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57-665: The name and design of the flag is in the theory advocated by several authors of a relationship between the genesis of labarum and the military standard called Cantabrum , thereby identifying both as a same thing; and the alleged relationship the Codex Theodosianus established between the Labarum and the Cantabrarii , the school of Roman soldiers in charge of carrying the Cantabrum . Additionally, and according to

114-478: A battle survive. The first, shorter one in the Ecclesiastical History leaves no doubt that God helped Constantine but does not mention any vision. 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. According to this version, Constantine with his army was marching somewhere (Eusebius does not specify

171-573: A gold medallion from his reign depict the Emperor's bust in profile jugate with Sol Invictus, with the legend INVICTUS CONSTANTINUS . The official cults of Sol Invictus and Sol Invictus Mithras were popular amongst the soldiers of the Roman Army. Statuettes of Sol Invictus, carried by the standard-bearers, appear in three places in reliefs on the Arch of Constantine . Constantine's triumphal arch

228-584: A grand opportunity for the kind of political propaganda that the Arch was built to present was missed. Many historians have argued that in the early years after the battle, the Emperor had not yet decided to give clear public support to Christianity, whether from a lack of personal faith or because of fear of religious friction. The arch's inscription does say that the Emperor had saved the res publica INSTINCTV DIVINITATIS MENTIS MAGNITVDINE ("by greatness of mind and by instinct [or impulse] of divinity"). Continuing

285-516: A notatio, or combination of initials to represent an equal number of terms; and thus, L.A.B.A.R.V.M. will stand for Legionum aquila Byzantium antiqua Roma urbe mutavit ." On the evening of October 27, 312 AD, with his army preparing for the Battle of the Milvian Bridge , the emperor Constantine I claimed to have had a vision which led him to believe he was fighting under the protection of

342-509: A number of Celtic languages , many of which have derivatives. For example, in Welsh llafar means "speech", "language", "voice". Ancient Cornish and Breton have lavar , "word", and ancient Irish has labrad : "language", "speech". The plenary session of the Parliament of Cantabria , at its meeting of March 14 2016, approved a resolution as a result of the processing of

399-555: A popular notion of Constantine seeing the Chi-Rho sign on the evening before the battle. 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). Its first imperial appearance is on a Constantinian silver coin from c. 317, which proves that Constantine did use

456-466: A profuse embroidery of most brilliant precious stones; and which, being also richly interlaced with gold, presented an indescribable degree of beauty to the beholder. This banner was of a square form, and the upright staff, whose lower section was of great length, of the pious emperor and his children on its upper part, beneath the trophy of the cross, and immediately above the embroidered banner." "The emperor constantly made use of this sign of salvation as

513-427: A safeguard against every adverse and hostile power, and commanded that others similar to it should be carried at the head of all his armies." The labarum does not appear on any of several standards depicted on the Arch of Constantine , which was erected just three years after the battle. If Eusebius' oath-confirmed account of Constantine's vision and the role it played in his victory and conversion can be trusted, then

570-719: A set of early national Greek flags, blessed by the Greek Orthodox Church. Under these banners the Greeks united throughout the Greek Revolution (1821), a war of liberation waged against the Ottoman Empire . Labarum also gives its name ( Labaro ) to a suburb of Rome adjacent to Prima Porta , one of the sites where the 'Vision of Constantine' is placed by tradition. Battle of the Milvian Bridge 350–353 Late period The Battle of

627-476: A skillful general, Constantine first launched his cavalry at the cavalry of Maxentius and broke them. Constantine's infantry then advanced; most of Maxentius's troops fought well but they began to be pushed back toward the Tiber. Maxentius then decided to order a retreat, intending to make another stand at Rome itself. However, there was only one escape route, via the bridge. Constantine's men inflicted heavy losses on

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684-454: A snake on his coins. Eusebius stated that in addition to the singular labarum of Constantine, other similar standards (labara) were issued to the Roman army. This is confirmed by the two labara depicted being held by a soldier on a coin of Vetranio (illustrated) dating from 350. A later Byzantine manuscript indicates that a jewelled labarum standard believed to have been that of Constantine

741-580: A vision which led him to fight under the protection of the Christian God. Some details of that vision, however, differ between the sources reporting it. 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). He followed the commands of his dream and marked

798-547: The Christian God . 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". Obeying this command, "he marked on their shields the letter X, with a perpendicular line drawn through it and turned round thus at the top, being the cipher of Christ". Having had their shields marked in this fashion, Constantine's troops readied themselves for battle. From Eusebius, two accounts of

855-734: The Milvian Bridge , a stone bridge that carries the Via Flaminia road across the Tiber River into Rome (the bridge stands today at the same site, somewhat remodelled, named in Italian Ponte Milvio or sometimes Ponte Molle , "soft bridge"). Holding it was essential if Maxentius was to keep his rival out of Rome, where the Senate would surely favour whoever held the city. As Maxentius had probably partially destroyed

