The Roman Emperor Who Reportedly Saw a Cross in the Sky Before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 CE and Made Christianity a Tolerated Religion the Following Year
Constantine I defeated his rival Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge outside Rome on 28 October 312 CE. The contemporary Christian writer Lactantius records that Constantine had ordered the Chi-Rho symbol painted on his soldiers' shields after a vision. Constantine issued the Edict of Milan with co-emperor Licinius the following February, legalising Christianity throughout the empire.
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