Battle of the Milvian Bridge by Giulio Romano, 1520-24

__NOTOC__ Year 312 ( CCCXII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Licinianus (or, less frequently, year 1065 ''

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...

''). The denomination 312 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events

By place

Roman Empire

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 ...

crosses the Cottian Alps with an army (40,000 men) and defeats

Maxentius Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius (c. 283 – 28 October 312) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 306 until his death in 312. Despite ruling in Italy and North Africa, and having the recognition of the Senate in Rome, he was not recognized ...

's generals in three battles at Turin, Brescia and Verona. Maxentius's Praetorian Prefect Ruricius Pompeianus is killed in the fighting outside Verona. * October 28 –

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 pa ...

: Constantine defeats Maxentius at the

Milvian Bridge The Milvian (or Mulvian) Bridge ( it, Ponte Milvio or ; la, Pons Milvius or ) is a bridge over the Tiber in northern Rome, Italy. It was an economically and strategically important bridge in the era of the Roman Empire and was the site of the f ...

, becoming the only Roman emperor in the West. Prior to the battle, he reportedly has a vision of a cross (''

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 ...

'') with the phrase ''" in hoc signo vinces"'' ("In this sign you shall conquer"). This encourages him to convert to Christianity. * October 29 – Constantine enters Rome; he stages a grand ''

adventus Adventus is the Latin word for arrival, and may mean *Adventus (ceremony), the ceremony of an emperor's formal arrival at a city (usually, but not always, Rome) **Adventus (art), the artistic convention of depicting this ceremony *The Latin word fo ...

'' in the city, and is met with popular jubilation. Maxentius' body is fished out of the Tiber and decapitated. * Constantine forges an alliance with co-emperor Licinius, and offers him his half-sister, Constantia, in marriage. The Praetorian Guard and Imperial Horse Guard (''

equites singulares Augusti The ''equites singulares Augusti'' (lit: "personal cavalry of the emperor" i.e. imperial horseguards) were the cavalry arm of the Praetorian Guard during the Principate period of imperial Rome. Based in Rome, they escorted the Roman emperor whenev ...

'') are disbanded. * Emperor Maximinus Daza campaigns unsuccessfully against the Armenians.

By topic

Religion

* Constantine I adopts the words ''"in hoc signo vinces"'' as a motto, and has the letters X and P (the first letters of the Greek word Christ) emblazoned on the shields of his soldiers. * The Council of Carthage supports Donatism, which espouses a rigorous application and interpretation of the sacraments. These doctrines will be condemned by the Council of Arles (314). * Constantine I promotes a policy of state sponsorship of Christianity, perhaps even becoming a Christian himself (see Constantine the Great and Christianity).

Births

Dao'an Dao'an (; 312–385) was a Buddhist monk, author and bibliographer, during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was from what is now Hebei. His main importance was that of overseer of translation of Buddhist texts into Chinese, organizer of the Chinese sa ...

, Chinese Buddhist monk and writer (d.

385 Year 385 ( CCCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Bauto (or, less frequently, year 1138 ''Ab urbe co ...

) * Huan Wen (or Yuanzi), Chinese general (d.

373 __NOTOC__ Year 373 ( CCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Valens (or, less frequently, year 1126 ...

)

Deaths

* October 28 –

, Roman emperor (b.

283 Year 283 ( CCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Carus and Carinus (or, less frequently, year 1036 ''Ab urbe cond ...

) *

Clement of Ancyra Hieromartyr Clement, Bishop of Ancyra or simply Clement of Ancyra (c. 258–312) (born in Ancyra present-day Turkey) was a bishop who served during the rule of Roman emperor Diocletian. He was arrested by Roman authorities and tried by Diocletian ...

, Christian bishop and martyr * Guo Xiang, Chinese scholar and philosopher (b.

252 Year 252 ( CCLII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Trebonianus and Volusianus (or, less frequently, year 1005 ''Ab urbe ...

) *

Huyan The Huyan (; LHC: *''ha(C)-jan'' <

Old Chinese

(~200 BCE): *''hɑ-jan^H/B'') was a noble house that led the last rem ...

, Chinese empress of the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209 ...

state * Ruricius Pompeianus, Roman

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

References

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