t with Constantine. Constantine allied
himself with Licinius, and Maxentius found a supporter in Maximinus.
Without delay Constantine invaded Italy, and routed the troops of
Maxentius at Verona. He then pressed on to Rome and won a final victory
not far from the Milvian bridge (312 A. D.). Maxentius perished in the
rout. It was in this campaign, as a result of a vision, that Constantine
adopted as his standard the _labarum_, a cross combined with the Christian
monogram formed of the first two letters of the Greek word _Christos_
(Christ).

*Constantine and Licinius, 313-324 A. D.* In 313 Constantine and Licinius
met at Milan, where they issued a joint edict of toleration, which placed
Christianity upon an equal footing with the pagan cults of the state.
Although this edict enunciated the principle of religious toleration for
the empire, it was issued with a view to win the political support of the
Christians and pointed unmistakably to Christianity as the future state
religion. Shortly after the publication of the Edict of Milan, Maximinus
Daia crossed the Bosphorus and invaded the territory of Licinius. He was
defeated by the latter, who followed up his advantage and occupied Asia
Minor. Upon the death of Maximinus, which followed within a short time,
Licinius fell heir to the remaining eastern provinces. These now received
the religious toleration previously extended to the rest of the empire.

However, the concord between the surviving Augusti was soon broken by the
ambitions of Constantine, who felt aggrieved since Licinius controlled a
larger share of the empire than himself. A brief war ensued, which was
terminated by an agreement whereby Licinius ceded to Constantine the
dioceses of Moesia and Pannonia (314 A. D.). In 317 they jointly nominated
as Caesars and their successors, Crispus and Constantine, the younger sons
of Constantine, and Licinianus, the son of Licinius. However, although
they continued to act in harmony for some years longer, it was evident
that they still regarded one another with jealous suspicion. This came
clearly to light in the difference of their policies towards the
Christians. The more Constantine courted their support by granting them
special privileges, the more Licinius tended to regard them with disfavor
and restrict their religious liberty. Finally, in 322 A. D., when
repelling a Gothic inroad, Constantine led his forces into the territory
of Licinius, who treated the trespass as an