Constantine Wins Milvian Bridge: Christianity Rises
Constantine's army faced Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge over the Tiber on October 28, 312, outnumbered by perhaps three to one. Ancient sources claim Constantine ordered his soldiers to mark their shields with a Christian symbol after a vision of a cross in the sky with the words 'In hoc signo vinces' (In this sign, conquer). Whether the vision was real, a political calculation, or a later invention remains debated. What is certain: Constantine won decisively. Maxentius drowned in the Tiber when a pontoon bridge collapsed under retreating troops. Constantine became sole ruler of the western Roman Empire. Within a year, he issued the Edict of Milan, legalizing Christianity throughout the empire. Within a generation, Christianity went from a persecuted minority faith to the state religion of Rome.
October 28, 312
1714 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Constantine I
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Maxentius
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Battle of Milvian Bridge
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Battle of the Milvian Bridge
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Constantine the Great
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Battle of the Milvian Bridge
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Maxentius
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Roman Empire
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Christianity
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Rome
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Roman emperor
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278
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Basilicas in the Catholic Church
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St. Peter's Basilica
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Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
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Simón Pedro
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Paul the Apostle
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29 de junio
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258
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Ancient Rome
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Maximian
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Praetorian Guard
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Augustus (title)
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Roman Senate
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Pope
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Catholic Church
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What Else Happened on October 28
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Maxentius declared himself Roman Emperor after his father's failed comeback attempt. The Praetorian Guard backed him. Rome's citizens backed him. The actual emp…
Visigothic forces sacked Braga, capital of the Suevi kingdom in northwest Iberia. They burned the city's churches to the ground. The Suevi had converted to Cath…
Byzantine general Michael Bourtzes scaled Antioch's walls at night with a small force and seized two towers. The city had been in Arab hands for 340 years. Bour…
Byzantine forces recaptured Antioch in 969 after 333 years of Arab rule. Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas sent his best general, Michael Bourtzes, who climbed the w…
Pope Nicholas II had died. Empress Agnes, ruling Germany as regent for her 11-year-old son Henry IV, pushed for Cadalus, the Bishop of Parma. Cardinals in Rome …
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