As the story goes, in the early 300s Constantine the Great sent out vast armies of men to conquer the world. The soldiers could be gone for years at a time. Overtime, soldiers who missed their families became melancholy and lost much of their will to fight. Constantine, seeing that families were at the root of his army's waning courage and resolve, decided to ban marriage all together. The mandate went over almost as well as trying to cure hunger by banning food.