A Brief History
According to Orthodox Christian tradition, on October 27, 312 A.D., the night before the Battle of Milvian Bridge against the Roman Emperor Maxentius, the Emperor Constantine the Great adopted as his motto the Greek phrase “ἐν τούτῳ νίκα” after having a vision of a Christogram in the sky.
Digging Deeper
This episode is one of the most unusual and controversial stories in the history of Christianity, and probably the only time the Christian religion was involved so energetically in the military battlefield. Of course, nothing can be officially proved, and this story is a matter of faith most of all, but the life of Constantine the Great and the story of this incident can be examined a little more closely.
Constantine was the emperor who transferred the capital of the Byzantine Empire from Rome to Constantinople, laying the foundation for the transformation of the Empire from a Roman state to a Greek one. He was the first Christian emperor, the first ruler to adopt the religion that would go on to dominate the entire Byzantine Empire – Orthodox Christianity. In most Orthodox Christian countries such as Greece, Russia, and Romania, he is considered a saint equal to the twelve Apostles.
One of the keys to achieving all this was the Battle of the Milvian Bridge against the Roman Emperor Maxentius on 28 October 312 A.D., a victory for Constantine forever linked with his famous vision – a luminous cross in the sky that took the form ☧, from the Greek letters Chi and Rho (X and P), the first two letters of the name “Christ” in Greek. The Christogram in the sky bore the inscription «᾿Εν Τούτῳ Νίκα» [Latin: In hoc signo vinces; English: In this sign you will conquer].
Over the years, many historians have tried to provide a scientific account of the vision of Constantine, but without any significant success. According to psychological interpretations of this event, Constantine, while he could not know that the outcome of the battle would determine the future of Europe as a whole, certainly did realize how decisive was the upcoming clash for his Byzantine Empire. Therefore, many historians try to explain his vision from a psychological point of view, claiming that the vision was nothing more than an illusion caused by his excessive anxiety and stress about the outcome of the battle. Other historians, appealing to the findings of astronomy, note that the positions of the planets on that day formed an X and a P cruciform alignment. So, they suggest that the vision Constantine saw that evening was nothing more than an astronomical phenomenon. Of course, the Orthodox Church, which honors the great Constantine as a saint equal to the Apostles, insists that the vision was a miracle, a divine sign from God.
Whatever the truth, the historical fact remains that Constantine experienced something significant enough to lead him to a historic decision shocking for its time. To insure the victory foretold in his vision – “In this sign you will conquer,” he had the Roman legions replace the pagan gods on their shields with standards bearing red banners with the Chi (χ)-Rho (ρ) monogram ☧. This banner, called a labarum, was hung suspended from the crossbar, making it an excellent symbol for the crucified Christ.
Because it was too difficult and too costly, the coins of the time did not bear the new symbol. But a new era had begun, and Constantine adopted the monogram as his own, eventually even topping his Byzantine crown with the Christogram whose appearance in the sky led him to victory.
Question for students (and subscribers): Does Constantine deserve to be known as “the Great”? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information about Constantine and a deeper look at this particular incident, you can read The Life and Times of Constantine the Great
If you fancy a more religious view of the topic, you should check out Constantine the Great: And the Christian Revolution
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="438 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=438">79 Comments
Hey, that was a pretty good anecdote.
I never knew all that stuff about Constantine before.
Good article.
~ Ann
Nice article and very informative, thank you!
Made for interesting reading! Nicely done.
I can’t really believe that the Orthodox Church equalizes Constantine with the Apostles themselves, that seems a bit exaggerated.
I am afraid the big majority of them does. You can do your own research if you don’t believe me, but it does. They actually say “If there was no Constantine, there would be no Christianity today”
Constantine being the first ruler to dominate the Byzantine Empire with the orthodox christianity religion was a great accomplishment. I believe that Constantine deserved to be called “the great” because that is a great accomplishment.
