Licinius

Roman emperor from 308 to 324

This article is about the Roman emperor. For other uses, see Licinius (disambiguation).

Licinius

Bust of Licinius, exhibited in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Roman emperor
Reign| 11 November 308 – 19 September 324
Predecessor| Severus II
Successor| Constantine I (alone)
Alongside| Galerius (East, 308–311)
Constantine I (West, 308–324)
Maximinus Daza (311–313)
Valerius Valens (316–317)
Martinianus (324)

Born| Licinius Licinianus (?)[1]
c. 265[2]
Moesia Superior, Roman Empire
Died| Spring of 325 (aged around 60)
Thessalonica
Spouse| Flavia Julia Constantia
Issue| Licinius II
| Names

Valerius Licinianus Licinius[2]
Religion| Ancient Roman religion

Valerius Licinianus Licinius (Greek: Λικίνιος; c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan, AD 313, 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[edit]

Born to a Dacian[2][3] peasant family in Moesia Superior, Licinius accompanied his close childhood friend, the 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 Augustus in the West on 11 November 308, and under his immediate command were the Balkan provinces of Illyricum, Thrace and Pannonia.[3] In 310 he took command of the war against the Sarmatians, inflicting a severe defeat on them.[5] On the death of Galerius in May 311,[6] Licinius entered into an agreement with Maximinus Daza to share the eastern provinces between them. By this point, not only was Licinius the official Augustus of the west but he also possessed part of the eastern provinces as well, as the 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.[4] So in March 313 Licinius married Flavia Julia Constantia, half-sister of 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]

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 Bithynia, although harsh weather he encountered along the way had gravely weakened his army. In April 313, he crossed the Bosporus and went to Byzantium, which was held by Licinius' troops. Undeterred, he took the town after an eleven-day siege. He moved to Heraclea, which he captured after a short siege, before moving his forces to the first posting station. With a much smaller body of men, possibly around 30,000,[9] Licinius arrived at Adrianople while Daza was still besieging Heraclea. Before the decisive engagement, Licinius allegedly had a vision in which an angel recited him a generic prayer that could be adopted by all cults and which Licinius then repeated to his soldiers.[10] On 30 April 313, the two armies clashed at the Battle of Tzirallum, and in the ensuing battle Daza's forces were crushed. Ridding himself of the imperial purple and dressing like a slave, Daza fled to Nicomedia.[4] Believing he still had a chance to come out victorious, Daza attempted to stop the advance of Licinius at the Cilician Gates by establishing fortifications there. Unfortunately for Daza, Licinius' army succeeded in breaking through, forcing Daza to retreat to 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]

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[edit]

Solidus of Licinius (obverse), minted ca. 317-318.

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.[4] Constantine prevailed at the Battle of Cibalae in Pannonia (8 October 314).[3] Although the situation was temporarily settled, with both men sharing the 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"[6][4] of his colleague, again declared war against him and having defeated his army of 165,000 men[11] at the Battle of Adrianople (3 July 324), succeeded in shutting him up within the walls of Byzantium.[6][3] The defeat of the superior fleet of Licinius in the Battle of the Hellespont by Crispus, Constantine's eldest son and Caesar, compelled his withdrawal to Bithynia, where a last stand was made; the Battle of Chrysopolis, near Chalcedon (18 September),[6] resulted in Licinius' final submission.[4] In this conflict Licinius was supported by the Gothic prince Alica. Due to the intervention of Flavia Julia Constantia, Constantine's sister and also Licinius' wife, both Licinius and his co-emperor Martinian were initially spared, Licinius being imprisoned in 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][12]

## Character and legacy[edit]

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[13]

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.[citation needed] He co-authored the Edict of Milan which ended the 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.[14]

It is even a possibility that he converted.[15] However, 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.[16] It has been theorized that he originally supported Christians along with Constantine, but later in his life turned against them and to paganism.[15]

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[edit]

