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Maximian - Roman Emperor: 285-305, 306-308 & 310 A.D. -
Bronze Antoninianus 22mm Tripolis mint: 285-290 A.D.
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Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius (c. 250 – c. July 310[8]),
commonly referred to as Maximian, was
Caesar (junior
Roman
Emperor) from July 285[1][2]
and
Augustus (senior Roman Emperor) from April 1, 286[3]
to May 1, 305.[4]
He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior,
Diocletian,
whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn. Maximian
established his residence at
Trier but spent
most of his time on campaign. In the late summer of 285, he suppressed rebels in
Gaul known as the
Bagaudae.
From 285 to 288, he fought against Germanic tribes along the Rhine frontier.
Together with Diocletian, he ran a
scorched earth campaign deep into the territory of the
Alamanni
tribes in 288, temporarily relieving the Rhenish provinces from the threat of
Germanic invasion.
The man he appointed to police the
Channel shores,
Carausius,
rebelled in 286, causing the secession of Britain and northwestern Gaul.
Maximian failed to oust Carausius, and his invasion fleet was destroyed by
storms in 289 or 290. Maximan's subordinate,
Constantius, campaigned against Carausius' successor,
Allectus,
while Maximian held the Rhenish frontier. The rebel leader was ousted in 296,
and Maximian moved south to combat
Moorish pirates
in Iberia and
Berber incursions in
Mauretania.
When these campaigns concluded in 298, he departed for Italy, where he lived in
comfort until 305. At Diocletian's behest, Maximian abdicated on May 1, 305,
gave the Augustan office to Constantius, and retired to southern Italy.
In late 306, Maximian took the title of Augustus again and aided his son
Maxentius'
rebellion in Italy. In April 307, he attempted to depose his son, but failed and
fled to the court of Constantius' successor,
Constantine, in Trier. At the Council of
Carnuntum
in November 308, Diocletian and his successor,
Galerius,
forced Maximian to renounce his imperial claim again. In early 310, Maximian
attempted to seize Constantine's title while the emperor was on campaign on the
Rhine. Few supported him, and he was captured by Constantine in Marseille.
Maximian committed suicide in the summer of 310 on Constantine's orders. During
Constantine's war with Maxentius, Maximian's image was purged from all public
places. However, after Constantine ousted and killed Maxentius, Maximian's image
was rehabilitated, and he was deified.
Early life
Maximian was born near
Sirmium (Sremska
Mitrovica,
Serbia) in the
province of
Pannonia, around 250 into a family of shopkeepers.[9]
Beyond that, the ancient sources contain vague allusions to
Illyricum as his homeland,[10]
to his Pannonian virtues,[11]
and to his harsh upbringing along the war-torn
Danube
frontier.[12]
Maximian joined the army, serving with Diocletian under the emperors
Aurelian
(r. 270–275) and
Probus (r. 276–282). He probably participated in the Mesopotamian campaign
of Carus in 283
and attended Diocletian's election as emperor on
November
20, 284
at Nicomedia.[13]
Maximian's swift appointment by Diocletian as Caesar is taken by the writer
Stephen Williams and historian
Timothy Barnes to mean that the two men were longterm allies, that their
respective roles were pre-agreed and that Maximian had probably supported
Diocletian during his campaign against
Carinus (r.
