Ancient Rome Live | People & Personalities

Key information:

Official Name: IMPERATOR CAESAR MARCUS AURELIUS VALERIUS MAXENTIUS AUGUSTUS

Birthdate: Unknown, but most likely 283 CE or 287 CE.

(Panegyrici Latini 10(2).14.1)

Birthplace: Unknown.

Reign: Maxentius was declared emperor by the praetorian guard in Rome on October 28, 306.

(Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors, 26 & 44) (Eutropius, Short History of the Roman Empire, 10.2)

Parents: Maxentius was the son of Maximian and his Syrian wife Eutropia. Maximian served as Roman emperor for over twenty years as part of the tetrarchy. Under this system, the empire was divided into four parts and was ruled by two senior and two junior emperors.

(Aurelius Victor, Epitome de Caesaribus, 40) (Eutropius, Short History of the Roman Empire, 9.22)

Marriages: Maxentius was married to Valeria Maximilla. She was the daughter of Galerius, who served as Roman emperor for eighteen years.

(Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors, 18)

Children:

Valerius Romulus (son by Valeria Maximilla)

(RIC VI Rome 207)

Death: Maxentius drowned in the River Tiber on October 28, 312 CE during the Battle of the Milvian Bridge.

(Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors, 44) (Zosimus, New History, 2.16)

Statue of Maxentius, Ostia Antica Museum, Ostia Antica, Italy.

Follis of Maxentius, Getty Villa, California

Famous facts and dates

306

Despite being the son of a Roman emperor, Maxentius was left out of the line of succession. In 306 CE he was named emperor by the praetorian guard, without the permission of his fellow tetrarchs.

(Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors, 18) (Zosimus, New History, 2.09)

307

In 307 CE, Maxentius defeated invasions by Severus and Galierus, two of his imperial colleagues in the tetrarchy. Severus was captured and executed, and Galierus was forced to retreat.

(Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors, 26) (Zosimus, New History, 2.10)

310

In 310 CE, Maxentius defeated an uprising in Africa led by Domitius Alexander.

(Zosimus, New History, 2.12 & 2.14)

312

In 312 CE, Maxentius went to war with Constantine, one of his rivals in the tetrarchy. On October 28, 312 CE Constantine defeated Maxentius outside Rome at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. During the battle, Maxentius drowned while retreating across the River Tiber.

(Aurelius Victor, Epitome de Caesaribus, 40) (Zosimus, New History, 2.16) (Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors, 44)

312

Constantine condemned Maxentius’ memory after his death. He was declared a tyrant, his name was removed from public buildings, and his mother was forced to admit that he was illegitimate.

(CIL VI 1139) (Aurelius Victor, Liber de Caesaribus, 40.26) (The Anonymus Valesianus, The Lineage of the Emperor Constantine, 1.12)

Related monuments in Rome

BASILICA OF MAXENTIUS

This content is brought to you by The American Institute for Roman Culture, a 501(C)3 US Non-Profit Organization.

Please support our mission to aid learning and understanding of ancient Rome through free-to-access content by donating today.

SUPPORT US

Cite This Page

Cite this page as: Darius Arya, The American Institute for Roman Culture, “Maxentius,” Ancient Rome Live. Last modified 2/23/2024. https://ancientromelive.org/maxentius/

License

Created by The American Institute of Roman Culture, published on 2/23/2024 under the following license: Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.

Maxentius