912-658: The Temple of Romulus and the Basilica of Maxentius . Maxentius' strongest supporters in the military were neutralized when the Praetorian Guard and Imperial Horse Guard ( equites singulares ) were disbanded. Constantine is thought to have replaced the former imperial guards with a number of cavalry units termed the Scholae Palatinae . Paul K. Davis writes, "Constantine’s victory gave him total control of

969-511: The lauburu ; though the name is only attested from the 19th century onwards the motif occurs in engravings dating as early as the 2nd century AD. Harry Thurston Peck , in his Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities , wrote: "The etymology of the term itself has given rise to many conflicting opinions. Some derive the name from labor; others from εὐλάβεια, 'reverence'; others from λαμβάνειν, 'to take'; and others, again, from λάφυρα, 'spoils'. One writer makes Labarum to be like S.P.Q.R. , only

1026-523: The non-legislative proposal No. 9L/4300-0056 relative to the recognition of the Lábaro. "The Parliament of Cantabria: 1. Recognizes the lábaro as a representative and identity symbol of the Cantabrian people and the values they represent. 2. Urges the institutions and civil society of Cantabria to actively promote and participate in their knowledge and dissemination as an iconographic expression of

1083-517: The Chi-Rho and the labarum later in the conflict with Licinius. The vision has been interpreted in a solar context (e.g., as a sun dog phenomenon), which would have been reshaped to fit with the Christian beliefs of the later Constantine. An alternate explanation of the intersecting celestial symbol has been advanced by George Latura, which claims that Plato's visible god in Timaeus is in fact

1140-434: The Chi-Rho sign on the evening before the battle. Both authors agree that the sign was not readily understandable as denoting Christ, which corresponds with the fact that there is no certain evidence of the use of the letters chi and rho as a Christian sign before Constantine. Its first appearance is on a Constantinian silver coin from c. 317, which proves that Constantine did use the sign at that time. He made extensive use of

1197-456: The Lord prevailed, and the forces of Maxentius were routed. He fled towards the broken bridge; but the multitude pressing on him, he was driven headlong into the Tiber." Constantine entered Rome on 29 October. He staged a grand arrival ceremony in the city ( adventus ) , and was met with popular jubilation. Maxentius' body was fished out of the Tiber and decapitated. His head was paraded through

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1254-657: 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

1311-756: The Western Roman Empire paving the way for Christianity to become the dominant religion for the Roman Empire and ultimately for Europe." 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. 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

1368-463: The actual location of the event, but it clearly is not in the camp at Rome) when he looked up to the sun and saw a cross of light above it, and with it the Greek words Ἐν Τούτῳ Νίκα . The traditionally employed Latin translation of the Greek is in hoc signo vinces — literally "In this sign, you will conquer." However, a direct translation from the original Greek text of Eusebius into English gives

1425-399: The apparition, but in the following night he had a dream in which Christ explained to him that he should use the sign against his enemies. Eusebius then continues to describe the labarum , the military standard used by Constantine in his later wars against Licinius , showing the Chi-Rho sign. The accounts of the two contemporary authors, though not entirely consistent, have been merged into

1482-426: The belief that the Christian God helped Constantine but does not mention any vision. 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. According to this version, Constantine with his army was marching (Eusebius does not specify the actual location of the event, but it clearly is not in the camp at Rome), when he looked up to

1539-399: The bridge during his preparations for a siege, he had a wooden or pontoon bridge constructed to get his army across the river. The sources vary as to the nature of the bridge central to the events of the battle. Zosimus mentions it, vaguely, as being constructed in two parts connected by iron fastenings, while others indicate that it was a pontoon bridge; sources are also unclear as to whether

1596-498: The bridge was deliberately constructed as a collapsible trap for Constantine's forces or not. The next day, the two armies clashed, and Constantine won a decisive victory. The dispositions of Maxentius may have been faulty as his troops seem to have been arrayed with the River Tiber too close to their rear, giving them little space to allow re-grouping in the event of their formations being forced to give ground. Already known as

1653-552: The day of the battle was the same as the day of his accession (28 October), which was generally thought to be a good omen. Additionally, Maxentius is reported to have consulted the oracular Sibylline Books , which stated that "on October 28 an enemy of the Romans would perish". Maxentius interpreted this prophecy as being favourable to himself. Lactantius also reports that the populace supported Constantine with acclamations during circus games. Maxentius chose to make his stand in front of

1710-576: The definition of the Royal Academy of the Spanish language, labarum is the Roman standard (as in military ceremonial flag) on which, under Emperor Constantine's rule, the cross and the Monogram of Christ ( Chi-Rho ) was drawn. By association of ideas, labarum can refer just to the monogram itself, or even just the cross. Etymologically , the word comes from (p)lab- which means to speak in

