Constantine and the Edict of Milan
The emperor legalises Christianity, and a persecuted minority becomes an imperial religion.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 1 years
- Known to
- ± 1 year
- Era
- Classical, Holocene
Constantine wins at the Milvian Bridge in 312 CE, attributing his victory to the Christian God, and the following year the Edict of Milan grants religious toleration throughout the empire. Christianity moves within a century from illegal to privileged to compulsory. The change transforms the religion as much as the empire: bishops acquire civil authority, doctrinal disputes become matters of state, and dissent becomes heresy with legal consequences.