Edict of Milan 313
Topic: The Roman Empire · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Edict of Milan was an agreement made in 313 CE between two Roman emperors, Constantine and Licinius. It allowed Christians, and people of every other faith, to worship freely across the empire. It also ordered that church property taken during earlier attacks on Christians be given back. It came one year after Constantine's conversion in 312. It marks the point when Christianity stopped being a hunted faith and started on its way to becoming the empire's official religion.
Example
Under the agreement, Christian meeting places and lands that had been seized during the persecution under Diocletian were returned to the churches without asking for payment.
Don't confuse with
- Christianity becoming the official religion: the Edict of Milan only gave Christianity freedom and an equal place with other faiths. It did not make it the state religion, which happened later.
Related concepts
- Diocletian
- Constantine
- Christianisation of the Roman Empire
- Constantinople
- Post-Roman kingdoms
- Byzantine empire
- Justinian
- Late antiquity
- Prophet Muhammad
- Hijra