Blood and the Imperial Purple

This is the story of Constantine the Great, from youth to emperor.

The Roman Empire is dying. Men have known it for generations. One of the symptoms is the rise of an impious sect of traitors known as Christians. At last, a strong emperor, Diocletian, is on the throne, a man with the will and the power to impose a cure. But he cannot do it alone. Inevitably, those he chooses to share his burden struggle for preferment.

To one of these men is born a child, Constantine. For a decade, the boy is sheltered from the world by his loving mother. Then, at age eleven, he is thrust into the cauldron of court life, where the lust for power causes men to plot, to scheme, to kill, to assure themselves of Diocletian's favor.

At court, Diocletian soon notices young Constantine's outstanding mental and physical abilities. But being singled out by the emperor means, inevitably, that the boy is hated by jealous men. Death stalks him. As he grows to manhood and begins his career as a soldier, he must use all his intelligence and all his strength to preserve his life.

Before him lies the Imperial purple, stained with the blood of countless thousands, and with the purple, the power to transform the world.