283–285) but there is no direct evidence for this.[14]
With his great energy, firm aggressive character and disinclination to rebel,
Maximian was an appealing candidate for imperial office. The fourth-century
historian
Aurelius Victor described Maximian as "a colleague trustworthy in
friendship, if somewhat boorish, and of great military talents".[15]
Despite his other qualities, Maximian was uneducated and preferred action to
thought. The panegyrist of 289, after comparing his actions to
Scipio Africanus' victories over
Hannibal
during the
Second Punic War, suggested that Maximian has never heard of them.[16]
His ambitions were purely military; he left politics to Diocletian.[17]
The Christian
rhetor
Lactantius
suggested that Maximian shared Diocletian's basic attitudes but was less
puritanical in his tastes, and took advantage of the sensual opportunities his
position as emperor offered.[18]
Lactantius charged that Maximian defiled senators' daughters and traveled with
young virgins to satisfy his unending lust, though Lactantius' credibility is
undermined by his general hostility towards pagans.[19]
Maximian had two children with his
Syrian wife,
Eutropia:
Maxentius and
Fausta. There is no direct evidence in the ancient sources for their
birthdates. Modern estimates of Maxentius' birth year have varied from circa 277
to circa 287, and most date Fausta's birth to circa 298.[20]
Theodora, the wife of Constantius Chlorus, is often called Maximian's
stepdaughter by ancient sources, leading to claims by
Otto Seeck
and Ernest Stein that she was born from an earlier marriage between Eutropia and
Afranius Hannibalianus.[21]
Barnes challenges this view, saying that all "stepdaughter" sources derive their
information from the partially unreliable work of history
Kaisergeschichte, while other, more reliable sources, refer to her as
Maximian's natural daughter.[22]
Barnes concludes that Theodora was born no later than circa 275 to an unnamed
earlier wife of Maximian, possibly one of Hannibalianus' daughters.[23]
Appointment as Caesar
At
Mediolanum (Milan,
Italy) in July
285,[24]
Diocletian proclaimed Maximian as his co-ruler, or Caesar.[25]
The reasons for this decision are complex. With conflict in every province of
the empire, from Gaul to Syria, from Egypt to the lower Danube, Diocletian
needed a lieutenant to manage his heavy workload.[26]
Historian Stephen Williams suggests that Diocletian considered himself a
mediocre general and needed a man like Maximian to do most of his fighting.[27]
Next, Diocletian was vulnerable in that he had no sons – just a daughter,
Valeria – who could never succeed him. He was forced therefore to seek a
co-ruler from outside his family and that co-ruler had to be someone he trusted.[28]
(The historian William Seston has argued that Diocletian, like heirless emperors
before him, adopted Maximian as his filius Augusti ("Augustan son") upon
his appointment to the office. Some agree, but the historian
Frank Kolb
has stated that arguments for the adoption are based on misreadings of the
papyrological evidence.[29]
Maximian did take Diocletian's
nomen (family
name) Valerius, however.[30])
Finally, Diocletian knew that single rule was dangerous and that precedent
existed for dual rulership. Despite their military prowess, both sole-emperors
Aurelian and Probus had been easily removed from power.[31]
In contrast, just a few years earlier, the emperor Carus and his sons had ruled
jointly, albeit not for long. Even the first emperor,
Augustus,
(r. 27 BC–AD 19), had shared power with his colleagues and more formal offices
of co-emperor had existed from
Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) on.[32]
The dual system evidently worked well. About 287, the two rulers'
relationship was re-defined in religious terms, with Diocletian assuming the
title Iovius and Maximian Herculius.[33]
The titles were pregnant with symbolism: Diocletian-Jove
had the dominant role of planning and commanding; Maximian-Hercules
the heroic role of
completing assigned tasks.[34]
Yet despite the symbolism, the emperors were not "gods" in the
Imperial cult (although they may have been hailed as such in Imperial
panegyrics). Instead, they were the gods' instruments, imposing the gods' will
on earth.[35]
Once the rituals were over, Maximian assumed control of the government of the
West and dispatched to Gaul to fight the rebels known as Bagaudae while
Diocletian returned to the East.[36]
Early campaigns in Gaul and Germany
The Bagaudae of Gaul are obscure figures, appearing fleetingly in the ancient
sources, with their 285 uprising being their first appearance.[37]
