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Labarum
The labarum ( el, λάβαρον) was a '' vexillum'' (military standard) that displayed the " Chi-Rho" symbol ☧, a christogram formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ" ( el, ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, or Χριστός) – ''Chi'' (χ) and ''Rho'' (ρ). It 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. Etymology Beyond its derivation from Latin ''labarum'', 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 exillum' ("laurel ...
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Labarum Of Constantine The Great
The labarum ( el, λάβαρον) was a '' vexillum'' (military standard) that displayed the " Chi-Rho" symbol ☧, a christogram formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ" ( el, ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, or Χριστός) – ''Chi'' (χ) and ''Rho'' (ρ). It 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. Etymology Beyond its derivation from Latin ''labarum'', 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 exillum' ("laurel ...
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Constantine I (emperor)
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea (now Niš, Serbia), he was the son of Flavius Constantius, a Roman army officer of Illyrian origin who had been one of the four rulers of the Tetrarchy. His mother, Helena, was a Greek Christian of low birth. Later canonized as a saint, she is traditionally attributed with the conversion of her son. Constantine served with distinction under the Roman emperors Diocletian and Galerius. He began his career by campaigning in the eastern provinces (against the Persians) before being recalled in the west (in AD 305) to fight alongside his father in Britain. After his father's death in 306, Constantine became emperor. He was acclaimed by his army at Eboracum (York, England), and eventually emerged victorious in the civil wars against e ...
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Constantine I
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea (now Niš, Serbia), he was the son of Flavius Constantius, a Roman army officer of Illyrian origin who had been one of the four rulers of the Tetrarchy. His mother, Helena, was a Greek Christian of low birth. Later canonized as a saint, she is traditionally attributed with the conversion of her son. Constantine served with distinction under the Roman emperors Diocletian and Galerius. He began his career by campaigning in the eastern provinces (against the Persians) before being recalled in the west (in AD 305) to fight alongside his father in Britain. After his father's death in 306, Constantine became emperor. He was acclaimed by his army at Eboracum ( York, England), and eventually emerged victorious in the civil wars against ...
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Chi-Rho
The Chi Rho (☧, English pronunciation ; also known as ''chrismon'') is one of the earliest forms of Christogram, formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters—chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek word ( Christos) in such a way that the vertical stroke of the rho intersects the center of the chi. The Chi-Rho symbol was used by the Roman Emperor Constantine I (r. 306–337 AD) as part of a military standard (vexillum). Constantine's standard was known as the Labarum. Early symbols similar to the Chi Rho were the Staurogram () and the IX monogram (). In pre-Christian times, the Chi-Rho symbol was also used to mark a particularly valuable or relevant passage in the margin of a page, abbreviating ''chrēston'' (good). Some coins of Ptolemy III Euergetes (r. 246–222 BC) were marked with a Chi-Rho. Although formed of Greek characters, the device (or its separate parts) is frequently found serving as an abbreviation in Latin text, with endings added appropriate to a L ...
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Chi Rho
The Chi Rho (☧, English pronunciation ; also known as ''chrismon'') is one of the earliest forms of Christogram, formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters—chi and rho (ΧΡ)—of the Greek word ( Christos) in such a way that the vertical stroke of the rho intersects the center of the chi. The Chi-Rho symbol was used by the Roman Emperor Constantine I (r. 306–337 AD) as part of a military standard ( vexillum). Constantine's standard was known as the Labarum. Early symbols similar to the Chi Rho were the Staurogram () and the IX monogram (). In pre-Christian times, the Chi-Rho symbol was also used to mark a particularly valuable or relevant passage in the margin of a page, abbreviating ''chrēston'' (good). Some coins of Ptolemy III Euergetes (r. 246–222 BC) were marked with a Chi-Rho. Although formed of Greek characters, the device (or its separate parts) is frequently found serving as an abbreviation in Latin text, with endings added appropriate to ...
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Lauburu
The lauburu (Basque: ''lau'' ("four") + ''buru'' ("head")) is an ancient hooked cross with four comma-shaped heads and the most widely known traditional symbol of the Basque Country and the Basque people. In the past, it has also been associated with the Galicians and Asturians. A variant of lauburu consisting of geometrically curved lines can be constructed with a compass and straightedge, beginning with the formation of a square template; each head can be drawn from a neighboring vertex of this template with two compass settings, with one radius half the length of the other. Background Historians and authorities have attempted to apply allegorical meaning to the ancient symbol of lauburu. Augustin Chaho. Quoted by Santiago de Pablo, pages 114 and 115. said it signifies the "four heads or regions" of the Basque Country. The lauburu does not appear in any of the seven historical provinces' coats-of-arms that have been combined in the arms of the Basque Country: Biscay, Gi ...