The biggest accomplishment would have to be spreading the religion and expanding the empire. I think he deserves to be called a great just as much as the other guys do because he lead them through a victory and helped on expanding the empire and religions to go with it.
The biggest accomplishment is that he expanded the empire and spread Christianity. His influence on the spread of Christianity was great and continues to be celebrated. Modern Christianity would be very different without his influence.
Constantine’s biggest achievement by far was his spreading of Christianity. The fact that he is considered a saint equal to the twelve apostles in some countries is enough for me to believe he is deserving of being called “the Great”.
I think Constantine’s greatest achievement was being the first Christian emperor. It is not easy to set a precedent that is remembered for so long. Because of this achievement he does deserve the title “Constantine the Great”
Constantine’s greatest achievement was the fact that he helped spread christianity throughout the bzyantine empire and he was the first emperor to adapt the religion but i dont think this would constitute him being “the great”.
His greatest accomplishment was the spread of Christianity. It’s still a common religion so many years after his death, that I do believe he deserved his ‘great’ title.
Good article he was a great ruler I think he did a lot of good in Rome by converting there religion.
I think that he just lied.
His greatest accomplishment was converting so many people to Christianity because even today millions of people still practice this religion. I do not think that he really needed to be called “The Great” though. It was probably his ego that landed him that name. After all, how great can someone be who forces people to convert their religion or die?
TMK
I don’t know if anyone really deserves the title “The Great”. Especially when you name yourself that. He did spread Christianity which was a good thing, maybe a large ego here!
Whether it was calculated insight or just a lucky toss, moving the Capital from Rome to Byzantium would be, in my opinion, his greatest success. Having the seat of Imperial power in a centralized, incredibly defensible location allowed for the empire (and the imperial city itself) to withstand centuries of attacks while also allowing for use of the secret fire (Greek Fire) in siege events (as Constantinople’s location sprawled over a waterway), something that would have been nigh impossible in landlocked Rome. Couple this with having readily identifiable enemies near Byzantium as opposed to the constant political flip-flops of European factions adds to the move’s success.
I feel that because Constantine was the first ruler to rule the Emperor Byzantine and because his greatest accomplishment was the spread of Christianity, Constantine should of been know as Great, in my opinion. So many people were converted to Christianity and because of that he is Great.
First off, to know God, is to know that God would never give
a sign to go to war (love not war). Constantine knew of the Christian faith
from his mother who was a secret Christian. That being said, Constantine was
more than likely a secret Christian himself. Constantine knew by making up a
story that Joshua Ben Joseph (Jesus) had sent him a sign to win the war, he
could legalize Christianity.
I have much respect for Constantine, even though he lied, he
lied for the greater good to legalize Christianity.
For the rise of Byzantium (later Constantinople) and taking the major step of recognizing Christianity, yes, Constantine earns the title of Great. However, I think that Byzantium’s rise came at the cost of Rome’s decline as the center of imperial authority. Strategically, it makes sense for Constantine to build up the eastern frontier, for the rise of the Sasanid Dynasty was a greater threat than the barbarians in Europe
I think Constantine was great, however, he did strengthen the East relative to the West, and he did give legitimacy to Christianity, which Gibbon claims destroyed the empire.
Constantine should be considered “the Great,” because of the mere fact that he essentially changed the formation of modern Europe. By accepting Christianity, a pathway for expansion would be created.
I mean come on he had to be great in order to name Jesus’ birthday as the 25th of December and most of the world celebrates his birthday in one way or another….as well as many historical events have taken place on Christmas day like coronations and crownings.
It is so interesting to see how someone from so many years ago was so influential in how the world operates and works today. I wonder if Constantine had any idea that his ideas and decisions would have such long term effects.
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Interesting article! Who knew that these kind of things happened to him?!
Pretty cool to see someone from that time period can influence us still today.
Crazy how much these things influence us today.
Very cool that someone from such a long time ago still influences us today!
Whatever he saw… miracle or not… turned out to be a blessing! — DAVID WARDLE
It is a shame that Constantine was most likely so anxious and exhausted that he was seeing things, but seems very plausible.
