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Constantine I

2 stories mention Constantine I on DeadlyCurious.

The Cabinet June 27, 2026 · Milvian Bridge, Rome

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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The Footnote June 27, 2026 · Lateran Palace, Rome

The Eighth-Century Forgery That Gave the Pope Temporal Rule Over Western Europe and Was Exposed in 1440 by Linguistic Analysis

The Donation of Constantine purported to be a fourth-century imperial decree granting Pope Sylvester I sovereignty over Rome, Italy, and the Western provinces of the Roman Empire. It was forged in the papal chancery around 750-800 CE. The Italian humanist Lorenzo Valla proved it a forgery in 1440 by analysing its Latin vocabulary, which contained terms that did not exist in the fourth century.

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