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Battle Of The Milvian Bridge
The Battle of the Milvian Bridge took place between the Roman Emperors Constantine I and Maxentius on 28 October 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 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 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, e ...
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Chi (letter)
Chi (uppercase Χ, lowercase χ; el, χῖ) is the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet. Greek Pronunciation Ancient Greek Its value in Ancient Greek was an aspirated velar stop (in the Western Greek alphabet: /ks/). Koine Greek In Koine Greek and later dialects it became a fricative (/) along with Θ and Φ. Modern Greek In Modern Greek, it has two distinct pronunciations: In front of high or front vowels ( or ) it is pronounced as a voiceless palatal fricative , as in German ''ich'' or like the ''h'' in some pronunciations of the English words ''hew'' and ''human''. In front of low or back vowels (, or ) and consonants, it is pronounced as a voiceless velar fricative (), as in German ''ach'' or Spanish ''j''. Transliteration Chi is romanized as in most systematic transliteration conventions, but sometimes is used. In addition, in Modern Greek, it is often also romanized as or in informal practice. Greek numeral In the system of Greek numerals, it has a valu ...
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Vexillum
The ''vexillum'' (; plural ''vexilla'') was a flag-like object used as a military standard by units in the Ancient Roman army. Use in Roman army The word ''vexillum'' is a derivative of the Latin word, ''velum'', meaning a sail, which confirms the historical evidence (from coins and sculpture) that ''vexilla'' were literally "little sails": flag-like standards. In the ''vexillum'', the cloth was draped from a horizontal crossbar suspended from a staff. That is unlike most modern flags in which the "hoist" of the cloth is attached directly to a vertical staff. The bearer of a ''vexillum'' was known as a '' vexillarius'' or ''vexillifer''.Vexillum
''Flagspot.net'', retrieved March 18, 2011
Just as in the case of the

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Christogram
A Christogram ( la, Monogramma Christi) is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a Christian symbolism, religious symbol within the Christian Church. One of the oldest Christograms is the Chi-Rho (☧). It consists of the superimposed Greek letters Chi (letter), chi and Rho (letter), rho , which are the first two letters of Greek "Christ". It was displayed on the ''labarum'' military standard used by Constantine I in AD 312. The IX monogram () is a similar form, using the initials of the name "Jesus (the) Christ", as is the IH monogram, ΙΗ monogram (), using the first two letters of the name "JESUS" in uppercase. There were a very considerable number of variants of "Christograms" or monograms of Christ in use during the medieval period, with the boundary between specific monograms and mere scribal abbreviations somewhat fluid. The name ''Jesus'', spelt "ΙΗΣΟΥΣ" in Greek capitals, has the ...
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Rho (letter)
Rho (uppercase Ρ, lowercase ρ or ; el, ρο or el, ρω, label=none) is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 100. It is derived from Phoenician letter res . Its uppercase form uses the same glyph, Ρ, as the distinct Latin letter P; the two letters have different Unicode encodings. Uses Greek Rho is classed as a liquid consonant (together with Lambda and sometimes the nasals Mu and Nu), which has important implications for morphology. In both Ancient and Modern Greek, it represents a alveolar trill , alveolar tap , or alveolar approximant . In polytonic orthography, a rho at the beginning of a word is written with a rough breathing, equivalent to ''h'' ( ''rh''), and a double rho within a word is written with a smooth breathing over the first rho and a rough breathing over the second ( ''rrh''). That apparently reflected an aspirated or voiceless pronunciation in Ancient Greek, which led to the various Greek ...
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In Hoc Signo Vinces
"''In hoc signo vinces''" (, ) is a Latin phrase conventionally translated into English as "In this sign thou shalt conquer". The Latin phrase itself renders, rather loosely, the Greek phrase "", transliterated as "''en toútōi níka''" (, ), literally meaning "in this, conquer". History Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius was an early Christian author (c. 240 – c. 320) who became an advisor to the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine I (and tutor to his son), guiding the Emperor's religious policy as it developed during his reign. His work ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'' has an apologetic character, but has been treated as a work of history by Christian writers. Here Lactantius preserves the story of Constantine's vision of the Chi Rho before his conversion to Christianity. The full text is found in only one manuscript, which bears the title, ''Lucii Caecilii liber ad Donatum Confessorem de Mortibus Persecutorum''. The bishop Eusebius of Caesaria, a historian, ...
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