Only fragments now remain of the huge, 30-foot tall statue of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great (c. 280-337), known as the Colossus of Constantine. It was placed in the Basilica Nova in the Roman forum. The limbs and the 2.3 metre high head were carved from white marble while the body was made from wood covered in bronze. The statue's hand may have held a staff displaying the sacred Chi-Rho monogram XP, from the Greek word for Christos. Born Flavius Valerius Constantinus, he was proclaimed emperor in 306 AD, becoming emperor of both the Eastern and Western Roman Empires in 324. Constantine 1 then converted to Christianity and ended the persecution of the Christians, and in 326 founded Constantinople (present-day Istanbul).