Milanese Catholics and Bishop Ambrose defend their Basilica, 385-386 CE
Early Christendom was rife with sectarian conflicts between competing theologians and their interpretations of the life of Jesus. One of these conflicts was between mainstream (Nicene) Catholicism, which emphasized the Holy Trinity, and Arianism, which asserted that Jesus was inferior to God. A crucial event in the competition of doctrines occurred in 385-86 C.E., in Milan, modern-day Italy. Milan at that time was controlled by the Roman Emperor Valentinian II. Although Valentinian held the title of Emperor and ruled from Milan, the Empire was in the process of fragm