Battle of the Milvian Bridge, 312

Battle of the Milvian Bridge

Constantine defeated Maxentius outside Rome and became master of the West; he credited his victory to the God of the Christians, whose sign his soldiers are said to have carried.

Date

28 October 312exact dateDate in the Julian calendar

Place

Milvian Bridgetoday: Ponte Milvio, Rome, Italy · Western and Central Europe

Participants

Constantine the Great, Maxentius, Roman Empire

Threads

Europe in the Roman age (1st–5th c.)

Also known as

In hoc signo vinces; Сим победиши

Maxentius, who had held Rome since 306, came out to meet Constantine’s invading army north of the Tiber, with the river at his back. Constantine’s troops routed his army, and Maxentius drowned in the river as his men crowded onto a temporary bridge of boats beside the stone Milvian Bridge; the next day Constantine entered Rome.

According to Lactantius, Constantine had been told in a dream to mark his soldiers’ shields with a heavenly sign, the Chi-Rho; Eusebius later reported the emperor’s own account of a cross of light in the sky with the words “In this sign, conquer”. Whatever happened, the battle marked Constantine’s turn to Christianity; the Arch of Constantine, dedicated in 315, commemorates the victory.

Connections

Causes and preconditions

Establishment of the Tetrarchy1 March 293 · Western and Central Europethe break-up of the Tetrarchy led to war among its heirs

Consequences

Edict of MilanFebruary 313 · Western and Central Europe

Same participants

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Same place

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Coronation of Charlemagne25 December 800 · Western and Central Europe

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Meanwhile in the world

Other regions, within 25 years of this event

Eastern Europe

Kyiv culturec. 200 – between 400 and 430
Chernyakhov culturebetween 200 and 250 – between 400 and 430

Balkans and Anatolia

Great Persecution24 February 303 – 313
First Council of Nicaeabetween May and June 325 – between July and August 325
Founding of Constantinople11 May 330