The Untold History of the Roman Emperors by Michael Kerrigan

Historically, this process culminated in what the Roman Catholic Church calls the 'Donation of Constantine'. This claim was not new, but what was new was the theological vehemence on which it rested, and many in the West took it very seriously.

The Pope of Rome suddenly declared himself superior to all bishops of all branches of Christianity. This was a title that Julius Caesar had usurped as Roman High Priest in 72 BC and retained until his death, and which had been usurped by his ancestors two hundred years before him. Out of the ashes of the Roman Empire rose 'Pontifex Maximus'.

Moreover, the Roman Church decided to take revenge on the Eastern Roman Empire. When Rome fell in 476, Constantinople took the reins and it was then that the true Byzantine Empire was born. Rome, once an imperial city where eagles flew as symbols of the ancient and glorious legions, became a forgottenm city in a forgotten land,' write of Albany Prince Michael, Salhab Walid Amine in their book The Templars and the Secret Wisdom of Islam. The Western Roman Empire ended in 476 when the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus, was crushed by the Visigothic invasion of Italy. 'Christianity did not unify the empire, it merely gave it a semblance of uniformity for a moment. He made Constantinople his capital, and to him fell the territory of Byzantium, comprising Macedonia, Dacia, Egypt, Orientis, Pontus, Thrace, and Asia.Ĭonstantine failed then. The eastern part was acquired by Arcadius, who ruled between 395 and 408. The western part, with the capital Rome, was inherited by Honorius, who ruled between 395 and 423, and thus acquired territories including Italy, Africa, Spain, Illyria, Gaul and parts of Britain. When Emperor Theodosius I died in 395, the Roman Empire was divided by his sons and effectively split in two. Rome became a forgotten city in a forgotten land

The Untold History of the Roman Emperors by Michael Kerrigan