Galerius Maximianus

GALERIUS MAXIMIANUS (C. Galerius Valerius Maximianus Augustus). - Roman emperor, b. in Illyricum around the middle of the 3rd century, d. at Nicomedia in May 311. Of obscure family origin, he was a savage, coarse, ignorant, cruel and bestial man; imposing in stature, he inspired fear in everyone. He distinguished himself in the army and on 1 March 293, in the tetrarchy created by Diocletian, he was named Caesar for the East with residence at Sirmium and jurisdiction over Macedonia, Epirus, Achaea, Illyricum and the provinces of the Danube. He then married Valeria, daughter of Diocletian himself. He fought a series of victorious battles against the barbarians pressing on the Empire's borders along the Danube; in 297 he won a splendid victory over the Persians, and in 299 over the Marcomanni and the Sarmatians. He then became arrogant and imperious, dominating completely the weak spirit of Diocletian. Urged on by his mother Romula, a fervent pagan, superstitious and a bitter enemy of the Christians, he was the principal promoter of the persecution against them. Already after the Persian victory he began to remove Christians from the army and the court.

At the beginning of 303 he went to Nicomedia, and after a series of secret conversations with Diocletian he succeeded in having the first edict of persecution promulgated (Feb. 303), by which the destruction of the churches and the burning of the sacred books were ordered. A double fire broke out a few days apart in the imperial palace; G. succeeded in pinning the blame on the Christians and in wresting from the exasperated Diocletian three more bloody edicts of persecution (303-304). Eager to domineer ever more, he forced the aged Diocletian to abdicate, and on 1 May 305 he took the title and office of Augustus. He then displayed all his bloodthirsty cruelty, persecuting the Christians with even greater fury. But his plans for absolute predominance were shattered in 306 when, on the death of Constantius Chlorus, the latter's son, Constantine, was acclaimed Augustus by the soldiers. He became ever more suspicious and cruel: he degraded and tortured dignitaries and magistrates, punishing with torture, with fire, with exposure to wild beasts anyone who was suspected; he humiliated noble matrons and subjected his subjects to heavy taxes. Meanwhile the tetrarchy created by Diocletian was falling into ruin with the rise of rival emperors; to punish the rebel Maxentius, in 307 G. attempted to occupy Rome, but abandoned by his soldiers he had to withdraw. In 310 he was struck by a horrible disease, whereby his body became cancerous and swarming with worms. All remedies were useless; he then recognized the hand of God punishing him, and in Apr. 311 he promulgated a decree by which he granted the Christians the right to exist and to rebuild their churches, openly acknowledging the failure of his persecution. A few days later he died amid horrible sufferings.

Agostino Amore