The Dream of Constantine, the first nocturnal scene in Western art (pre-restoration image).

Detail of Battle between Heraclius and Khosrau.

The History of the True Cross or The Legend of the True Cross is a sequence of frescoes painted by Piero della Francesca in the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo. It is generally considered his finest work, and one of early Renaissance masterpieces. Fresco by Dionisius representing Saint Nicholas. ... The Baptism of Christ, 1450 (National Gallery, London). ... Arezzo (Latin Arretium) is an old city in central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. ...

Its theme, derived from the popular 13th century book on the lives of saints by Jacopo da Varagine, the Golden Legend, is the triumph of the True Cross – the wood from the Garden of Eden that became the Cross on which Christ was crucified. This work demonstrates Piero’s advanced knowledge of perspective and colour, his geometric orderliness and skill in pictorial construction. (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... In traditional Christian iconography, Saints are often depicted as having halos. ... Jacobus de Voragine ( Giacomo (Jacopo) da Varazze) (c. ... The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine is a collection of fanciful hagiographies, lives of the saints, that became a late mediæval best seller. ... According to Christian tradition, the True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. ... The Fall of Man by Lucas Cranach, a 16th century German depiction of Eden The Garden of Eden (from Hebrew Gan Ä’den, גַּן עֵדֶן) (Arabic jannato aden جنة عدن) is described in the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve, lived after they were... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Crucifixion of St. ...

The main episodes depicted are:

• Death of Adam (390 x 747 cm). According to the legend, the tree from which the cross was made was planted, at the urging of angels, at the burial of Adam by his son, using a branch or a seed from the apple tree of the garden of Eden.
• The Queen of Sheba in Adoration of the Wood and The Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (336 x 747 cm). According to the legend, the Queen of Sheba worshiped the beams made from the tree, and informed Solomon, that the Saviour would hang from that tree, and thus dismember the realm of the Jews. This caused Solomon to hew it down and bury it, till it was found by the Romans.
• Exaltation of the Cross (390 x 747 cm).
• Constantine's Dream (329 x 190 cm) Emperor Constantine the Great, before the battle of Milvian Bridge, is awakened by an angel who shows him the cross in heaven. With the cross on his shield, he slew the enemy, and later converted to Christianity.
• Discovery and Proof of the True Cross (356 x 747 cm). Helena, Constantine's mother, finds the cross in Jerusalem. It was not easy to get information and "when the queen had called them and demanded them the place where our Lord Jesus Christ had been crucified, they would never tell... her. Then commanded she to burn them all" or cast them into a dry pit for seven days and there torment them with hunger. He is shown in one fresco being pulled from the pit by a rope, whereupon he confessed that Jesus was his lord and where the cross was located. The proof of the cross was that it was used to resurrect a dead men.
• Battle between Heraclius and Khosrau (329 x 747 cm). The cross played a role in battles during the war between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sassanid Empire (early 7th century).

Piero diverged from his source material in a few important respects, including the story of King Solomon's meeting with the Queen of Sheba in a chronologically inaccurate place and giving greater emphasis to the two battles in which Christianity triumphs over paganism. // The Queen of Sheba, (Nigist Saba Amharic: ንግት ሳባ), referred to in the Bible books of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, the New Testament, the Quran, and Ethiopian history, was the ruler of Sheba, an ancient kingdom which modern archaeology speculates was located in present-day Eritrea, Ethiopia or Yemen. ... Head of Constantines colossal statue at Musei Capitolini Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[1] (February 27, 272–May 22, 337), commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or (among Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic[2] Christians) Saint Constantine, was a Roman Emperor, proclaimed Augustus by his troops on... Combatants Constantinian forces Maxentian forces Commanders Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius† Strength ~50000 men ~75000-120000 men Casualties Unknown Unknown The Battle of Milvian Bridge took place on October 28, 312 between the Roman Emperors Constantine the Great and Maxentius. ... Heraclius and his sons Heraclius Constantine and Heraclonas. ... Egyptian woven pattern woolen curtain or trousers, which was a copy of a Sassanid silk import, which was in turn based on a fresco of Persian King Khosrau II fighting Ethiopian forces in Yemen, 5-6th century. ... Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered around its capital in Constantinople. ... The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Empire (Persian: ‎ Sasanian) is the name used for the fourth Iranian dynasty, and the second Persian Empire (226 - 651). ... It has been suggested that Sulayman be merged into this article or section. ... // The Queen of Sheba, (Nigist Saba Amharic: ንግት ሳባ), referred to in the Bible books of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, the New Testament, the Quran, and Ethiopian history, was the ruler of Sheba, an ancient kingdom which modern archaeology speculates was located in present-day Eritrea, Ethiopia or Yemen. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Heathen redirects here. ...

The cycle ends with a depiction of the Annunciation, not strictly part of the Legend of the True Cross but probably included by Piero for its universal meaning. A key piece of the Paleologan Mannerism - the Annunciation icon from Ohrid. ...

Dating of the frescoes is uncertain, but they are believed to date from after 1447, when the Bacci family, commissioners of the frescoes, are recorded as having payed an unknown painter. It would have been finished around 1466. Most of the choir was painted in the early- to mid-1450s. Although the design of the frescoes is evidently Piero's, he seems to have delegated parts to untalented pupils. The hand of Giovanni da Piamonte, in particular, can be recognised in some of the frescoes. Events March 6 - Nicholas V becomes Pope. ... The word choir can refer to: Choir, an ensemble of singers Quire, the area between the nave and sanctuary in a church or cathedral The Choir, a rock band Angelic choir, an angelology term which refers to a specific grouping of angels within the angelic hierarchy Additional note In orchestras... Events and Trends Fall of Constantinople on May 29, 1453. ...

Reference

• Turner, Jane (ed.) (1996). The Dictionary of Art, Grove