military · 312 · Rome
On 28 October 312 Constantine met Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge north of Rome, having placed — Lactantius says — the heavenly sign on his soldiers' shields after a dream. Maxentius drowned in the Tiber; the victor entered Rome as the church's protector, and the age of persecution turned to the age of the Christian empire.
Constantine's bid for the West against Maxentius.
Constantine master of Rome under the sign of Christ — within months, Milan; within a generation, Nicaea.