* v
* t
* e

Simplified family tree of Tetrarchs

(See also: Chronological scheme of the Tetrarchy, 286–324)

| | | | | | | DIOCLETIAN
Iovius
Western Emperor
286–305| | Prisca| | | | Afranius Hannibalianus
(disputed)[M 1]
consul 292| | Eutropia| | Maximian
Herculius
Western Emperor
286–305

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Unknown
sister| | Galerius
Eastern Emperor
305-311| | Galeria Valeria| | | | | | | Helena| | Constantius I
Western Emperor
305–306
Constantinian Dynasty| | Flavia Maximiana Theodora| | | Severus II
Western Emperor
306–307
| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
Maximinus II
Eastern Emperor
310–313| | | | Valeria Maximilla| | Maxentius
Western Emperor
306–312| | Fausta| | Constantine I
Roman Emperor
306–337| | | | Julius Constantius
consul 335| | Flavia Julia Constantia| | Licinius I
Eastern Emperor
308–324| | | Martinian
Western Emperor
324| | | Valens I
Western Emperor
316–317
| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | Valerius Romulus| | Constantine II
Emperor
337–340| | Constantius II
Emperor
337–361| | Constans I
Emperor
337–350| | Julian II
Emperor
361–363| | | | Licinius II
caesar

* * *

Notes:

1. ^ Timothy Barnes (New Empire, 33–34) questions the parentage of Theodora shown here. He proposes that Maximian is her natural father (and that her mother is possibly a daughter of Afranius Hannibalianus). Substituting Afranicus Hannibalianus and switching the positions of Maximian and Eutropia would produce a diagram that matches the alternative lineage.

Bibliography:

* Barnes, Timothy D. The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982. ISBN 0-7837-2221-4

## References[edit]

1. ^ Craven, Maxwell (2019). "Licinius". The Imperial Families of Ancient Rome. Fonthill Media. 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. ^ Carrié, Jean-Michel; Rousselle, Aline (1999). L'Empire Romain en mutation: des Sévères à Constantin, 192–337. Paris: Éditions du Seuil. p. 228\. 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. ^ Grant p. 46
12. ^ Grant, pp. 47–48
13. ^ British Museum Collection
14. ^ Peter J. Leithart, Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom. Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL: 2010, ISBN 978-0-8308-2722-0, page 101
15. ^ a b Abbott, John Stevens Cabot. The History of Christianity.
16. ^ 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[edit]

* Grant, Michael (1993), The Emperor Constantine, London. ISBN 0-7538-0528-6
* Pears, Edwin. “The Campaign against Paganism A.D. 324.” The English Historical Review, Vol. 24, No. 93 (January 1909): 1–17.
* Seeck, Otto (1926), "Licinius 31a", Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, volume 13, part 1, columns 222–231.

Regnal titles

Preceded by

Severus II

|  Roman emperor
308–324
With:  Galerius, Constantine I, Maximinus,
Valens and Martinianus | Succeeded by

Constantine I

Political offices
Preceded by

Diocletian
Galerius

|  Roman consul
309
with Constantine Augustus | Succeeded by

Tatius Andronicus
Pompeius Probus

Preceded by

Galerius
Maximinus Daza

|  Roman consul II
312–313
with Constantine Augustus | Succeeded by

G. Ceionius Rufius Volusianus
Petronius Annianus

Preceded by

G. Ceionius Rufius Volusianus
Petronius Annianus

|  Roman consul III
315
with Constantine Augustus | Succeeded by

Antonius Caecina Sabinus
G. Vettius Cossinius Rufinus

Preceded by

Ovinius Gallicanus
Caesonius Bassus

|  Roman consul IV
318
with Crispus Caesar | Succeeded by

Constantine Augustus
Licinius Caesar

Preceded by

Constantine Augustus
Constantine Caesar

|  Roman consul V
321
with Licinius Caesar | Succeeded by

Petronius Probianus
Amnius Anicius Julianus

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Italics indicates a junior co-emperor, underlining indicates an emperor variously regarded as either legitimate or a usurper

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