The fourth-century historian
Eutropius
described them as rural people under the leadership of
Amandus and Aelianus, while Aurelius Victor called them bandits.[38]
The historian David S. Potter suggests that they were more than peasants,
seeking either Gallic political autonomy or reinstatement of the recently
deposed Carus (a native of
Gallia Narbonensis, in what would become southern
France): in
this case, they would be defecting imperial troops, not brigands.[39]
Although poorly equipped, led and trained – and therefore a poor match for Roman
legions – Diocletian certainly considered the Bagaudae sufficient threat to
merit an emperor to counter them.[40]
Maximian traveled to Gaul, engaging the Bagaudae late in the summer of 285.[41]
Details of the campaign are sparse and provide no tactical detail: the
historical sources dwell only on Maximian's virtues and victories. The 289
panegyric to Maximian records that the rebels were defeated with a blend of
harshness and leniency.[42]
As the campaign was against the empire's own citizens, and therefore
distasteful, it went unrecorded in
titles and official
triumphs. Indeed, Maximian's panegyrist declares: "I pass quickly over this
episode, for I see in your magnanimity you would rather forget this victory than
celebrate it."[43]
By the end of the year, the revolt had significantly abated, and Maximian moved
the bulk of his forces to the Rhine frontier, heralding a period of stability.[44]
Maximian did not put down the Bagaudae swiftly enough to avoid a Germanic
reaction. In the autumn of 285, two barbarian armies – one of
Burgundians and Alamanni, the other of Chaibones and
Heruli – forded
the Rhine and entered Gaul.[45]
The first army was left to die of disease and hunger, while Maximian intercepted
and defeated the second.[46]
He then established a Rhine headquarters in preparation for future campaigns,[47]
either at Moguntiacum (Mainz,
Germany),
Augusta Treverorum (Trier, Germany), or Colonia Agrippina (Cologne,
Germany).[48]
Carausius
Although most of Gaul was pacified, regions bordering the English Channel
still suffered from
Frankish and
Saxon piracy.
The emperors Probus and Carinus had begun to fortify the
Saxon
Shore, but much remained to be done.[49]
For example, there is no archaeological evidence of naval bases at
Dover and
Boulogne during 270–285.[50]
In response to the pirate problem, Maximian appointed Mausaeus Carausius, a
Menapian from
Germania Inferior (southern and western
Netherlands) to command the Channel and to clear it of raiders.[51]
Carausius did well.[52]
By the end of 285, he was capturing pirate ships in great numbers.[53]
Maximian soon heard that Carausius was waiting until the pirates had finished
plundering before attacking and that their booty was going into Carausius'
pockets instead of to the population at large or into the imperial treasury.[54]
Maximian ordered Carausius' arrest and execution, prompting him to flee the
continent to Britain. Carausius' support among the British was strong, and at
least two British legions (II
Augusta and XX Valeria Victrix) defected to him, as did some or all of a
legion near Boulogne (probably
XXX Ulpia Victrix).[55]
Carausius quickly eliminated the few remaining loyalists in his army and
declared himself Augustus.[56]
Maximian could do little about the revolt. He had no fleet – he had given it
to Casausius – and was busy quelling the Heruli and the Franks. Meanwhile,
Carausius strengthened his position by enlarging his fleet, enlisting Frankish
mercenaries, and paying his troops well.[56]
By the autumn of 286, Britain, much of northwestern Gaul, and the entire Channel
coast, was under his control.[57]
Casausius declared himself head of an independent British state, an Imperium
Britanniarum and issued coin of a markedly higher purity than that of
Maximian and Diocletian, earning the support of British and Gallic merchants.[58]
Even Maximian's troops were vulnerable to Carausius' influence and wealth.[59]
Maximian appointed Augustus
Spurred by the crisis with Carausius, on April 1, 286,[3]
Maximian took the title of
Augustus[60]
This gave him the same status as Carausius – so the clash was between two
Augusti, rather than between an Augustus and a Caesar – and, in imperial
propaganda, Maximian was proclaimed Diocletian's brother, his equal in authority
and prestige.[61]
Diocletian could not have been present at Maximian's appointment,[62]
causing Seeck to suggest that Maximian usurped the title and was only later
recognized by Diocletian in hopes of avoiding civil war. This suggestion has not
