Chapter 39 - The Battle of the Milvian Bridge

On the twenty-eighth of October, in the year 312, the two armies faced each other on the fields north of Rome. Maxentius had drawn up his forces with the Tiber River at his back, the ancient stone Milvian Bridge and a hastily constructed parallel pontoon bridge his only avenues of retreat. It was a confident, arrogant deployment, born of a prophecy that promised him victory. His army was vast, outnumbering Constantine's significantly, its ranks filled with the elite, purple-clad Praetorian Guard and veterans of the Italian garrisons. Their standards bore the ancient symbols of Rome: the eagle, images of the gods, the letters SPQR.