Question

Why did Constantine move the capital of the Roman Empire?


A.


He wanted to separate groups that threatened the unity of the empire.


B.


He thought the capital should be centered on the Italian peninsula to make it easily accessible to all Romans.


C.


He wanted to protect the Western Empire from invasions by sea.


D.


He believed that locating the capital in an area that had more trade and business would ensure the future of the empire.

Answer 1

I'd probably go with (D), because he was right.

The short answer as to why, Constantinople was close to where the "action" was, especially the rich trade routes coming from Asia and into Europe. It was also defensible (they only had to really build massive walls on the land side of the city because most of it was surrounded by water) and faced the most current threats to the West. It's also interesting to note that the Eastern Empire, or the Byzantine Empire, would last nearly a thousand years after the Western half would fall.