The battle fought at Milvian Bridge outside Rome was a crucial moment in a civil war that ended with Constantine I as sole ruler of the Roman Empire and Christianity established as the empire’s official religion. Definition of battle of the milvian bridge in the Definitions.net dictionary. This contribution has not yet been formally edited by Britannica. Constantine and his army inflicted heavy losses on Maxentius and his army during the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. This had been fine for men and horses making their way slowly and carefully in the days before the battle. Media in category "Battle of Milvian Bridge" The following 31 files are in this category, out of 31 total. Attacking, his troops slowly pushed back Maxentius' men until their backs were at the river. Maxentius' strongest supporters in the military were neutralized when the Praetorian Guard and Imperial Horse Guard (equites singulares) were disbanded. Maxentius’scavalry buckled before the impact and broke ranks. After Diocletian stepped down on 1 May 305, his successors began to struggle for control of the Roman Empire almost immediately. This might have gone on indefinitely had it not been for a curious turning point in Christian, and world, history: the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 AD. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Constantine then made an agreement with Licinius, and the two rallied the Eastern Christians to their side by guaranteeing them religious tolerance in the Edict of Milan (313). Michael Kerrigan has written many books, including volumes on Greece and the Mediterranean and Rome for the BBC Ancient Civilizations series and. Holding it was crucial if Maxentius was to keep his rival out of Rome, where the Senate would surely favour whoever held the city. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}41°56′08″N 12°28′01″E / 41.93556°N 12.46694°E / 41.93556; 12.46694, "Vision of Constantine" redirects here. [28] Maxentius was condemned to damnatio memoriae, all his legislation was invalidated and Constantine usurped all of Maxentius' considerable building projects within Rome, including the Temple of Romulus and the Basilica of Maxentius. as a solar halo phenomenon called a sun dog), which may have preceded the Christian beliefs later expressed by Constantine. Meaning of battle of the milvian bridge. OCTOBER 28th, 312AD The Battle of the Milvian bridge is one of the defining battles in world history. The battle of the Milvian Bridge inspired many artists and sculptors and found its reflection in many works of art, such as tapestries, paintings, and sculptures. Omissions? Updates? I cannot emphasize enough the significance of this event in world history. However, there was only one escape route, via the bridge. Just a year after the battle, the victorious Constantine made this obscure eastern religion official within the Roman … Constantine’s legions pushed Maxentius’ forces back after the latter tried to cross the river. On October 28, Constantine's forces arrived on the battlefield. [4] Constantine avoided conflict with both Maxentius and the Eastern emperors for most of this period. Although these articles may currently differ in style from others on the site, they allow us to provide wider coverage of topics sought by our readers, through a diverse range of trusted voices. Although Constantine was the son of the Western Emperor Constantius, the Tetrarchic ideology did not necessarily provide for hereditary succession. Both authors agree that the sign was not widely understandable to denote Christ (although among the Christians, it was already being used in the catacombs along with other special symbols to mark and/or decorate Christian tombs). 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. [16] Lactantius also reports that the populace supported Constantine with acclamations during circus games. He easily overran north Italy, and stood at the Saxa Rubra on the Tiber, less than 10 miles from Rome. Eusebius then continues to describe the labarum, the military standard used by Constantine in his later wars against Licinius, showing the Chi-Rho sign.[9]. The solar deity Sol Invictus is often pictured with a nimbus or halo. He then ordered a pontoon bridge constructed for his own army's use. Lactantius states that, in the night before the battle, Constantine was commanded in a dream to "delineate the heavenly sign on the shields of his soldiers" (On the Deaths of the Persecutors 44.5). Constantine entered Rome on 29 October. Next day, the old banners were changed with new ones wit… Let us know. Maxentius’s decision to retreat was catastrophic. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. When Constantius died on 25 July 306, his father's troops proclaimed Constantine as Augustus in Eboracum (York). [25] He staged a grand arrival ceremony in the city (adventus), and was met with popular jubilation. The Battle of Milvian Bridge, located in the Sala di Costantino ("Hall of Constantine"), is by Giulio Romano and other assistants of the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael, who died in 1520. Yet those who lived in the fourth century saw the battle as just one in a list of imperial victories—and not necessarily the most significant of … In the summer of 312, Constantine gathered his troops and decided to settle the dispute by force. Oktober 312 n. Chr.’. In AD 312, Constantine I defeated his stronger rival Maxentius between this bridge and Saxa Rubra, in the famous Ba… The most important ancient sources for the battle are Lactantius, De mortibus persecutorum 44; Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History ix, 9 and Life of Constantine i, 28–31 (the vision) and i, 38 (the actual battle); Zosimus ii, 15–16; and the Panegyrici Latini of 313 (anonymous) and 321 (by Nazarius). Advancing over the Milvian Bridge, Maxentius ordered it destroyed so that it could not be used by the enemy. Interested in participating in the Publishing Partner Program? A bridge was built by consul Gaius Claudius Nero in 206 BC after he had defeated the Carthaginian army in the Battle of the Metaurus. Constantine then ordered his infantry to push forward against Maxentius’s infantry, who were forced to fall back and found themselves without room to maneuver. J. Moreau, ‘Pont Milvius ou Saxa Rubra?’. Maxentius chose to make his stand in front of the Milvian Bridge (today the Ponte Milvio), a stone bridge that carries the Via Flaminia road across the Tiber River into Rome. These articles have not yet undergone the rigorous in-house editing or fact-checking and styling process to which most Britannica articles are customarily subjected. The medal is illustrated in Jocelyn M.C. His intention was to make a strategic withdrawal, protecting the flower of his force so that he would be able to mount a successful defense of Rome from the city walls. