Battle of Chrysopolis |
year: 32418 September 324 |
The final victory of Constantine I against Licinius, Augustus of the East | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ |
enemy: Romans (Civil War)
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location: Chrysoupolis , near Chalcedon in the Asian side of Bosporus (respectively Üsküdar and Kadiköy, today, districts of Istanbul)
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accuracy:
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battle type: Pitched Battle |
war: Civil Wars of the Tetrarchy (306-324 AD) |
modern country:
Turkey |
▼ The Byzantines(emperor: Constantine I the Great) | ▼ The Enemies | |
Commander: | Constantine I the Great | Licinius, Augustus of the East |
Forces: | probably, around 100,000 | less than 100,000 |
Losses: | 25,000 to 30,000 dead, with thousands more breaking and running in flight |
Background story: |
After his defeat in Adrianople (324) and his navy's defeat in the Battle of the Hellespont, Licinius withdrew his forces from the city of Byzantium across the Bosporus to Chalcedon in Bithynia. Following this naval victory at Hellespont, Constantine crossed over to Asia Minor. He used a flotilla of light transports in order to avoid the main body of his opponent’s army, which, under the command of Licinius' newly appointed co-emperor Martinian, was guarding the coast at Lampsacus |
The Battle: |
Constantine I the Great Constantine decided to take the initiative and attack. He launched a single massive frontal assault on Licinius' troops and routed them winning a decisive victory in what was a large-scale battle. Licinius managed to escape and gathered around 30,000 of his surviving troops at the city of Nicomedia. Later, he was persuaded by his wife, and sister of Constantine, Constantia to surrender. He was executed some months later. |
Noteworthy: |
Constantine's army fought again under his talismanic Christian standard, the “ΕΝ ΤΟΥΤΩ ΝΙΚΑ” labarum. Licinius had developed a superstitious dread of the labarum and forbade his troops from attacking it, or even looking directly at it. |
Aftermath: |
Constantine became sole Emperor at last and built his new capital—Constantinople—at Byzantium. From a certain point of view, Chrysoupolis was the last Roman battle. The Byzantium era was about to begin. |
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