10. Fact or Fiction: Did Constantine the Great Really Give the Western Roman Empire to the Pope?
Fiction, but had a huge impact. The so-called “Donation of Constantine” is one of history’s more remarkable myths. It endured for centuries in the Middle Ages and crops up every now and then today. It basically claims that Emperor Constantine the Great, founder of the Eastern Roman, or the Byzantine Empire, gifted the Western Roman Empire to the Pope in Rome. Notwithstanding its longevity, the story has no basis in fact. Instead, the whole thing was a great hoax, that nonetheless had a huge historic impact.
It was based on a document that recorded a generous gift from Constantine the Great, whereby he transferred authority over Rome and the entire Western Roman Empire to Pope Sylvester I (reigned 314 – 315) and his successors. The donation of such vast territories to the Holy Father elevated him and his successors from mere priests and religious leaders. With such vast territorial claims to assert, the popes in Rome became independent princes and sovereign rulers of territory in their own right.