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Constantine’s conversion to the Cross may have been prompted by a dream of victory. It was expected that Maxentius would remain within Rome and endure a siege; he had successfully employed this strategy twice before, during the invasions of Severus and Galerius. Paul K. Davis writes, "Constantine’s victory gave him total control of the Western Roman Empire paving the way for Christianity to become the dominant religion for the Roman Empire and ultimately for Europe. Galerius, however, recognized Constantine as holding only the lesser imperial rank of Caesar. When Constantius died on 25 July 306, his father's troops proclaimed Constantine as Augustus in Eboracum (York). Lactantius, Eusebius) or superstition (e.g. The battle gave Constantine undisputed control of the western half of the Roman Empire. [19] Already known as a skilful general, Constantine first launched his cavalry at the cavalry of Maxentius and broke them. Indeed, Maxentius had organised the stockpiling of large amounts of food in the city in preparation for such an event. The defining moment of the campaign was the battle of the Milvian Bridge. Speidel, 'Maxentius' Praetorians' in, This page was last edited on 22 January 2021, at 03:08. Several of Maxentius' soldiers were either captured or slaughtered after the collapse of the Milvian Bridge. One day before the battle, Constantine saw in the sky the sign of the cross superimposed over the sun. Some details of that vision, however, differ between the sources reporting it. On the 28th of October, the legions of Constantine and Maxentius clashed. The battle fought at Milvian Bridge outside Rome was a crucial moment in a civil war that ended with Constantine I as sole ruler of the Roman Empire and Christianity established as the empire’s official religion. and Barbara Saylor Rodgers. Constantine’s conversion to the Cross may have been prompted by a dream of victory. "[22], Maxentius was among the dead, having drowned in the river while trying to swim across it in an attempt to escape or, alternatively, he is described as having been thrown by his horse into the river. The underlying causes of the battle were the rivalries inherent in Diocletian's Tetrarchy. This left Maximinus Daia, now…, …fought the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in the name of the Christian God, having received instructions in a dream to paint the Christian monogram () on his troops’ shields. Detail from The Vision of the Cross by assistants of Raphael , depicting the vision of the cross and the Greek writing "Ἐν τούτῳ νίκα" in the sky, before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. The sources vary as to the nature of the bridge central to the events of the battle. However, it also had a great impact on Christianity as well. In his later Life of Constantine, Eusebius gives a detailed account of a vision and stresses that he had heard the story from the Emperor himself. "[29] The following year, 313, Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan, which made Christianity an officially recognised and tolerated religion in the Roman Empire. Information and translations of battle of the milvian bridge in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. In 109 BC, censor Marcus Aemilius Scaurus built a new bridge of stone in the same position, demolishing the old one. Beneath it was inscribed the simple message in hoc signo vinces, which translates as "In this sign, prevail." Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. [18], The next day, the two armies clashed, and Constantine won a decisive victory. [21] Finally, the temporary bridge set up alongside the Milvian Bridge, over which many of the Maxentian troops were escaping, collapsed, and those stranded on the north bank of the Tiber were either taken prisoner or killed. over the Tiber near Rome as part of the Flaminian Way Flaminian Way, one of the principal Roman roads, the greatest artery from Rome to Cisalpine Gaul. He fled towards the broken bridge; but the multitude pressing on him, he was driven headlong into the Tiber."[24]. Battle of the Milvian Bridge by Giulio Romano, 1520-24.jpg 4,433 × 1,858; 1.43 MB Constantine the Great; the reorganisation of the empire and the triumph of the church (1905) (14793610843).jpg 1,920 × 1,324; 519 KB Maxentius himself appears to have been among those who drowned. Constantine gained control of the western half of the Roman Empire. In relocating the imperial capital to Byzantium (which he renamed Constantinople in his own honor), he was merely bowing to the inevitable, with barbarian pressure on the western provinces increasing year by year. Galerius himself marched on Rome in the autumn, but failed to take the city. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Although Constantine was the son of the western emperor Constantius, the Tetrarchic ideology did not necessarily provide for hereditary succession. Historical sources, however, are not consistent and differ on certain issues as to the so-called “miracle of Constantine”. 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. Fought by the Roman Emperor Constantine against a rival claimant to the throne, the usurper Emperor Maxentius, the battle ultimately resulted in the conversion of Constantine to Christianity. On 27 October, the night before the battle, it is said that Constantine had a dream: he saw the sun—the object of his own worship—overlain by the figure of a cross. Severus was captured, imprisoned, and executed. Zosimus). 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. He camped at the location of Malborghetto near Prima Porta, where remains of a Constantinian monument, the Arch of Malborghetto, in honour of the occasion are still extant. Pauwels Casteels - The Battle of Milvian Bridge.jpg 1,151 × 452; 142 KB. Tags: battle, milvian, bridge All rights to paintings and other images found on PaintingValley.com are owned by their respective owners (authors, artists), and the Administration of the website doesn't bear responsibility for their use. [8], From Eusebius, two accounts of the battle survive. On 28 October 312 two rival Roman Emperors – Constantine and Maxentius -faced up against each other at the Milvian Bridge in Rome. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Battle-of-the-Milvian-Bridge, Warfare History Network - Bloody Clash on the Tiber, History Today - The Battle of the Milvian Bridge. By the beginning of the fourth century, the Roman Empire was gradually imploding. [27] He chose to honour the Senatorial Curia with a visit,[28] where he promised to restore its ancestral privileges and give it a secure role in his reformed government: there would be no revenge against Maxentius' supporters. 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