won much support, and the historian William Leadbetter has recently refuted it.[63]
Despite the physical distance between the emperors, Diocletian trusted Maximian
enough to invest him with imperial powers, and Maximian still respected
Diocletian enough to act in accordance with his will.[64]
In theory, the Roman Empire was not divided by the dual imperium. Though
divisions did take place – each emperor had his own court, army, and official
residences – these were matters of practicality, not substance. Imperial
propaganda from 287 on insists on a singular and indivisible Rome, a
patrimonium indivisum.[65]
As the panegyrist of 289 declares to Maximian: "So it is that this great empire
is a communal possession for both of you, without any discord, nor would we
endure there to be any dispute between you, but plainly you hold the state in
equal measure as once those two
Heracleidae, the
Spartan Kings, had done."[66]
Legal rulings were given and imperial celebrations took place in both emperors'
names; the same coins were issued in both parts of the empire.[67]
Diocletian sometimes issued commands to Maximian's province of Africa; Maximian
could presumably have done the same for Diocletian's territory.[68]
Campaigns against Rhenish tribes
Campaigns in 286 and 287
Maximian realized that he could not immediately suppress Carausius and
campaigned instead against Rhenish tribes.[69]
These tribes were probably greater threats to Gallic peace than Carausius in any
case and included many supporters of Carausius.[70]
Although Maximian had many enemies along the river, they were more often in
dispute with each other than in combat with the empire.[71]
Few clear dates survive for Maximian's campaigns on the Rhine beyond a general
range of 285 to 288.[72]
While receiving the consular fasces on January 1, 287, Maximian was
interrupted by news of a barbarian raid. Doffing his toga and donning his armor,
he marched against the barbarians and, although they were not entirely
dispersed, he celebrated a victory in Gaul later that year.[73]
Maximian believed the Burgundian and Alemanni tribes of the
Moselle-Vosges
region to be the greatest threat, so he targeted them first. He campaigned using
scorched earth tactics, laying waste to their land and reducing their numbers
through famine and disease. After the Burgundians and Alemanni, Maximian moved
against the weaker Heruli and Chaibones. He cornered and defeated them in a
single battle. He fought in person, riding along the battle line until the
Germanic forces broke. Roman forces pursued the fleeing tribal armies and routed
them. With his enemies from starvation,[71]
Maximian launched a great invasion across the Rhine.[74]
He moved deep into Germanic territory, bringing destruction to his enemies'
homelands,[71]
and demonstrating the superiority of Roman arms.[75]
By the winter of 287, he had the advantage and the Rhenish lands were free of
Germanic tribesmen.[71]
Maximian's panegyrist declared: "All that I see beyond the Rhine is Roman."[76]
Joint campaign against the Alamanni
The following spring, as Maximian made preparations for dealing with
Carausius, Diocletian returned from the East.[77]
The emperors met that year, but neither date nor place is known with certainty.[78]
They probably agreed on a joint campaign against the Alamanni and a naval
expedition against Carausius.[79]
Later in the year, Maximian led a surprise invasion of the
Agri Decumates – a region between the upper Rhine and upper Danube deep
within Alamanni territory – while Diocletian invaded Germany via
Raetia. Both
emperors burned crops and food supplies as they went, destroying the Germans'
means of sustenance.[80]
They added large swathes of territory to the empire and allowed Maximian's
build-up to proceed without further disturbance.[81]
In the aftermath of the war, towns along the Rhine were rebuilt, bridgeheads
created on the eastern banks at such places as Mainz and Cologne, and a military
frontier was established, comprising forts, roads, and fortified towns. A
military highway through Tornacum (Tournai,
Belgium),
Bavacum (Bavay,
France), Atuatuca Tungrorum (Tongeren,
Belgium), Mosae Trajectum (Maastricht,
Netherlands), and Cologne connected points along the frontier.[82]
Constantius, Gennobaudes, and resettlement
In early 288, Maximian appointed his praetorian prefect Flavius Constantius,
husband of Maximian's daughter Theodora, to lead a campaign against Carausius'
Frankish allies. These Franks controlled the Rhine
estuaries,
thwarting sea-attacks against Carausius. Constantius moved north through their
territory, wreaking havoc, and reaching the
North Sea.
