<b>A highly illustrated study of the battle of the Milvian Bridge, a pivotal moment that saw the triumph of Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor, and the adoption of Christianity as the official state religion of Rome.</b><br><br>Seventeen hundred years ago, the emperor Constantine marched on Rome to free Italy from the tyrant Maxentius and reunify the complete Roman Empire. The army marched from Gaul in spring AD 312 and fought its way across the Empire. The defining moment of the campaign was the battle of the Milvian Bridge.<br><br>This highly illustrated book examines how Maxentius's poor choice of battleground was to ultimately doom his army to defeat. Forced back towards the river by Constantine, the prospect of death by drowning caused panic to tear through his army, who broke and fled for the bridge of boats. Constantine pressed his advantage and broke through the Praetorian rear-guard, forcing even more fleeing troops onto the already overcrowded bridges, which foundered, plunging thousands of soldiers and Maxentius himself into the waters. Constantine was victorious - and his march into Rome marked the first step in the conversion of the Roman Empire into a Christian state.