Licinius

265 – 325 · Generation III · Emperor (r. 308–324)

Licinius (AD 265 – 325). Emperor (r. 308–324). Married Constantia around AD 313. Augustus of the East; co-issued the Edict of Milan; defeated by Constantine. Born to a peasant family in Moesia, he was a childhood friend of Galerius, served on his Persian expedition, and was raised directly to the rank of Augustus in 308. After Galerius’s death he shared the East with Maximinus Daza, then crushed Daza’s much larger army at Tzirallum in 313 and took the whole eastern half for himself, ruthlessly killing surviving relatives of the old tetrarchs. His partnership with Constantine collapsed into war twice: he lost at Cibalae and Mardia, patched together an uneasy truce for seven years, then was beaten decisively at Adrianople and Chrysopolis. Spared at first through his wife’s intercession and confined at Thessalonica, he was executed after being accused of plotting with the Goths, and his laws and statues were formally erased.

Partners

Married Constantia (293 – 330) in 313

Life

265 — Born
313 — Married Constantia
325 — Died