1767-464: The etymology of the word is unclear. The Oxford English Dictionary offers no further derivation from within Latin. Some derive it from Latin /labāre/ 'to totter, to waver' (in the sense of the "waving" of a flag in the breeze) or laureum [vexillum] ("laurel standard"). An origin as a loan into Latin from a Celtic language or Basque has also been postulated. There is a traditional Basque symbol called

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1824-715: The favorite was Maxentius, the son of Constantius' imperial colleague Maximian , who seized the title of emperor on 28 October 306. But whereas Constantine's claim was recognized by Galerius , ruler of the Eastern provinces and the senior emperor in the Empire, Maxentius was treated as a usurper. Galerius, however, recognized Constantine as holding only the lesser imperial rank of Caesar. Galerius ordered his co-Augustus, Severus , to put Maxentius down in early 307. Once Severus arrived in Italy, however, his army defected to Maxentius. Severus

1881-491: The final battle of the war, the Battle of Chrysopolis , Licinius, though prominently displaying the images of Rome's pagan pantheon on his own battle line, forbade his troops from actively attacking the labarum, or even looking at it directly. Constantine felt that both Licinius and Arius were agents of Satan, and associated them with the serpent described in the Book of Revelation ( 12:9 ). Constantine represented Licinius as

1938-483: The iconography of his predecessors, Constantine's coinage at the time was inscribed with solar symbolism, interpreted as representing Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Sun), Helios , Apollo , or Mithras , but in 325 and thereafter the coinage ceases to be explicitly pagan, and Sol Invictus disappears. And although Eusebius' Historia Ecclesiae further reports that Constantine had a statue of himself "holding

1995-589: The identity of the Cantabrian people. Keeping the official character of the flag of the Community of Cantabria and the rest of the institutional symbols of Cantabria." Labarum The labarum ( Greek : λάβαρον or λάβουρον ) was a vexillum (military standard) that displayed the " Chi-Rho " symbol ☧ , a christogram formed from the first two Greek letters of the word " Christ " ( Greek : ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ , or Χριστός) – Chi (χ) and Rho (ρ). It

2052-623: The intersection of the Milky Way and the zodiacal light , a rare apparition important to pagan beliefs that Christian bishops reinvented as a Christian symbol. "A Description of the Standard of the Cross, which the Romans now call the Labarum." "Now it was made in the following manner. A long spear, overlaid with gold, formed the figure of the cross by means of a transverse bar laid over it. On

2109-522: The labarum itself, there is little evidence for its use before 317. In the course of Constantine's second war against Licinius in 324, the latter developed a superstitious dread of Constantine's standard. During the attack of Constantine's troops at the Battle of Adrianople the guard of the labarum standard were directed to move it to any part of the field where his soldiers seemed to be faltering. The appearance of this talismanic object appeared to embolden Constantine's troops and dismay those of Licinius. At

2166-641: The occasion are still extant. 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. Indeed, Maxentius had organised the stockpiling of large amounts of food in the city in preparation for such an event. Surprisingly, he decided otherwise, choosing to meet Constantine in open battle. Ancient sources commenting on these events attribute this decision either to divine intervention (e.g. Lactantius, Eusebius) or superstition (e.g. Zosimus). They also note that

2223-504: The phrase "By this, conquer!" At first he was unsure of the meaning of the apparition, but the following night he had a dream in which Christ explained to him that he should use the sign against his enemies. Eusebius then continues to describe the labarum, the military standard used by Constantine in his later wars against Licinius , showing the Chi Rho sign. Those two accounts have been merged in popular notion into Constantine seeing

2280-410: The place which they had chosen for combat." 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. Lactantius describes the death of Maxentius in the following manner: "The bridge in his rear was broken down. At sight of that the battle grew hotter. The hand of

2337-495: The retreating army. 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. Maxentius' Praetorian Guard , who had originally acclaimed him emperor, seem to have made a stubborn stand on the northern bank of the river; "in despair of pardon they covered with their bodies

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2394-713: The rivalries inherent in Diocletian 's Tetrarchy . After Diocletian stepped down on 1 May 305, his successors began to struggle for control of the Roman Empire almost immediately. Although Constantine was the son of the Western Emperor Constantius , the Tetrarchic ideology did not necessarily provide for hereditary succession. When Constantius died on 25 July 306, his father's troops proclaimed Constantine as Augustus in Eboracum ( York ). In Rome,

2451-408: The river and decapitated, and his head was paraded through the streets of Rome on the day following the battle before being taken 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