I found it interesting that individuals are still trying to figure out Constantine’s vision. Could he have made it up?
Because Christianity is such a dominant religion, and being a Christian myself I believe he did a great thing and help people become they are today in a religious matter.
Very interesting and informative!
Good article!
This was an interesting article I did not know about the formation in the sky that inspired christianity!
Very interesting! I don’t know why Constantine would make up “the Christogram” so I believe him if that’s what he saw, even if it had to do with his stress about the battle!
It is interesting that this is such a hotly debated topic within Christianity and among historians. I think even if Constantine did not have his vision, the importance of his actions lied in the fact that with his decision, Christianity could really find its footing and become what it is today.
I had never heard this story before and found it interesting. You are always told God will be there in times of trouble, when you need him.
This article was very informing and well written. I was not aware of all of this going on at that time.
I am guessing this was either an astronomical phenomenon or it was made up (or hallucinated).
I am not sure that I entirely agree with the Orthodox view of the P and X, rather than it was just a cluster of stars, but this is an extremely interesting story about Constantine!
I had heard the majority of the story before but never knew about the names of the different banners. It was interesting to learn that putting the symbol on coins was also considered.
I guess this is one of those historical events that nobody will know if it is really true or not
It’s interesting how just a simple sign was enough to lead an army to victory as well as basically convert an entire nation.
I find it very interesting that Constantine saw something in the sky. But this article also does say that historians have tried to come up with scientific justification and could not do it. So this story does not appeal to me as much as it did before I read that.
I’ve always heard of Constantine and I know the sign, but I didn’t realize they were together.
Religion gives people faith and hope which I believed helped him rally up his men!
religion gives people faith and hope when there is none to be found. so I wanna believe he did he something in the sky that gave him the courgage to led his men to victory
Science can never just accept that somethings in the world are impossible to fully understand.
I am more inclined to believe the astrological sign version rather than the divine sign version. Either way, it was a big win for Constantine and Christians, so i’m sure the divine sign version makes a better story.
Plenty of information and an easy read
seems like a great sign of hope for those in battle.
I thought this article was very interesting and an excellent read
I have heard this story multiple times. It is crazy to think how this vision and his subsequent believe of faith lead to the widespread success of Christianity.
I feel like religion is a touchy subject for most people, however I do believe most people believe in sometime of God. With that being said I see people coming together through faith as they already do, but more so to stand up for what they truly believe in. I have never heard this story but found it to be very interesting and am glad I read it .
This was an awesome article! Religion is definitely a touchy subject for a lot of individuals.
I found this article to be very interesting
Whether God really came to him or not, this got the soldiers through the battle, so I wouldn’t question where it came from.
I think that it is inspiring to see how the soldiers got through the hard times. No matter if it was God or not they got through it.
I personally don’t think that God would choose a side in any battle, but it’s an interesting account of that event.
I believe it was the anxiety and stress , showing allusions, very interesting.
I’m surprised I haven’t heard this story, being a Christian myself. Very interesting read.
Great article. Interesting to see the many influences religion has had on the world.
This was a very good story! Being a Catholic, I cannot believe that I never heard of this story before today.
Very interesting article.
I have heard this a few times before in different classes , but it was interesting to get more information on how exactly the sign was put on the shields.
Odd how often religion and war are mixed. Interesting piece.
I’m optimistic that historians will provide a scientific account of the vision of Constantine
I never understood how you can move a capital. Do you just declare that another city is now the new capital? Also, every viewpoint in the past seems to result in some type of war. I just find that to be interesting how that works out.
Very interesting article!
pretty interesting artice!
This would be a very hard concept to prove, very interesting thought to say the least.
Constantine is my favorite Roman Emperor. Deus Vult!
Great article
Very interesting indeed.
Very cool how he had such strong faith in what he saw.
i remember us talking about this in class! sometimes all one needs is a push and then they can accomplish great things!