View source for Battle of Chrysopolis

{{short description|Part of the civil wars of the Tetrarchy (324 AD)}}
{{Infobox Military Conflict
| conflict          = Battle of Chrysopolis
| image             = The Battle of Constantine and Licinius.jpg
| caption           = The battle of Constantine and Licinius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]], {{circa}} 17th century.
| partof            = the [[civil wars of the Tetrarchy]]
| date              = 18 September 324<ref>''Ossius of Cordova: A Contribution to the History of the Constantinian Period'' – p. 186 by Victor Cyril De Clercq</ref>
| place             = Chrysopolis, near [[Chalcedon]]<br />(modern-day [[Turkey]])
| result            = Constantinian victory
*Constantine consolidates power
*Final collapse of the [[Tetrarchy]]
| combatant1        = [[Constantine the Great]]
| combatant2        = [[Licinius]]
| strength1         = Around 105,000
| strength2         = 120,000
| casualties1       = Unknown but not particularly high
| casualties2       = 25,000–30,000 killed, tens of thousands more captured.
}}
{{Campaignbox Constantine Wars}}
{{Campaignbox Fourth Century Roman Civil Wars}}

[[File:As-Constantine-XR RIC vII 019.jpg|thumb|250px|A coin of Constantine (c. 337) showing a depiction of his [[Labarum]] standard spearing a serpent.]] [[File:Licinius gold multiple CdM Beistegui 232.jpg|thumb|Licinius and his son, depicted with haloes, on a gold coin]]
The '''Battle of Chrysopolis''' was fought on 18 September 324 at [[Üsküdar#Chrysopolis|Chrysopolis]] (modern [[Üsküdar]]), near [[Chalcedon]] (modern [[Kadıköy]]), between the two [[Roman emperor]]s [[Constantine the Great|Constantine I]] and [[Licinius]]. The battle was the final encounter between the two emperors. After his navy's defeat in the [[Battle of the Hellespont]], Licinius withdrew his forces from the city of [[Byzantium]] across the [[Bosphorus]] to Chalcedon in [[Bithynia]]. Constantine followed, and won the subsequent battle. This left Constantine as the sole emperor, ending the period of the [[Tetrarchy]].

==Background==
The navy of Licinius had suffered a catastrophic defeat at the [[Battle of the Hellespont]]. His admiral, Abantus, had been outfought by Constantine's son, the [[Caesar (title)|caesar]] [[Crispus]], despite the latter's distinctly smaller fleet.<ref>''Faith and Practice in the Early Church: Foundations for Contemporary Theology'' – p. 201 by Carl A. Volz </ref><ref>''History of the Later Roman Empire'', Ad 284–622 Lpc: AD 285–479 – p. 66 by Stephen [VNV] Mitchell</ref> Following this naval victory, Constantine crossed over to [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]]. An army, under the command of Licinius' newly appointed co-emperor [[Sextus Martinianus|Martinian]], was guarding the coast at [[Lampsacus]] on the [[Dardanelles|Hellespont]]. Constantine had a flotilla of light transports built on the Bosphorus, allowing him to avoid that army entirely when crossing into Asia Minor.<ref>Grant (1985), p. 236</ref>

Following the destruction of his naval forces, Licinius evacuated the garrison of Byzantium, which subsequently joined his main army in [[Chalcedon]] on the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus. From there he also summoned Martinian's forces and a band of [[Visigoths|Visigothic]] auxiliaries, under their leader Aliquaca (or Alica), to reinforce his principal army, as it had been depleted by its earlier defeat at the [[Battle of Adrianople (324)|Battle of Adrianople]].<ref>Grant (1993), p. 47</ref><ref name="Odahl, p. 180">Odahl, p. 180</ref> It is not clear whether Martinian's forces reached Licinius before September 18, when Licinius was brought to battle by Constantine.<ref>Lenski, p. 76</ref>

==Battle==
[[File:Licinius & Constantine montage.jpg|thumb|Heads from former statues of Licinius (left) and Constantine (right).]]
Constantine's army landed on the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus at a place called the Sacred Promontory and marched southward towards Chalcedon. Licinius moved his army a few miles north towards Chrysopolis. Constantine's army reached the environs of Chrysopolis before the forces of Licinius. Following a retreat to his tent to seek divine guidance, Constantine decided to take the initiative.<ref name="Odahl, p. 180">Odahl, p. 180</ref>

