After Constantine was buried in Constantinople in 337, the senate at Rome voted to deify him. In inscriptions his sons, the new senior emperors Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans, advertised their descent from deified Constantine and deified Constantius I. Legends claimed that Constantine had once seen a cross in the sky, accompanied by a caption, “conquer in this.” This exhortation became common in inscriptions.

Although emperor for over thirty years (306-337), Constantine always shared imperial rule with colleagues, first fellow Tetrarchs, then his sons. During his reign he traveled thousands of miles along the northern and eastern frontiers. But he still relied on senators and municipal notables as administrators. Cities flourished, and traditional cults were still common. Inscriptions provide the most revealing evidence about provinces, cities (including Rome), senators, local notables, and cults.

After defeating Licinius in 324, Constantine ruled as senior emperor with his sons and a nephew as junior emperors. In the eastern provinces dedications honored the emperors. At Orcistus in Phrygia a famous set of inscriptions commemorated Constantine’s patronage. Dedications celebrated the emperor’s support in the new capital of Constantinople, as well as at Ephesus, Antioch, and Athens. At Aksum in Ethiopia inscriptions celebrated the victories of king Ezana.

At Rome dedications honored Maxentius, a usurping emperor. But after Constantine’s victory in 312, dedications and statues of Constantine honored his assistance. One prominent commemorative monument was the famous Arch of Constantine. Other dedications celebrated Helena, Constantine’s mother, as well as prominent senators and their careers in the imperial administration. In catacombs and cemeteries many epitaphs remembered Christians, and Constantine funded the construction of the Church of St. Peter.

Before 324 the dominant emperors in the Balkan and eastern provinces were Galerius, Maximinus, and Licinius. In honor of their benefactions, cities erected dedications and statues. Inscriptions also indicated that the senior emperors introduced new honorific titles to placate dissatisfied junior emperors. In Asia Minor some epitaphs celebrated Christian notables and their families.

Constantine patronized new construction in cities in the western provinces. Inscriptions celebrated the renewal of the forum at Arles and imperial assistance at Lepcis Magna in North Africa. Dedications also exposed the working of the imperial administration, in particular the roles and the number of praetorian prefects.

In western provinces inscriptions described Constantine as the son of deified Constantius I and a descendant of Maximian, his father-in-law. Dedications mapped Constantine’s expanding jurisdiction, from Gaul and Spain into Italy and North Africa, then into the Balkan provinces. In particular, cities in North Africa honored him with dedications and statues. One new title was “greatest”; but the use of the Christian chi-rho monogram was limited.

Throughout Italy cities erected dedications and statues honoring Constantine and his family. Dedications also honored the many senators and wealthy municipal notables who were patrons and benefactors for their hometowns. At Hispellum a famous inscription memorialized imperial support for the construction of a new temple honoring Constantine’s imperial dynasty.

Constantine has such a powerful presence that modern scholars have interpreted obscure inscriptions or even restored fragmentary inscriptions to refer to his reign. These misconceptions should be discarded. For instance, there was no statue of deified Constantine at Stobi, and not all depictions of triumphal arches recalled the Arch of Constantine at Rome.