Licinius

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the Roman emperor. For other uses, see Licinius (disambiguation).

Licinius
Ancient Roman religion

Valerius Licinianus Licinius (

Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan that granted official toleration to Christians in the Roman Empire. He was finally defeated at the Battle of Chrysopolis
(AD 324), and was later executed on the orders of Constantine I.

Early reign

Born to a Dacian[2][3] peasant family in Moesia Superior, Licinius accompanied his close childhood friend and future emperor Galerius, on the Persian expedition in 298.[2] He was trusted enough by Galerius that in 307 he was sent as an envoy to Maxentius in Italy to attempt to reach some agreement about the latter's illegitimate political position.[2] Galerius then trusted the eastern provinces to Licinius when he went to deal with Maxentius personally after the death of Severus II.[4]

Upon his return to the east Galerius elevated Licinius to the rank of

Hellespont and the Bosporus became the dividing line, with Licinius taking the European provinces and Maximinus taking the Asian.[3]

An alliance between Maximinus and Maxentius forced the two remaining emperors to enter into a formal agreement with each other.

Constantine I,[citation needed] at Mediolanum (now Milan); they had a son, Licinius the Younger, in 315. Their marriage was the occasion for the jointly-issued "Edict of Milan" that reissued Galerius' previous edict allowing Christianity (and any religion one might choose) to be professed in the Empire,[3] with additional dispositions that restored confiscated properties to Christian congregations and exempted Christian clergy from municipal civic duties.[7] The redaction of the edict as reproduced by Lactantius – who follows the text affixed by Licinius in Nicomedia on 14 June 313, after Maximinus' defeat – uses neutral language, expressing a will to propitiate "any Divinity whatsoever in the seat of the heavens".[8]

Brown coin depicting man with diadem facing right
Follis minted at Londinium, c. 311. Legend: imp licinius p f aug.

Daza in the meantime decided to attack Licinius. Leaving Syria with 70,000 men, he reached

Tarsus, where Licinius continued to press him on land and sea. The war between them ended only with Daza's death in August 313.[3]

Licinius sought out and killed multiple relatives of the Tetrarchs - Daza’s wife and two children, Severus’ son Flavius Severianus, Galerius’ son Candidianus, Diocletian’s wife Prisca and daughter Valeria, who was also Galerius’ wife.[11]

Given that Constantine had already crushed his rival Maxentius in 312, the two men decided to divide the Roman world between them. As a result of this settlement, the Tetrarchy was replaced by a system of two emperors, called Augusti: Licinius became Augustus of the East, while his brother-in-law, Constantine, became Augustus of the West.[6]

After making the pact, Licinius rushed immediately to the East to deal with another threat, an invasion by the Persian

Sassanid Empire.[4]

Conflict with Constantine I

See also:
Civil wars of the Tetrarchy (306–324 AD)

In 314, a civil war erupted between Licinius and Constantine, in which Constantine used the pretext that Licinius was harbouring Senecio, whom Constantine accused of plotting to overthrow him.

consulship in 315, it was but a lull in the storm. The next year a new war erupted, when Licinius named Valerius Valens co-emperor, only for Licinius to suffer a humiliating defeat on the plains in the Battle of Mardia (also known as the Battle of Campus Ardiensis) in Thrace. The emperors were reconciled after these two battles and Licinius had his co-emperor Valens killed.[3]

Over the next ten years, the two imperial colleagues maintained an uneasy truce.[4] Licinius kept himself busy with a campaign against the Sarmatians in 318,[3] but temperatures rose again in 321 when Constantine pursued some Sarmatians, who had been ravaging some territory in his realm, across the Danube into what was technically Licinius's territory.[3] When he repeated this with another invasion, this time by the Goths who were pillaging Thrace under their leader Rausimod, Licinius complained that Constantine had broken the treaty between them.

Constantine wasted no time going on the offensive. Licinius's fleet of 350 ships was defeated by Constantine's fleet in 323. Then in 324, Constantine, tempted by the "advanced age and unpopular vices"

Thessalonica, Martinian in Cappadocia; however, both former emperors were subsequently executed. After his defeat, Licinius attempted to regain power with Gothic support, but his plans were exposed, and he was sentenced to death. While attempting to flee to the Goths, Licinius was apprehended at Thessalonica. Constantine had him hanged, accusing him of conspiring to raise troops among the barbarians.[4][13]

Character and legacy

One of a hoard of five or six identical silver plates celebrating Licinius's 10th anniversary as Emperor, discovered in Niš, Serbia and now in the British Museum in London[14]

As part of Constantine's attempts to decrease Licinius's popularity, he actively portrayed his brother-in-law as a pagan supporter. This may not have been the case; contemporary evidence tends to suggest that he was at least a committed supporter of Christians at one point.[

Great Persecution, and re-affirmed the rights of Christians in his half of the empire. He also added the Christian symbol to his armies, and attempted to regulate the affairs of the Church hierarchy just as Constantine and his successors were to do. His wife was a devout Christian.[15]

It is even a possibility that he converted.

Eusebius of Caesarea, writing under the rule of Constantine, charges him with expelling Christians from the Palace and ordering military sacrifices to pagan gods, as well as interfering with the Church's internal procedures and organization.[17] It has been theorized that he originally supported Christians along with Constantine, but later in his life turned against them and to paganism.[16]

Finally, on Licinius's death, his memory was branded with infamy; his statues were thrown down; and by edict, all his laws and judicial proceedings during his reign were abolished.[4] Such official erasure from the public record has come to be called damnatio memoriae.

Family tree


References

  1. ISBN 978-1781557389
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e Jones, A.H.M.; Martindale, J.R. (1971). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. I: AD 260–395. Cambridge University Press. p. 509.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j DiMaio, Michael Jr. (23 February 1997). "Licinius (308–324 A.D.)". De Imperatoribus Romanis.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gibbon, Edward (1776). "Chapter XIV". The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Vol. II.
  5. ^ Lendering, Jona. "Licinius". Livius.org. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Licinius". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 587.
  7. ISBN 2-02-025819-6
    .
  8. ^ Lactantius, De Mort. Pers., ch. 48, cf. Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University, [1]. Accessed 31 July 2012
  9. ^ Kohn, George Childs, Dictionary Of Wars, Revised Edition, pg 398.
  10. ^ Carrié & Rousselle, L'Empire Romain en Mutation, 229
  11. ^ Barnes 1981, p. 64.
  12. ^ Grant p. 46
  13. ^ Grant, pp. 47–48
  14. ^ British Museum Collection
  15. ISBN 978-0-8308-2722-0
    , page 101
  16. ^ a b Abbott, John Stevens Cabot. The History of Christianity.
  17. ^ James Richard Gearey, "The Persecution of Licinius". MA thesis, University of Calgary, 1999, Chapter 4. Available at [2] Archived 20 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 31 July 2012.

Sources

Regnal titles
Preceded by
Martinianus
 		Succeeded by
Constantine I
Political offices
Preceded by
Constantine Augustus
 Succeeded by
Tatius Andronicus
Pompeius Probus
Preceded by
Constantine Augustus
 Succeeded by
Preceded by
Constantine Augustus
 Succeeded by
Antonius Caecina Sabinus
G. Vettius Cossinius Rufinus
Preceded by Roman consul IV
318
with Crispus Caesar 		Succeeded by
Licinius Caesar
Preceded by
Constantine Augustus
Constantine Caesar
Licinius Caesar
 Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Licinius&oldid=1211821619"