The need for the edict stemmed largely from the desire of Constantine the Great to unite the Roman Empire through a shared religion. Constantine had just become Emperor in the West in 312 after his victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, where Constantine was said to have received a vision of the Christian God promising victory if the Chi-Rho was painted on the shields of his soldiers. The Roman Empire for centuries was in state of decline and Constantine opted to try and reunite the Roman Empire through the sponsorship of Christianity. In the words of historian Susan Wise Bauer, "By transforming the Roman empire in to a Christian empire, Constantine could unify the splintering empire in the name of Christ, a name that succeed where the names of Caesar and Augustus failed". To this end, Constantine and his ally and new ruler of the Eastern Empire Licinius came together at what would become modern day Milan, to issue the Edict of Milan. The edict made Christianity officially legal and allowed Christians to have control over their religion and churches. Additionally the edict allowed for the safe practice of any other forms of religion. Christianity was persecuted many times in the Roman Empire over the preceding centuries, but it's acceptance was becoming more widely accepted in the Western parts of the Empire by the fourth century. The edict of Milan solidified the tolerance of Christianity and allowed Constantine to shape the religion somewhat to his advantage, such as organizing the council of Nicaea to establish an orthodox Christianity in opposition to other Christian doctrines such as Arianism. The question of did it make Rome stronger is a debatable one. While Constantine's acceptance, and sponsorship of Christianity allowed him to eventually proclaim himself the sole Emperor of the Roman Empire, create the city of rich and powerful Constantinople, it also led to a lot of infighting between followers of the old Roman Religion and the Christians who now had equal power in many cases. This in turn turned into intense civil disturbances and infighting between the various bishops as well. One might simply put it as a short term solution that mostly worked in it's intended way. As far as ramifications beyond what I just mentioned, there were those who obviously did not agree with Christians now having priests at the same level of Roman religious priests which caused tensions. It was more of a matter of adverse for whom. Constantine obviously benefited along with Christians at the expense of the old priesthood and the power of the Roman religious state and would spell trouble for Constantine's heirs. Arianism and other doctrines would be declared heresy and driven out when possible. The Edict of Milan was more of a stepping stone than the end all be all of Constantine's plans for Christianity and the Roman Empire, but it certainly was an important one.