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Flavius Galerius Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c. 250 - 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324.
Of Dacian peasant origin, born in Moesia Superior, Licinius accompanied his close friend the Emperor Galerius on the Persian expedition in 297. After the death of Flavius Valerius Severus, Galerius elevated Licinius to the rank of Augustus in the West on November 11, 308. He received as his immediate command the provinces of Illyricum, Thrace and Pannonia.
On the death of Galerius, in May 311, Licinius shared the entire empire with Maximinus Daia, the Hellespont and the Bosporus being the dividing line.
In March 313 he married Flavia Julia Constantia, half-sister of Constantine, at Mediolanum (now Milan), the occasion for the jointly-issued "Edict of Milan" that restored confiscated properties to Christian congregations though it did not "Christianize" the Empire as is often assumed, although it did give Christians a better name in Rome. In the following month (April 30), Licinius inflicted a decisive defeat on Maximinus at Battle of Tzirallum, after Maximinus had tried attacking him. He then established himself master of the East, while his brother-in-law, Constantine, was supreme in the West.
In 314 his jealousy led him to encourage a treasonable enterprise in favor of Bassianus against Constantine. When his actions became known, a civil war ensued, in which he was first defeated at the battle of Cibalae in Pannonia (October 8, 314), and next some 2 years later (after naming Valerius Valens co-emperor) in the plain of Mardia (also known as Campus Ardiensis) in Thrace. The outward reconciliation left Licinius in possession of Thrace, Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt, but he later added numerous provinces to Constantine's control.
In 324 Constantine, tempted by the "advanced age and unpopular vices" of his colleague, again declared war against him, and, having defeated his army at the battle of Adrianople (July 3, 324), succeeded in shutting him up within the walls of Byzantium. The defeat of the superior fleet of Licinius by Flavius Julius Crispus, Constantine’s eldest son, compelled his withdrawal to Bithynia, where a last stand was made; the battle of Chrysopolis, near Chalcedon (September 18), resulted in his final submission. He was interned at Thessalonica under a kind of house arrest, but when he attempted to raise troops among the barbarians Constantine had him and his former co-emperor Martinianus assassinated.
O: IMP LICINIVS AVG; Emperor, facing left, wearing imperial mantle, holding mappa and globe.
R: IOVI CONSERVATORI AVGG; Jupiter standing left holding Victory; palm to left, epsilon in right field, SMN in exergue. Sear 3804, RIC Nicomedia 24 (Scarce), Failmezger #278. Remarkable detail on this nicely silvered Late Roman bronze, ex Crisp Collection.
Coleção : Roman Personalities