The Franks sued for peace and in the subsequent settlement Maximian reinstated
the deposed Frankish king Gennobaudes.[73]
Gennobaudes became Maximian's vassal and, with lesser Frankish chiefs in turn
swearing loyalty to Gennobaudes, Roman regional dominance was assured.[83]
Maximian allowed a settlement of
Frisians,
Salian Franks,
Chamavi and
other tribes along a strip of Roman territory, either between the Rhine and
Waal rivers from Noviomagus (Nijmegen,
Netherlands) to Traiectum (Utrecht,
Netherlands)[82]
or near Trier.[75]
These tribes were allowed to settle only on condition they acknowledged Roman
dominance. Their presence, providing a ready pool of manpower and preventing the
settlement of other Frankish tribes, gave Maximian a buffer along the northern
Rhine and reduced his need to garrison the region.[82]
Later campaigns in Britain and Gaul
Failed expedition against Carausius
By 289, Maximian was prepared to invade Carausius' Britain but, for some
reason, the plan failed. Maximian's panegyrist of 289 was optimistic about the
campaign's prospects; but the panegyrist of 291 made no mention of it.[84]
Constantius' panegyrist suggested that his fleet was lost to a storm,[85]
but this might simply have been to diminish the embarrassment of defeat.[86]
Diocletian curtailed his Eastern province tour soon after, perhaps on learning
of Maximian's failure.[87]
Diocletian returned in haste to the West, reaching Emesa by May 10, 290,[88]
and Sirmium on the Danube by
July 1,
290.[89]
Diocletian met Maximian in Milan either in late December 290 or January 291.[90]
Crowds gathered to witness the emperors descend on the city and the emperors
devoted much time to public pageantry.[91]
Potter, among others, has surmised that the ceremonies were arranged to
demonstrate Diocletian's continuing support for his faltering colleague. The
rulers discussed matters of politics and war in secret,[92]
and they may have considered the idea of expanding the imperial college to
include four emperors (the
Tetrarchy).[93]
Meanwhile, a deputation from the Roman Senate met with the rulers and renewed
their infrequent contact with the imperial office.[94]
The emperors would not meet again until 303.[95]
Following Maximian's failure to invade in 289, an uneasy truce with Carausius
began. Maximian tolerated Carausius' rule in Britain and on the continent but
refused to grant the secessionist state formal legitimacy. For his part,
Carausius was content with his territories beyond the Continental coast of Gaul.[96]
However, Diocletian would not long put up with such an affront to his dignity.
Faced with Carausius' secession and further challenges on the Egyptian, Syrian,
and Danubian borders, he realized that two emperors were insufficient to manage
the empire.[97]
On
March 1,
293 at Milan,
Maximian appointed Constantius to the office of Caesar.[98]
On either the same day or a month later, Diocletian did the same for Galerius,
thus establishing the "Tetrarchy", or "rule of four".[99]
Constantius was made to understand that he must succeed where Maximian had
failed and defeat Carausius.[100]
Campaign against Allectus
Constantius met expectations quickly and efficiently, and by 293 had expelled
Carausian forces from northern Gaul. In the same year, Casausius was
assassinated and replaced by his treasurer, Allectus.[101]
Constantius marched up the coast to the Rhine and Scheldt estuaries where he was
victorious over Carausius' Frankish allies, taking the title Germanicus
maximus.[102]
His sights now set on Britain, Constantius spent the following years building an
invasion fleet.[103]
Maximian, still in Italy after the appointment of Constantius, was appraised of
the invasion plans and, in the summer of 296, returned to Gaul.[104]
There, he held the Rhenish frontiers against Carausius' Frankish allies while
Constantius launched his invasion of Britain.[105]
Allectus was killed on the
North
Downs in battle with Constantius' praetorian prefect,
Asclepiodotus. Constantius himself had landed near
Dubris (Dover)
and marched on
Londinium (London),
whose citizens greeted him as a liberator.[106]
Campaigns in North Africa
With Constantius' victorious return, Maximian was able to focus on the
conflict in Mauretania (Northwest
Africa).[107]
As Roman authority weakened during the third century, nomadic Berber tribes
harassed settlements in the region with increasingly severe consequences. In
289, the governor of
Mauretania Caesariensis (roughly modern
Algeria)
gained a temporary respite by pitting a small army against the Bavares and
Quinquegentiani, but the raiders soon returned. In 296, Maximian raised an
army, from
Praetorian cohorts,
Aquileian,
