Maxentius
Augustus in the west
Bust of Maxentius at the Louvre Museum
Reign	28 October 306 - 28 October 312 (in competition with Severus, then Galerius then Constantine - jointly with his father 306-8)
Full name	Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius
Born	c. 278
Died	28 October 312
	Rome
Predecessor	Constantius Chlorus
Successor	Constantine
Wife/wives	Valeria Maximilla
Issue	Valerius Romulus, 1 other son of unknown name
Father	Maximian
Mother	Eutropia

Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius (c. 278-28 October 312) was Western Roman Emperor from 306 to 312. He was the son of former emperor Maximian, and the son-in-law of Galerius, also an emperor.

Life

Birth and early life

Maxentius' exact date of birth is unknown; it was probably around 278. He was the son of the emperor Maximian and his wife Eutropia.

As his father became emperor in 285, he was regarded as crown prince who would eventually follow his father on the throne. He seems not to have served in any important military or administrative position during Diocletian's and his father's reign, though. Early (the exact date is unknown) he married Valeria Maximilla, the daughter of Galerius. He had two sons, Valerius Romulus (ca. 295 – 309) and an unknown one.

In 305, Diocletian and Maximian resigned, and the former caesares Constantius and Galerius became Augusti. Although with Constantine and Maxentius two sons of emperors were available, they were left out from the new tetrarchy, and Severus and Maximinus Daia were appointed Caesars. Some sources (Lactantius, Epitome) state that Galerius hated Maxentius and used his influence on Diocletian that Maxentius be ignored in the succession; maybe Diocletianus also thought that he was not qualified for the military duties of the imperial office. Maxentius retired to an estate some miles from Rome.

When Constantius died in 306, his son Constantine was crowned emperor on July 25 and subsequently accepted by Galerius into the tetrarchy as Caesar. This set the precedent for Maxentius' accession later in the same year.

Accession

The Basilica of Maxentius in the Roman Forum. Completed by his enemy Constantine, it was one of the most impressive edifices of ancient times.

When rumours reached the capital that the emperors tried to subject the Roman population to the capitation tax like every other city of the empire, and wanted to dissolve the remains of the Praetorian Guard which were still stationed at Rome, riots broke out. A group of officers of the city's garrisons (Zosimus calls them Marcellianus, Marcellus and Lucianus) turned to Maxentius to accept the imperial purple, probably judging that the official recognition which was granted to Constantine would not be withheld from Maxentius, son of an emperor as well. Maxentius accepted the honour, promised donations to the city's troops, and was publicly acclaimed emperor on October 28, 306. The usurpation obviously went largely without bloodshed (Zosimus names only one victim); the prefect of Rome went over to Maxentius and retained his office. Apparently the conspirators turned to Maximian as well, who had retired to a palace in Lucania, but he declined to resume power for the time being.

Maxentius managed to be recognized as emperor in central and southern Italy, the islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily, and the African provinces. Northern Italy remained under the control of the western Augustus Severus, who resided in Milan.

Maxentius refrained from using the titles Augustus or Caesar at first and styled himself princeps invictus (Undefeated Prince), in the hope of obtaining recognition of his reign by the senior emperor Galerius. However, the latter refused to do so. Apart from his alleged antipathy towards Maxentius, Galerius probably wanted to deter others from following the examples of Constantine and Maxentius and declaring themselves emperors. Constantine firmly controlled his father's army and territories, and Galerius could pretend that his accession was part of the regular succession in the tetrarchy, but neither was the case with Maxentius: he would be the fifth emperor, and he had only few troops at his command. Galerius reckoned that it would be not too difficult to quell the usurpation, and early in 307, the Augustus Severus marched on Rome with a large army.

The majority of this army consisted of soldiers who had fought under Maxentius' father Maximian for years, and as Severus reached Rome, the majority of his army went over to Maxentius, rightful heir of their former commander, who dealt out a large amount of money. When Maximian himself finally left his retreat and returned to Rome to assume the imperial office once again and support his son, Severus with the rest of his army retreated to Ravenna. Shortly after he surrendered to Maximian, who promised that his life be spared.

After the defeat of Severus, Maxentius took possession of northern Italy up to the Alps and the Istrian peninsula to the east, and assumed the title of Augustus, which (in his eyes) had become vacant with the surrender of Severus.

Emperor

Maxentius as Augustus on a coin.

The joint rule of Maxentius and Maximian in Rome was tested further when Galerius himself marched to Italy in the summer of 307 with an even larger army. While negotiating with the invader, Maxentius could repeat what he did to Severus: by the promise of large sums of money, and the authority of Maximian, many soldiers of Galerius defected to him. Galerius was forced to withdraw, plundering Italy on his way. Some time during the invasion, Severus was put to death by Maxentius, probably at Tres Tabernae near Rome (the exact circumstances of his death are not certain). After the failed campaign of Galerius, Maxentius' reign over Italy and Africa was firmly established. Beginning in 307 already, he tried to arrange friendly contacts with Constantine, and in the summer of that year, Maximian travelled to Gaul, where Constantine married his daughter Fausta and was in turn appointed Augustus by the senior emperor. However, Constantine tried to avoid breaking with Galerius, and did not openly support Maxentius during the invasion.

