中国大学MOOC: 2. Constantine the GreatThe Roman Emperor Constantine(c 280 - 337 A.D.) was one of the most influentialpersonagesin ancient history. By adopting Christianity as the religion of the vast Roman Empire, he elevated a once illegalcultto the law of the land. At the Council of Nicea, Constantine the Great settled Christian doctrine for the ages. And by establishing a capital at Byzantium, which became Constantinople and then Istanbul, he set into motion events that would break the empire, split the Christian church, and influence European history for a millennium.Flavius Valerius Constantinus was born in Naissus, in the province of Moesia Superior, present-day Serbia. Constantines mother, Helena, was abarmaidand his father a military officer named Constantius. His father would rise to become the Emperor Constantius I and Constantines mother would becanonizedas St. Helena, who was thought to have found a portion of Jesus cross. Later Constantine and Helena wereshuffled offto the eastern emperor, Diocletian, in Nicomedia.Upon his fathers death on July 25, 306 A.D., Constantines troops proclaimed him Caesar. Constantine wasnt the only claimant. In 285, Emperor Diocletian had established theTetrarchy, which gave four men rule over a quadrant each of the Roman Empire, with two senior emperors and twonon-hereditaryjuniors. Constantius had been one of the senior emperors. Constantines most powerful rivals for his fathers position wereMaximianand his son, Maxentius, who had assumed power in Italy, controlling Africa, Sardinia, and Corsica as well.Constantine raised an army from Britain that included Germans and Celts, which the Byzantine historian Zosimus said included 90,000 foot soldiers and 8,000cavalry. Maxentius raised an army of 170,000 foot soldiers and 18,000 horsemen.On October 28, 312, Constantine marched on Rome and met Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge. The story goes that Constantine had a vision of the words in hoc signo vinces ("in this sign you will conquer") upon a cross, and he swore that, should he triumph against great odds, he would pledge himself to Christianity. (Constantine actually resistedbaptismuntil he was on his deathbed.) Wearing a sign of a cross, Constantine won, and the following year he made Christianity legal throughout the Empire with theEdictof Milan.After Maxentius defeat, Constantine and his brother-in-law, Licinius, split the empire between them. Constantine ruled the West, Licinius the East. The two remained rivals over a decade of uneasytrucesbefore theiranimosityculminatedin the Battle of Chrysopolis, in 324. Liciniuswasroutedand Constantine became sole Emperor of Rome.To celebrate his victory, Constantine created Constantinople on the site of Byzantium, which had been Licinius stronghold. He enlarged the city, addingfortifications, a vasthippodromefor chariot racing, and a number of temples. He also established a second Senate. When Rome fell, Constantinople became thede factoseat of the empire.4.In paragraph six, which of the following word can replace the underlined word?