Egyptian, and Danubian legionaries, Gallic and German
auxiliaries, and
Thracian recruits, advancing through Spain that autumn.[108]
He may have defended the region against raiding
Moors[109]
before crossing the
Strait of Gibraltar into
Mauretania Tingitana (roughly modern
Morocco) to
protect the area from Frankish pirates.[110]
By March 297, Maximian had begun a bloody offensive against the Berbers. The
campaign was lengthy, and Maximian spent the winter of 297–298 resting in
Carthage
before returning to the field.[111]
Not content to drive them back into their homelands in the
Atlas Mountains – from which they could continue to wage war – Maximian
ventured deep into Berber territory. The terrain was unfavorable, and the
Berbers were skilled at
guerrilla warfare, but Maximian pressed on. Apparently wishing to inflict as
much punishment as possible on the tribes, he devastated previously secure land,
killed as many as he could, and drove the remainder back into the
Sahara.[112]
His campaign was concluded by the spring of 298 and, on
March 10,
he made a triumphal entry into Carthage.[113]
Inscriptions there record the people's gratitude to Maximian, hailing him – as
Constantius had been on his entry to London – as redditor lucis aeternae
("restorer of the eternal light").[112]
Maximian returned to Italy in 299 to celebrate another triumph in Rome in the
spring.[114]
Leisure and retirement
After his Mauretanian campaign, Maximian returned to the north of Italy,
living a life of leisure in palaces in Milan and Aquilea, and leaving warfare to
his subordinate Constantius.[115]
Maximian was more aggressive in his relationship with the Senate than
Constantius, and Lactantius contends that he terrorized senators, to the point
of falsely charging and subsequently executing several, including the prefect of
Rome in 301/2.[116]
In contrast, Constantius kept up good relations with the senatorial aristocracy
and spent his time in active defense of the empire. He took up arms against the
Franks in 300 or 301 and in 302 – while Maximian was resting in Italy –
continued to campaign against Germanic tribes on the Upper Rhine.[109]
Maximian was only disturbed from his rest in 303 by Diocletian's
vicennalia, the 20-year anniversary of his reign, in Rome. Some evidence
suggests that it was on then that Diocletian exacted a promise from Maximian to
retire together, passing their titles as Augusti to the Caesars Constantius and
Galerius.[117]
Presumably Maximian's son Maxentius and Constantius' son Constantine – children
raised in Nicomedia together – would then become the new Caesars. While Maximian
might not have wished to retire, Diocletian was still in control and there was
little resistance. Before retirement, Maximian would receive one final moment of
glory by officiating at the
Secular Games in 304.[118]
On May 1, 305, in separate ceremonies in Milan and Nicomedia, Diocletian and
Maximian retired simultaneously. The succession did not go not entirely to
Maximian's liking: perhaps because of Galerius' influence,
Severus and
Maximinus
were appointed Caesar, thus excluding Maxentius. Both the newly appointed
Caesars had had long military careers and were close to Galerius: Severus was
his nephew and Maximinus a former army comrade.[119]
Maximian quickly soured to the new tetrarchy, which saw Galerius assume the
dominant position Diocletian once held. Although Maximian led the ceremony that
proclaimed Severus Caesar, within two years he was sufficiently dissatisfied to
support his son's rebellion against the new regime.[120]
Diocletian retired to the expansive
palace he had built in his homeland, Dalmatia near Salona on the
Adriatic. Maximian retired to villas in
Campania or
Lucania,
where he lived a life of ease and luxury.[121]
Although far from the political centers of the empire, Diocletian and Maximian
remained close enough to stay in regular contact.[122]
Maxentius' rebellion
After the death of Constantius on July 25, 306, Constantine assumed the title
of Augustus. This displeased Galerius, who instead offered Constantine the title
of Caesar, which Constantine accepted. The title of Augustus then went to
Severus.[123]
Maxentius was jealous of Constantine's power, and on October 28, 306, he
persuaded a cohort of imperial guardsmen to declare him emperor. Uncomfortable
with sole leadership, Maxentius sent a set of imperial robes to Maximian and
saluted him as "Augustus for the second time", offering him theoretic equal rule
but less actual power and a lower rank.[124]
Galerius refused to recognize Maxentius and sent Severus with an army to Rome
to depose him. As many of Severus' soldiers had served under Maximian, and had
