MAXENTIUS (Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius), Roman Emperor. — Reigned from 28 Oct. 306 to 28 Oct. 312. Son of Maximian, when the latter, together with Diocletian, was compelled to abdicate in 305, he remained a private citizen. But when the troops of Gaul and Britain proclaimed Constantine and Galerius as emperors, Galerius alone being recognized as Augustus, M. was acknowledged as Caesar; and perhaps even more so, the praetorian cohorts of Rome took heart and M. was hailed as emperor.
The danger that military violence would multiply, and the fact that an emperor in Rome caused more concern than one in Gaul, decided Galerius to act. The Caesar Severus was entrusted with marching on Rome and putting an end to the usurpation. M. thought that the best protection for him would be his father’s person, and Maximian, who had reluctantly laid aside the purple, consented to resume II. The soldiers of Flavius Severus did not feel inclined to fight against their former Emperor and deserted in such great numbers that Severus was forced to flee and shut himself up in Ravenna; where he then surrendered to Maximian and was held prisoner near Rome. M. then forthwith assumed the title of Augustus. Galerius could not remain under the disgrace of such a setback, and
