of Augustus; Constancy. During Constantine's reign, he quickly gained popularity and consolidated his power while the rest of the emperors competed and feuded. Eventually the empire was overtaken strategically by two emperors Licinius and Constantine. This peace did not last long, however, and in 324 Licinius surrendered to Constantine after the Battle of Chrysopolis. Eighteen years after his ascension to the rank of Augustus, Constantine held sole power over the Empire and earned the respect and admiration of his soldiers and people. By the time Constantine came to rule the Empire in its entirety, it was in ruins. The capital Rome was a shadow of its former self: “Constantine abandoned his attempt to maintain the unity of the world empire. There was no longer an eternal Rome served by subject peoples. There could only be rescue” (Lamb 18). Constantine looked east toward Byzantium. The Byzantines were an isolated group who never really played a role in the growth of the Roman Empire, but Constantine's certainty should not be overlooked. Hastily, structures were erected and a fortified wall was built around the city and in 330, during the 276th Olympiad, it was consecrated as "The almost forgotten name of Anthusa" (Lamb 20). Locals called it the city of Constantine or Constantinopolis. Constantine now had a home for his emp...... middle of paper ...... With today's technological advancements, one can only wonder what kind of "Basilica canon" our generation will see in usage, even if the nuclear bomb is undoubtedly at the forefront of this analogy. Constantinople, a city unlike any other, and unfortunately an illustration of the ravages of technological progress in warfare. Works Cited Harris, Jonathan. Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium. New York: Hambledon Continuum, 2007. 40,52,108,112. Print.Lamb, Harold. Constantinople: the birth of an empire. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1957. 18.20. Print.Panorthodox, Neobyzantine. About the Great Church. Neo-Byzantine Movement, 2005. Web. .Runciman, Steven. The fall of Constantinople. New York: The Trustees of Cambridge University Press, 1965. 128 133. Print.