Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, ancient

Battle of the Milvian Bridge

Battle of the Milvian Bridge was a battle fought on 28 October AD 312 at Ponte Milvio, in what is now Italy. It was part of the Civil Wars of the Tetrarchy, which ran from AD 308 to AD 324. The recorded result: Constantinian victory. Recorded strength: 20,000–25,000 against 25,000.

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Miniature painting illustrating a Byzantine manuscript copy of the Homilies of Gregory of Nazianzus (BnF MS grec 510), folio 440 recto. Dream of Constantine I (above), Battle of the Milvian Bridge and
Miniature painting illustrating a Byzantine manuscript copy of the Homilies of Gregory of Nazianzus (BnF MS grec 510), folio 440 recto. Dream of Constantine I (above), Battle of the Milvian Bridge and. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought28 October AD 312
WherePonte Milvio, Italy41.936N, 12.467E
OutcomeConstantinian victory
BelligerentsConstantinian forcesagainstMaxentian forces
Casualties and lossesUnknownandHeavy
Part ofCivil Wars of the TetrarchyAD 308 to AD 324

Where it sits in the Civil Wars of the Tetrarchy

Battle of the Milvian Bridge, AD 312Battle of Tzirallum, AD 313Battle of Adrianople (324), AD 324AD 312AD 324Battle of the Milvian Bridge, AD 312
3 placed engagements of the Civil Wars of the Tetrarchy in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date28 October AD 312
PlacePonte Milvio, Italy
41.936N, 12.467E
KindBattle, ancient
Strength20,000–25,00025,000
Casualties and lossesUnknownHeavy
Commanders
  • Maxentius
Battle of the Milvian BridgeBattle of the Milvian BridgeBattle of the Colline GateSiege of RomeSiege of the Capitoline HillBattle of the JaniculumSack of RomeNaplesPescaraPerugiaL'AquilaCivitavecchiaCasertaCampobasso100 km41.936N, 12.467E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of the Milvian Bridge
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of the Milvian Bridge today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-08-23. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 7 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 2 to 161 m, 159 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 45% tree cover, 43% built-up, 6% grassland.

tree cover: 45%built-up: 43%grassland: 6%cropland: 3%water: 2%tree cover 45%built-up 43%grassland 6%cropland 3%water 2%
west to east, 10.0 km7 to 137 mnorth to south, 10.0 km6 to 74 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 16 times between 476 BC and 1943.

In the same war

Elsewhere in AD 312

Battle of the Milvian Bridge is one of 65 engagements of the 4th century in the atlas and one of 942 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q339321, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Milvian Bridge, revision 1382690288, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.