Battle of the Milvian Bridge 312
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 312 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Ancient (before 500) | derived from year |
| Location | Italy | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Civil Wars of the Tetrarchy | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Ancient Rome | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 41.9356, 12.4669 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of the Milvian Bridge took place between the Roman Emperors Constantine I and Maxentius on 28 October AD 312. It takes its name from the Milvian Bridge, an important route over the Tiber. Constantine won the battle and started on the path that led him to end the Tetrarchy and become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire. Maxentius drowned in the Tiber during the battle; his body was later taken from the river and decapitated, and his head was paraded through the streets of Rome on the day following the battle before being sent to Africa.
According to Christian chroniclers Eusebius of Caesarea and Lactantius, the battle marked the beginning of Constantine's conversion to Christianity. Eusebius of Caesarea recounts that Constantine and his soldiers had a vision sent by the Christian God. This was interpreted as a promise of victory if the sign of the Chi Rho, the first two letters of Christ's name in Greek, was painted on the soldiers' shields. The Arch of Constantine, erected in celebration of the victory, certainly attributes Constantine's success to divine intervention; however, the monument does not display any overtly Christian symbolism.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of the Milvian Bridge (revision 1375342258), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of the Colline Gate 82 BC · 4 km
- Siege of Rome (537–538) 537 · 5 km
- Siege of Rome (472) 472 · 5 km
- Sack of Rome (390 BC) 390 BC · 5 km
- Capture of Fidenae (435 BC) 435 BC · 6 km
- Sack of Rome (546) 546 · 7 km
Other battles of the Civil Wars of the Tetrarchy
All 3 battles of the Civil Wars of the Tetrarchy →
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