Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/851

Rh CONSTANTINUS. ifT by troachery on his jniirney, CoiiHtintiiie had tio sooner obtained the permission of Galerius than he departed from Nicomedeia, where they both resided, without taking leave of tlie emperor, and travelled through Thrace, Illyricum, Pannonia, and Gaul with all possible speed, till he reached his father at Boulogne just in time to accompany him to Britain on his expedition against the Picls, and to be present at his death at York (■25th of July, 306). Before dying, Constantius declared his son as his successor. The moment for seizing the supreme power, or for shrinking back into death or obscurity, had now come for Constantine. He was renowned for his victories in the East, admired by the legions, and beloved by the subjects, both heathen and Christian, of Constantius, who did not hesitate to believe that the son would follow the example of justice, toleration, and energy set by the father. The legions proclaimed him emperor ; the barbarian auxiliaries, headed by Crocus, king of the Alemanni, acknowledged him ; yet he hesitated to place the fatal diadem on his head. But his hesitation was mere pretence ; he was well prepared for the event ; and in the quick energy with which he acted, he gave a sample of that marvellous combi- nation of boldness, cunning, and wisdom in which but a few great men have surpassed him. In a conciliatory letter to Galerius, he protested that he bad not taken the purple on his own account, but that he had been pressed by the troops to do so, and he solicited to be acknowledged as Augustus. At the same time he made preparations to take the field with all his father's forces, if Galerius should refuse to grant him his request. But Ga- lerius dreaded a struggle with the brave legions of the West, headed by a man like Constantine. He disguised his resentment, and acknowledged Con- stantine as master of the countries beyond the Alps, but with the title of Caesar only: he con- ferred the dignity of Augustus upon his own son Severus. The peace in the empire was of short duration. The rapjicity of Galerius, his absence from the capital of the empire, and probably also the ex- ample of Constantine, caused a rebellion in Rome, which resulted in Maxentius, the son of Maximian, seizing the purple ; and when Maximian was informed of it, he left his retirement and reassumed the diadem, which he had formerly renounced with his colleiigue Diocletian. The consequence of their rebellion was a war with Galerius, whose son, Severus Augustus, entered Italy with a powerful force ; but he was shut up in Ravenna ; and, un- able to defend the town or to escape, he surren- dered himself up to the besiegers, and was treacherously put to death by order of Maxentius. (a. d. 307.) Galerius chose C. Valerius Licini- anus Licinius as Augustus instead of Severus, and he was forced to acknowledge the claims of Maxi- min likewise, who had been proclaimed Augustus by the legions under his command, which were stationed in Syria and Egypt. The Roman em- pire thus obeyed six masters : Galerius, Licinius, and Maximin in the East, and Maximian, Maxen- tius, and Constantine in the West (308). The union between the masters of the West was cemented by the marriage of Constantine, whose first wife Minervina was dead, with Fausta, the daughter of Maximian, which took place as early as 306 ; and at the same time Constantine was CONSTANTINUS. 83.1 acknowledged as Augustus by Maximian and ^Maxentius. But before long serious quarrels broke out between Maxentius and Maximian ; the latter was forced by his son to fly from Rome, and finally took refuge with Constantine, by whom he was well received. Maximian once more abdi- cated the throne ; but during the absence of Con- stantine, who was then on the Rhine, he re- assumed the purple,. and entered into secret negotiations with his son Maxentius for the pur- pose of ruining Constantine. He was surprised in his plots by Constantine, who on the news of his rebellion had left the Rhine, and embarking his troops in boats, descended the Saone and Rhone, appeared under the walls of Aries, where Maxi- mian then resided, and forced him to take refuge in Marseilles. That town was immediately be- sieged ; the inhabitants gave up Maximian, and Constantine quelled the rebellion by one of those acts of bloody energy which the world hesitates to call murder, since the kings of the world cannot maintain themselves on their thrones without blood. Maximian was put to death (a. d. 309) ; he had deserved punishment, yet he was the father of Constantine's- wife. [Maximianus.] The authority of Constantine was now unre- strained in his dominions. He generally resided at Trier (Treves), and was greatly beloved by his subjects on account of his excellent adminis- tration. The inroads of the barbarians were punished by him with great severity : the captive chiefs of the Franks were devoured by wild beasts in the circus of Trier, and many robbers or rebels suffered the same barbarous punishment. These occasional cruelties did not prejudice him in the eyes of the people, and among the emperors who then ruled the world Constantine was undoubtedly the most beloved, a circumstance which was of great advantage to him when he began his struggle with his rivals. This struggle commenced with Maxentius, who pretended to feel resentment for the death of his father, insulted Constantine, and from insults proceeded to hostile demonstrations. With a large force assembled in Italy he intended to invade Gaul, but so great was the aversion of his subjects to his cruel and rapacious character, that Roman deputies appeared before Constantine imploring him to deliver them from a tyrant. Constantine was well aware of the dangers to which he exposed himself by attacking Maxentius, who was obeyed by a numerous army, chiefly com- posed of veterans, who hud fought under Diocletian and Maximian. At the same time, the army of Constantine was well disciplined and accustomed to fight with the brave barbarians of Germany, and while his rival was only obeyed by soldiers lie met with obedience among both his troops and his subjects. To win the affections of the people he protected the Christians in his own dominions, and he persuaded Galerius and Maximin to put a stop to the persecutions to which the)' were ex- posed in the East This was a measure of pru- dence, but the Christians in their joy, which increased in proportion as Constantine gave them still more proofs of his conviction, that Christianity had become a moral element in the nations which would give power to him who understood how to wield it, attributed the politic conduct of their master to divine inspiration, and thus the fable became believed, that on his march to Italy, either at Autun in France, or at Verona, or near Aiideiw 3h^^