The religious aspect of the conflict was reflected in Licinius drawing up his battle lines with images of the pagan gods of Rome prominently displayed, whilst Constantine's army fought under his talismanic Christian standard, the [[labarum]]. Licinius had developed a superstitious dread of the labarum and forbade his troops from attacking it, or even looking directly at it.<ref name="Odahl, p. 180">Odahl, p. 180</ref>

Constantine seemingly eschewed any subtlety of manoeuvre, he launched a single massive frontal assault on Licinius' troops and routed them.<ref name="Odahl, p. 180">Odahl, p. 180</ref><ref>Eusebius, ch. 17.</ref> He won a decisive victory in what was a very large-scale battle. According to the fifth-century historian [[Zosimus (historian)|Zosimus]], “There was great slaughter at Chrysopolis.”<ref>Zosimus 2.22.7.</ref> Licinius was reported to have lost 25,000 to 30,000 men, with thousands more breaking and running in flight.<ref>Grant (1993), pp. 46–47</ref> Licinius managed to escape and gathered around 30,000 of his surviving troops at the city of [[Nicomedia]].<ref>Parker and Warmington, p. 261</ref>

==Aftermath==
Recognising that his surviving forces in Nicomedia could not stand against Constantine's victorious army, Licinius was persuaded to throw himself on the mercy of his enemy. Constantia, Constantine's half-sister and Licinius' wife, acted as intermediary. Initially, yielding to the pleas of his sister, Constantine spared the life of his brother-in-law, but some months later he ordered his execution, thereby breaking his solemn oath. This occurred because Licinius was suspected of treasonable actions, and the army command pressed for his execution.<ref>Odahl, p. 160</ref> A year later, Constantine's nephew, the younger [[Licinius II|Licinius]], also fell victim to the emperor's anger or suspicions. He was executed in 326 and had his name [[Damnatio memoriae|expunged from official inscriptions]].<ref>Grant (1993), pp. 47–48</ref>

In defeating his last foe, Licinius, Constantine became the sole emperor of the [[Roman Empire]]; the first such since the elevation of [[Maximian]] to the status of [[Augustus (title)|Augustus]] by [[Diocletian]] in April 286.<ref>Dunstan, p. 436</ref> After his conquest of the eastern portion of the Roman Empire, Constantine made the momentous decision to give the east its own capital, and the empire as a whole its second. He chose the city of [[Byzantium]]—renamed [[Constantinople|''Constantinopolis'']]—as the site of this new foundation.<ref>Stephenson, p. 190</ref>

==See also==
*[[Battle of Adrianople (324)|Battle of Adrianople]]
*[[Late Roman army]]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
===Primary sources===
*Eusebius, ''Life of Constantine'', Translated by Ernest Cushing Richardson, From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 1, Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co. (1890).
*Zosimus, ''Historia nova'', English translation: R.T. Ridley, Zosimus: New History, Byzantina Australiensia 2, Canberra (1982).

===Secondary sources===
*Dunstan, W.E. (2010) ''Rome'', Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham MD {{ISBN|978-0-7425-6834-1}}
*Grant, Michael (1985), ''The Roman Emperors: A biographical Guide to the Rulers of Imperial Rome 31 BC–AD 476'', London. {{ISBN|0-297-78555-9}}
*Grant, Michael (1993), ''The Emperor Constantine'', London. {{ISBN|0-7538-0528-6}}
*Lenski, Noel E. (2011) ''The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine'', Cambridge University Press.
*Odahl, C.M., (2004) ''Constantine and the Christian Empire,'' Routledge 2004. {{ISBN|0-415-17485-6}}
*Parker, H. M. D. and Warmington, B. H. (1958) ''A History of the Roman World from A.D. 138 to 337'', Methuen.
*Stephenson, P. (2009) ''Constantine: Unconquered Emperor, Christian Victor'', Quercus, London

{{Coord|40.0167|N|29.0333|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}
[[Category:324]]
[[Category:320s conflicts|Chrysopolis]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Roman Empire|Chrysopolis 324]]
[[Category:Roman Bithynia]]
[[Category:Battles of Constantine the Great|Chrysopolis]]
[[Category:320s in the Roman Empire]]