Editing Constantine the Great (section)

==== Wars against Licinius ====
[[File:Aureus of Licinius.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Gold [[aureus]] of the emperor [[Licinius]]]]
In the following years, Constantine gradually consolidated his military superiority over his rivals in the crumbling Tetrarchy. In 313, he met Licinius in Milan to secure their alliance by the marriage of Licinius and Constantine's half-sister Constantia. During this meeting, the emperors agreed on the so-called [[Edict of Milan]],<ref>The term is a misnomer as the act of Milan was not an edict, while the subsequent edicts by Licinius—of which the edicts to the provinces of Bythinia and Palestine are recorded by Lactantius and Eusebius, respectively—were not issued in Milan.</ref> officially granting full tolerance to Christianity and all religions in the empire.<ref>Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 25.</ref> The document had special benefits for Christians, legalising their religion and granting them restoration for all property seized during Diocletian's persecution. It repudiates past methods of religious coercion and used only general terms to refer to the divine sphere—"Divinity" and "Supreme Divinity", ''summa divinitas''.<ref>Drake, "Impact", 121–23.</ref> The conference was cut short, however, when news reached Licinius that his rival [[Maximinus Daza|Maximinus]] had crossed the Bosporus and invaded European territory. Licinius departed and eventually defeated Maximinus, gaining control over the entire eastern half of the Roman Empire. Relations between the two remaining emperors deteriorated, as Constantine suffered an assassination attempt at the hands of a character that Licinius wanted elevated to the rank of Caesar;<ref name="ReferenceA">Carrié & Rousselle, ''L'Empire Romain'', 229.</ref> Licinius, for his part, had Constantine's statues in Emona destroyed.<ref>Byfield, Ted, ed. ''The Christians: Their First Two Thousand Years''. vol. III. p. 148. {{cite web |url=http://www.christianhistoryproject.org/to-the-constantine-era/constantine |title=The sign in the sky that changed history |access-date=5 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119071854/http://www.christianhistoryproject.org/to-the-constantine-era/constantine/ |archive-date=19 January 2016}}</ref> In either 314 or 316 the two augusti fought against one another at the [[Battle of Cibalae]], with Constantine being victorious. They clashed again at the [[Battle of Mardia]] in 317 and agreed to a settlement in which Constantine's sons [[Crispus]] and [[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine II]], and Licinius' son [[Licinius II|Licinius Junior]] were made ''caesars''.<ref>Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', pp. 38–39.</ref>  After this arrangement, Constantine ruled the dioceses of Pannonia and Macedonia and took residence at [[Sirmium]], whence he could wage war on the Goths and Sarmatians in 322, and on the Goths in 323, defeating and killing their leader [[Rausimod]].<ref name="ReferenceA" />

In 320 Licinius allegedly reneged on the religious freedom promised by the Edict of Milan and began to oppress Christians anew,<ref>Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', pp. 41–42.</ref> generally without bloodshed, but resorting to confiscations and sacking of Christian office-holders.<ref>Carrié & Rousselle, ''L'Empire Romain'', pp. 229–30.</ref> Although this characterisation of Licinius as anti-Christian is somewhat doubtful, the fact is that he seems to have been far less open in his support of Christianity than Constantine. Therefore, Licinius was prone to see the Church as a force more loyal to Constantine than to the Imperial system in general,<ref>Timothy E. Gregory, ''A History of Byzantium''. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2010, {{ISBN|978-1-4051-8471-7}}, p. 54.</ref> as the explanation offered by the Church historian [[Sozomen]].<ref>Philip Schaff, ed., ''Nicene and Post-nicene Fathers: Second Series''. New York: Cosimo, 2007, {{ISBN|978-1-60206-508-6}}, p. 418, footnote 6.</ref>

This dubious arrangement eventually became a challenge to Constantine in the West, climaxing in the great civil war of 324. Constantine's Christian eulogists present the war as a battle between Christianity and paganism; Licinius, aided by Gothic mercenaries, represented the past and ancient paganism, while Constantine and his [[Franks]] marched under the standard of the ''labarum''.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} Outnumbered but fired by their zeal, Constantine's army emerged victorious in the [[Battle of Adrianople (324)|Battle of Adrianople]]. Licinius fled across the Bosphorus and appointed [[Martinian (emperor)|Martinian]], his ''[[magister officiorum]]'', as nominal augustus in the West, but Constantine next won the [[Battle of the Hellespont]] and finally the [[Battle of Chrysopolis]] on 18 September 324.<ref>Pohlsander, ''Emperor Constantine'', 42–43.</ref> Licinius and Martinian surrendered to Constantine at ''Nicomedia'' on the promise their lives would be spared: they were sent to live as private citizens in Thessalonica and Cappadocia respectively, but in 325 Constantine accused Licinius of plotting against him and had them both arrested and hanged; Licinius' son (the son of Constantine's half-sister) was killed in 326.<ref>Scarre, ''Chronicle of the Roman Emperors'', 215.</ref> Thus Constantine became the sole emperor of the Roman Empire.<ref name="macmullen">MacMullen, ''Constantine''.</ref>