2508-412: The shields with a sign "denoting Christ". Lactantius describes that sign as a "staurogram", or a Latin cross with its upper end rounded in a P-like fashion. There is no certain evidence that Constantine ever used that sign, opposed to the better known Chi-Rho sign described by Eusebius. From Eusebius, two accounts of the battle survive. The first, shorter one in the Ecclesiastical History promotes

2565-437: The sign at that time, though not very prominently. He made more extensive use of the Chi-Rho and the Labarum later, during the conflict with Licinius. Some have considered the vision in a solar context (e.g. as a solar halo phenomenon called a sun dog ), which may have preceded the Christian beliefs later expressed by Constantine. Coins of Constantine depicting him as the companion of a solar deity were minted as late as 313,

2622-525: The sign of the Savior [the cross] in his right hand" erected after his victorious entry into Rome, there are no other reports to confirm such a monument. Historians still dispute whether Constantine was the first Christian Emperor to support a peaceful transition to Christianity during his rule, or an undecided pagan believer until middle age, and also how strongly influenced he was in his political-religious decisions by his Christian mother St. Helena . As for

2679-430: The spring of 312, Constantine gathered an army of 40,000 soldiers and decided to oust Maxentius himself. He easily overran northern Italy, winning two major battles: the first near Turin , the second at Verona , where the praetorian prefect Ruricius Pompeianus , Maxentius' most senior general, was killed. It is commonly understood that on the evening of 27 October with the armies preparing for battle, Constantine had

2736-536: The streets for all to see. After the ceremonies, Maxentius' head was sent to Carthage as proof of his downfall; Africa then offered no further resistance. The battle gave Constantine undisputed control of the western half of the Roman Empire. The descriptions of Constantine's entry into Rome omit mention of him ending his procession at the temple of Capitoline Jupiter, where sacrifice was usually offered. Though often employed to show Constantine's Christian sensibilities, this silence cannot be taken as proof that Constantine

2793-408: The sun and saw a cross of light above it, and with it the Greek words " Ἐν Τούτῳ Νίκα", En toutōi níka , usually translated into Latin as " in hoc signo vinces ". The literal meaning of the phrase in Greek is "in this (sign), conquer" while in Latin it's "in this sign, you shall conquer"; a more free translation would be "Through this sign [you shall] conquer". At first he was unsure of the meaning of

2850-474: The top of the whole was fixed a wreath of gold and precious stones; and within this, the symbol of the Saviour’s name, two letters indicating the name of Christ by means of its initial characters, the letter P being intersected by X in its centre: and these letters the emperor was in the habit of wearing on his helmet at a later period. From the cross-bar of the spear was suspended a cloth, a royal piece, covered with

2907-589: The year following the battle. The solar deity Sol Invictus is often pictured with a nimbus or halo. Various emperors portrayed Sol Invictus on their official coinage, with a wide range of legends, only a few of which incorporated the epithet invictus , such as the legend SOLI INVICTO COMITI , claiming the Unconquered Sun as a companion to the emperor, used with particular frequency by Constantine. Constantine's official coinage continues to bear images of Sol until 325/6. A solidus of Constantine as well as

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2964-504: Was a Christian at this point. He chose to honour the Senatorial Curia with a visit, 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. Maxentius was condemned to damnatio memoriae ; all his legislation was invalidated and Constantine usurped all of Maxentius' considerable building projects within Rome, including

3021-414: Was captured, imprisoned, and executed. Galerius himself marched on Rome in the autumn, but failed to take the city. Constantine avoided conflict with both Maxentius and the Eastern emperors for most of this period. By 312, however, Constantine and Maxentius were engaged in open hostility with one another, although they were brothers-in‑law through Constantine's marriage to Fausta , sister of Maxentius. In

3078-490: Was carefully positioned to align with the colossal statue of Sol by the Colosseum , so that Sol formed the dominant backdrop when seen from the direction of the main approach towards the arch. Constantine reached Rome at the end of October 312 approaching along the Via Flaminia . He camped at the location of Malborghetto near Prima Porta , where remains of a Constantinian monument, the Arch of Malborghetto , in honour of

3135-622: Was first used by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great . Ancient sources draw an unambiguous distinction between the two terms "labarum" and "Chi-Rho", even though later usage sometimes regards the two as synonyms. The name labarum was applied both to the original standard used by Constantine the Great and to the many standards produced in imitation of it in the Late Antique world, and subsequently. Beyond its derivation from Latin labarum ,

3192-404: 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. The underlying causes of the battle were

3249-599: Was preserved for centuries, as an object of great veneration, in the imperial treasury at Constantinople . The labarum, with minor variations in its form, was widely used by the Christian Roman emperors who followed Constantine. A miniature version of the labarum became part of the imperial regalia of Byzantine rulers, who were often depicted carrying it in their right hands. The term "labarum" can be generally applied to any ecclesiastical banner, such as those carried in religious processions. "The Holy Lavaro" were

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