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Primary sourceSculpturec. 300 CE

Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs

c. 300 CE

A porphyry sculpture of two embracing imperial pairs from the Tetrarchy system that preceded Constantine, now on St Mark's Basilica in Venice.

This sculpture shows the Tetrarchy system Constantine's father served under, and which Constantine himself later ended.

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Photo of the porphyry sculpture of four figures embracing in pairs, standing on a stone base at a corner of a building. Each wears a crown-like cap, short tunic, cloak, and holds a sword or hilt.
Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs, porphyry, c. 300 CE. St Mark's Basilica, Venice.

About this source

What it is

Carved around 300 AD from porphyry, this sculpture shows four armoured Roman emperors in two embracing pairs. It probably once stood in Constantinople before being taken to Venice after the city was sacked during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, and it has been fixed to a corner of St Mark's Basilica ever since.

Why it matters

The statues represent the Tetrarchy, the system of shared rule set up by Emperor Diocletian with Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius I—Constantine's father. The figures look nearly identical, since the sculpture celebrates the idea of unified power rather than individual personalities. Constantine was born into this system and later dismantled it, reuniting the empire under one ruler by 324.

Look closer

  • Why do you think the sculptor made the four rulers look almost the same?
  • What does the embracing pose suggest the Tetrarchs wanted people to believe about their rule?
  • How might Constantine's reunification of the empire be seen as a rejection of what this statue represents?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Constantine the Great on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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