Constantine the Great

About Constantine the Great

Constantine I, known as Constantine the Great, stands as a monumental figure in Western history, earning the #154 rank in MIT's HPI for his transformative influence. As a Roman Emperor (reigned 306–337 CE), his most enduring legacy is the legalization of Christianity across the Roman Empire via the Edict of Milan in 313 CE, a decision that irrevocably shaped the religious landscape of Europe and beyond. Furthermore, he founded Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), establishing a new capital in the East that would endure for over a millennium after the fall of the West, shifting the political center of the ancient world.

Despite this profound historical significance, Constantine's 2025 online presence reveals a notable attention gap. He accrued 1.6 million Wikipedia views, placing him squarely in the category of historical figures who are arguably under-represented relative to their impact. This level of attention is more than threefold less than what would be expected based on his HPI rank, suggesting a significant fading of his memory in the digital sphere. To place this in context, contemporary political figures like Joe Biden (#329 importance) commanded over six times his annual pageviews (10.6M views), illustrating the disconnect between historical weight and current internet curiosity.

Looking at recent trends, Constantine’s digital footprint is slightly shrinking, with a year-over-year view change of -3.5% and a Q1 versus Q3 momentum drop of -6%. This data suggests that while still viewed, the figure is not experiencing a contemporary surge to compensate for his high historical importance, further widening the relative attention gap.