, ▁his ▁reputation ▁in ▁Rome ▁was ▁influenced ▁by ▁his ▁contributions ▁to ▁public ▁building . ▁By ▁the ▁time ▁of ▁his ▁acc ession ▁in ▁ 3 0 6 ▁Rome ▁was ▁becoming ▁increasing ly ▁irrelevant ▁to ▁the ▁govern ance ▁of ▁the ▁emp ire , ▁most ▁em per ors ▁choosing ▁to ▁live ▁elsewhere ▁and ▁foc using ▁on ▁def ending ▁the ▁frag ile ▁boundaries , ▁where ▁they ▁frequently ▁founded ▁new ▁cities . ▁This ▁factor ▁contributed ▁to ▁his ▁ability ▁to ▁se ize ▁power . ▁By ▁contrast ▁Max ent ius ▁concentr ated ▁on ▁rest oring ▁the ▁capital , ▁his ▁ep ith et ▁being ▁conserv ator ▁ur bis ▁su ae ▁( pres er ver ▁of ▁his ▁city ). ▁Thus ▁Const antine ▁was ▁perce ived ▁amongst ▁other ▁things ▁as ▁the ▁depos er ▁of ▁one ▁of ▁the ▁city ' s ▁greatest ▁benef act ors , ▁and ▁needed ▁to ▁ac quire ▁legit im acy . ▁Much ▁controvers y ▁has ▁surrounded ▁the ▁patron age ▁of ▁the ▁public ▁works ▁of ▁this ▁period . ▁The ▁German ▁phil os opher , ▁Walter ▁Benjamin ▁observed ▁that ▁history ▁is ▁seen ▁through ▁the ▁eyes ▁of ▁the ▁vict or ▁( Ü ber ▁den ▁Begriff ▁der ▁Geschichte ▁VII , ▁ 1 9 4 0 ), ▁and ▁Const antine ▁and ▁his ▁bi ograph ers ▁were ▁no ▁exception . ▁Iss uing ▁a ▁dam nat io ▁mem oria e ▁ ▁he ▁set ▁out ▁to ▁system atically ▁er ase ▁the ▁memory ▁of ▁Max ent ius . ▁Con sequently , ▁there ▁remains ▁considerable ▁uncertainty ▁regarding ▁the ▁patron age ▁of ▁early ▁fourth ▁century ▁public ▁buildings , ▁including ▁the ▁Arch