The Zhang family of the Han Chinese…

Licinius has built up his army and accumulated a huge reserve of treasure during the years of uneasy peace between the Roman Empire’s two Augusti.

Having eventually become alienated from the Christians, he initiates a mild form of persecution in about 320, prompting contemporaries to paint the growing conflict between Constantine and his eastern counterpart as a battle between the forces of paganism and Christianity.

An Indian conqueror known as Chandragupta—unrelated, but taking his name from, the great fourth-century BCE founder of the Maurya dynasty—inherits the kingdom of Magadha in about 320, upon his marriage to Licchavi princess Kumaradevi.

While his two ancestors were given the title of Maharaja, Chandragupta is described in his inscriptions as Maharajadhiraj, and can therefore be considered the first Gupta emperor.

According to the Puranas, the Guptas ruled over territories (referred to as Janapadas) such as Prayag, Saket, and Magadha.

This description of the Gupta dominion precedes the reign of Samudragupta and hence must refer to the territories ruled over by Chandragupta I, his father.

The Rise of Frankish Power and Raids in the Channel (c. 320 CE)

By 320 CE, the Franks had established firm control over the Scheldt River region, corresponding to modern-day West Flanders (Belgium) and the southwest Netherlands. From this strategic base, they launched raids into the English Channel, disrupting Roman transportation and trade to Britain.

1. Frankish Expansion and Control Over the Scheldt Region

• The Franks had initially settled along the Lower Rhine as early as the 3rd century, gradually expanding westward.
• By the early 4th century, they had taken control of the Scheldt River basin, making them a dominant force in northern Gaul.
• Their presence along the North Sea coast and riverways gave them easy access to maritime raiding.

2. Raiding the English Channel and Disrupting Roman Britain

• From their strongholds along the Scheldt, the Franks engaged in piracy, attacking:
  • Roman coastal settlements in northern Gaul.
  • Shipping routes between the continent and Britain.
• Their raids disrupted transportation and commerce, weakening Rome’s ability to supply and reinforce Britain.
• This foreshadowed the later Saxon and Viking raids, as Germanic tribes exploited Rome’s declining naval dominance.

3. Roman Response and the Fortification of the Saxon Shore

• The Roman military attempted to contain the Frankish threat, reinforcing the Rhine frontier.
• In response to these and other raids, Rome strengthened the "Saxon Shore" defenses—a network of fortresses along the southern and eastern coasts of Britain and northern Gaul.
• Despite these efforts, Frankish and Saxon incursions persisted, highlighting Rome’s weakening control over its western provinces.

4. Long-Term Impact: The Franks as Rome’s Successors

• While initially a major threat to Rome, the Franks later became Roman allies (foederati), supplying auxiliary troops for the empire.
• By the late 4th and early 5th centuries, the Franks would gradually transition from raiders to rulers, forming the foundation of what would become the Frankish Kingdom under the Merovingians.

Conclusion: The Franks and the Decline of Roman Control

The Franks’ dominance of the Scheldt region and their Channel raids in the early 4th century CE signaled:

• The weakening of Roman naval power in the North Sea and English Channel.
• The increasing independence of Germanic groups, who would later carve out post-Roman kingdoms.
• The early disruptions that foreshadowed the eventual fall of Roman Britain in the 5th century CE.

While the Franks started as raiders, they would ultimately inherit much of the Western Roman Empire, shaping the medieval European world in the centuries to come.

An edict issued by Constantine in March 321 sets the dies Solis Invicti (Sunday) as the day of rest: trade is forbidden; agriculture is allowed.

The previous year, the Christian church in Rome had introduced December 25—the supposed day of the solstice and day of rebirth of the Sun, and an event long celebrated by Romans as the Saturnalia—as the birthday of Jesus.

A letter from Constantine to the prefect of Cologne regarding special taxes and dated December 11, 321, is the first documentation of Jews along the Rhine.

Constantine’s forces pursue a horde of Goths into Licinius’ Thracian territory in violation of the compact between the two, rekindling civil war in 323.

Constantine's personal “theology” emerges with particular clarity from a remarkable series of letters, extending from 313 to the early 320s, concerning the Donatist schism in North Africa.

The Donatists maintain that those priests and bishops who have once lapsed from the Christian faith cannot be readmitted to the church.

Constantine's chief concern is that a divided church will offend the Christian God and so bring divine vengeance upon the Roman Empire and Constantine himself.

Satan inspires schism, in Constantine's view.

Its partisans are acting in defiance of the clemency of Christ, for which they might expect eternal damnation at the Last Judgment.

Meanwhile, it is for the righteous members of the Christian community to show patience and long-suffering.

In so doing, they will be imitating Christ, and their patience will be rewarded in lieu of martyrdom-for actual martyrdom is no longer open to Christians in a time of peace for the church.

Throughout, Constantine has no doubt that to remove error and to propagate the true religion is both his personal duty and a proper use of the imperial position.

His claim to be “bishop of those outside the church” may be construed in this light.

Other such pronouncements, expressed in letters to imperial officials and to Christian clergy, demonstrate that Constantine's commitment to Christianity is firmer and less ambiguous than some have suggested.

Eusebius confirms what Constantine himself believes: that he has a special and personal relationship with the Christian God.

The emperor makes his third son a caesar in 323.

Crispus, having in 320 defeated the Franks and thus assuring twenty years of peace along the Rhine border, in 322 and 323 defeats the Alamanni.

Wang Dun, a Jin Dynasty general and later warlord with paramount authorities, having brought Emperor Yuan (Sima Rui) to submission with his military force, now apparently intends to seize the Jin throne by force, but grows ill in 324 and dies as Emperor Ming is repelling his forces.

After a further period of tension, Constantine attacks Licinius in 324, routing him at Adrianople (modern Edirne) on July 3, and …