taken Maxentius' bribes, most of the army defected to Maxentius. Severus fled to
Ravenna,
which Maximian besieged. The city was strongly fortified so Maximian offered
terms, which Severus accepted. Maximian then seized Severus and took him under
guard to a public villa in southern Rome, where he was kept as a hostage. In the
autumn of 307, Galerius led a second force against Maxentius but he again failed
to take Rome, and retreated north with his army mostly intact.[125]
While Maxentius built up Rome's defenses, Maximian made his way to Gaul to
negotiate with Constantine. A deal was struck in which Contantine would marry
Maximian's younger daughter Fausta and be elevated to Augustan rank in Maxentius'
secessionist regime. In return, Constantine would reaffirm the old family
alliance between Maximian and Constantius, and support Maxentius' cause in Italy
but would remain neutral in the war with Galerius. The deal was sealed with a
double ceremony in Trier in the late summer of 307, at which Constantine married
Fausta and was declared Augustus by Maximian.[126]
Maximian returned to Rome in the winter of 307–8 but soon fell out with his
son and in the spring of 308 challenged his right to rule before an assembly of
Roman soldiers. He spoke of Rome's sickly government, disparaged Maxentius for
having weakened it, and ripped the imperial toga from Maxentius' shoulders. He
expected the soldiers to recognize him but they sided with Maxentius, and
Maximian was forced to leave Italy in disgrace.[127]
On November 11, 308, to resolve the political instability, Galerius called
Diocletian (out of retirement) and Maximian to a general council meeting at the
military city of Carnuntum on the upper Danube. There, Maximian was forced to
abdicate again and Constantine was again demoted to Caesar.
Licinius, a
loyal military companion to Galerius, was appointed Augustus of the West.[128]
In early 309 Maximian returned to the court of Constantine in Gaul, the only
court that would still accept him.[129]
Rebellion against Constantine
In 310, Maximian rebelled against Constantine while the emperor was on
campaign against the Franks. Maximian had been sent south to Arles with part of
Constantine's army to defend against attacks by Maxentius in southern Gaul. In
Arles, Maximian announced that Constantine was dead and took up the
imperial purple. In spite offering bribes to any who would support him as
emperor, most of Constantine's army remained loyal, and Maximian was compelled
to leave. Constantine soon heard of the rebellion, abandoned his campaign
against the Franks, and moved quickly to southern Gaul, where he confronted the
fleeing Maximian at Massilia (Marseille).
The town was better able to withstand a long siege than Arles, but it made
little difference as loyal citizens opened the rear gates to Constantine.
Maximian was captured, reproved for his crimes, and stripped of his title for
the third and last time. Constantine granted Maximian some clemency but strongly
encouraged his suicide. In July 310, Maximian hanged himself.[130]
Despite the earlier rupture in relations, after Maximian's suicide Maxentius
presented himself as his father's devoted son.[131]
He minted coins bearing his father's deified image and proclaimed his desire to
avenge his death.[132]
Constantine initially presented the suicide as an unfortunate family tragedy.
By 311, however, he was spreading another version. According to this, after
Constantine had pardoned him, Maximian planned to murder Constantine in his
sleep. Fausta learned of the plot and warned Constantine, who put a
eunuch in his
own place in bed. Maximian was apprehended when he killed the eunuch and was
offered suicide, which he accepted.[133]
In addition to the propaganda, Constantine instituted a
damnatio memoriae on Maximian, destroying all inscriptions referring to
him and eliminating any public work bearing his image.[134]
Constantine defeated Maxentius at the
Battle of the Milvian Bridge on
October 28,
312. Maxentius
died, and Italy came under Constantine's rule.[135]
Eutropia swore on oath that Maxentius was not Maximian's son, and Maximian's
memory was rehabilitated. His
apotheosis
under Maxentius was declared null and void, and he was re-consecrated as a god,
probably in 317. He began appearing on Constantine's coinage as divus, or
divine, by 318, together with the deified Constantius and
Claudius Gothicus.[136]
The three were hailed as Constantine's forbears. They were called "the best of
emperors".[137]
Through his daughters Fausta and Flavia, Maximian was grandfather or
great-grandfather to every reigning emperor from 337 to 363.[138]
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