Chapter 36 - The Road to Mediolanum

Constantine's entry into Augusta Taurinorum was not that of a conqueror taking a prize, but of a master returning to his house. His orders were immediate and precise. His soldiers were to treat the citizens and their property with respect, a stark contrast to the looting they might have expected from a barbarian army or even a less disciplined Roman one. He seized the city's military stores and granaries, not as plunder, but to replenish his own army's supplies, an act of logistical necessity. The surviving Maxentian soldiers captured in the rout were disarmed and offered a simple choice: swear a new oath to him or be sent to the mines in Hispania. Most, seeing the discipline and victory of his army, chose the former.