Maximinus

Gaius Valerius Galerius Maximinus (20 November, 270? – July/August, 313) Roman emperor from AD 308 to 313, was originally a shepherd named Daia, born in the Danubian region, in the newly reorganised roman province of Dacia Aureliana (together with Macedonia subordinated to the later Prefecture of Illyricum). He was the nephew of Galerius.

He rose to high distinction after he had joined the army, and in 305 he was raised by his maternal uncle, Galerius, to the rank of Caesar, with the government of Syria and Aegyptus.

In 308, after the elevation of Licinius, he insisted on receiving the title of Augustus; on the death of Galerius, in 311, he succeeded to the supreme command of the provinces of Asia. When Licinius and Constantine began to make common cause with one another, Maximinus entered into a secret alliance with the usurper Maxentius, who controlled Italy. He came to an open rupture with Licinius in 313, sustained a crushing defeat in the neighbourhood of Heraclea Pontica on the April 30, and fled, first to Nicomedia and afterwards to Tarsus, where he died the following August. His death was variously ascribed "to despair, to poison, and to the divine justice."

Maximinus has a bad name in Christian annals, as having renewed persecution after the publication of the toleration edict of Galerius, but it is probable that he has been judged too harshly.

Another Roman Emperor Maximinus (235-238 AD) was the first barbarian king of Rome. He was a Thracian known for his murderous reign. Legend says he was 8'6" tall.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.