In 308, probably April, Maximian tried to depose his son in an assembly of soldiers in Rome; surprisingly to him, the present troops remained faithful to his son, and he had to flee to Constantine.

In the conference of Carnuntum in the autumn of 308, Maxentius was once again denied recognition as legitimate emperor, and Licinius was appointed Augustus with the task of regaining the usurper's domain.

Late in 308, Domitius Alexander was acclaimed emperor in Carthage, and the African provinces seceded from Maxentian rule. This produced a dangerous situation for Maxentius, as Africa was critical to Rome's food supply. Under the command of his praetorian prefect Rufius Volusianus, he sent a small army to Africa which defeated and executed Alexander in 310 or 311; Maxentius used the opportunity to seize the wealth of Alexander's supporters, and to bring large amounts of grain to Rome. Also in 310, he lost Istria to Licinius, who could not continue the campaign, however, as Galerius fell mortally ill and died the next year.

Maxentius' eldest son Valerius Romulus died in 309, at the age of about 14, was consecrated and buried in a mausoleum in the Villa of Maxentius at the Via Appia.

After the death of Maximian in 309 or 310, relations with Constantine rapidly deteriorated, and Maxentius allied with Maximinus to counter an alliance between Constantine and Licinius. He allegedly tried to secure the province of Raetia north of the Alps, thereby dividing the realms of Constantine and Licinius (reported by Zosimus); the plan was not carried out, as Constantine acted first.

Death

Early in 312, Constantine crossed the Alps into Italy. He defeated Maxentius' forces in several battles, and reached Rome late in October. It was expected that Maxentius would try the same strategy as against Severus and Galerius earlier; that is, remaining in the well-defended city of Rome, and sit out a siege which would cost his enemy much more. For somewhat uncertain reasons, he abandoned this plan, however, and offered battle to Constantine near the Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312. Ancient sources usually attribute this action to superstition or (if pro-Constantinian) divine providence. Maxentius of course had consulted soothsayers before battle, as was customary practice, and it can be assumed that they reported favourable omens, especially as the day of battle would be his dies imperii, the day of his accession to the throne (which was October 28, 306). What else may have motivated him, is open to speculation.

The armies of Maxentius and Constantine met north of the city, some distance outside the walls, beyond the Tiber river on the Via Flaminia. Christian tradition, especially Lactantius and Eusebius of Caesarea, claims that Constantine fought under the labarum in that battle, revealed to him in a dream. Of the battle itself, not much is known – Constantine's forces defeated Maxentius's troops, who retreated to the Tiber, and in the chaos of the fleeing army trying to cross the river, Maxentius fell into the water and drowned. His body was found the next day and paraded through the city, and later sent to Africa, as a sign that he had surely perished.

Overview and legacy

After Constantine's victory, Maxentius was systematically vilified and presented as a cruel, bloodthirsty and incompetent tyrant. While he was not counted under the persecutors of the Christians by early sources like Lactantius, under the influence of the official propaganda later Christian tradition framed Maxentius as hostile to Christianity as well. This image has left its traces in all of our sources and has dominated the view of Maxentius well into the 20th century, when a more extensive use and analysis of non-literary sources like coins and inscriptions have led to a more balanced image.

Discovery of Imperial insignia

In December 2006, Italian archeologists announced that an excavation under a shrine near the Palatine Hill had unearthed several items in wooden boxes, which they identified as the imperial regalia, possibly belonging to Maxentius. The items in these boxes, which were wrapped in linen and what appears to be silk, include 3 complete lances, 4 javelins, what appears to be a base for standards, and three glass and chalcedony spheres. The most important find was a scepter of a flower holding a blue-green globe, which is believed to have belonged to the Emperor himself because of its intricate worksmanship.

These are the only known royal insignias so far recovered, which hitherto had only been known from coins and wall paintings. Clementina Panella, the archaeologist who made the discovery states that "These artifacts clearly belonged to the emperor, especially the scepter, which is very elaborated, it's not an item you would let someone else have." Panella notes that the insignia was likely hidden by Maxentius' supporters in an attempt to preserve the emperor's memory after he was defeated at the Battle of Milvian Bridge by Constantine.[1] The items have been restored and are on temporary display at the Museo Nazionale Romano at the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme.

Bibliography

• Hartmut Leppin, Hauke Ziemssen: Maxentius. Der letzte Kaiser in Rom (Zaberns Bildbände zur Archäologie). Zabern, Mainz, 2007. (most recent publication)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Maxentius

• De imperatoribus Romanis on Maxentius
• Catholic Encyclopedia article
• Coins of Maxentius A brief history of Maxentius illustrated with some coins

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