Galerius Roman Emperor 305-311AD Biography And Authentic Ancient Coins
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Example of Authentic Ancient
Coin of:
Galerius - Roman Emperor: 305-311 A.D. -
Silvered Bronze Follis Cyzicus mint 309-310 A.D.
Reference: RIC 59 (Cyzicus)
GALMAXIMIANVSPFAVG - Laureate head right.
VIRTVTIEXERCITVS Exe: A/MKV - Mars advancing right, holding a spear,
shield and trophy.
Mars was the
Roman
god of war, the son of
Juno and
Jupiter, husband of
Bellona, and the lover of
Venus. He was the most prominent of the
military gods that were
 worshipped
by the
Roman legions. The martial Romans
considered him second in importance only to Jupiter (their main god).
His
festivals were held in
March (named for him) and October. As
the word Mars has no
Indo-European derivation, it is most
likely the
Latinised form of the agricultural
Etruscan god
Maris. Initially Mars was a Roman god
of
fertility and
vegetation and a protector of cattle,
fields and boundaries and farmers. In the second century BC, the
conservative
Cato the Elder advised "For your
cattle, for them to be healthy, make this sacrifice to Mars Silvanus you
must make this sacrifice each year". Mars later became associated with
battle as the growing
Roman Empire began to expand, and he
came to be identified with the
Greek god
Ares. Unlike his Greek counterpart,
Mars was generally revered and rivaled Jupiter as the most honoured god.
He was also the
tutelary god of the city of Rome. As he
was regarded as the legendary father of Rome's founder,
Romulus, it was believed that all
Romans were descendants of Mars.
Galerius Maximianus (ca. 260 – late April or early May
311), formally Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus was Roman
Emperor from 305 to 311.
Early
life
Galerius was born on a small farm estate, on the site
where he later built his palace, Felix Romuliana.[5] His father was a
Thracian and his mother Romula was a Dacian woman, who left Dacia
because of the Carpians' attacks.[10] He originally followed his
father's occupation, that of a herdsman, where he got his surname of
Armentarius (Latin: armentum, herd). He served with distinction as a
soldier under Emperors Aurelian and Probus, and in 293 at the
establishment of the Tetrarchy, was designated Caesar along with
Constantius Chlorus, receiving in marriage Diocletian's daughter Valeria
(later known as Galeria Valeria), and at the same time being entrusted
with the care of the Illyrian provinces. Soon after his appointment,
Galerius would be dispatched to Egypt to fight the rebellious cities
Busiris and Coptos.[11]
War
with Persia
Invasion,
counterinvasion
In 294,
Narseh, a son of Shapur who had been
passed over for the Sassanid succession, came into power in Persia.
Narseh probably moved to eliminate
Bahram III, a young man installed by a
noble named Vahunam in the wake of Bahram II's death in 293.[12]
In early 294, Narseh sent Diocletian the customary package of gifts, but
within Persia he was destroying every trace of his immediate
predecessors, erasing their names from public monuments. He sought to
identify himself with the warlike reigns of
Ardashir (r. 226–41) and
Shapur (r. 241–72), the same Shapur who
had sacked Roman Antioch, skinned the Emperor
Valerian (r. 253–260) to decorate his
war temple.[13]
In 295 or 296, Narseh declared war on Rome. He
appears to have first invaded western Armenia, retaking the lands
delivered to Tiridates in the peace of 287. He would occupy the lands
there until the following year.[14]
Narseh then moved south into Roman Mesopotamia, where he inflicted a
severe defeat on Galerius, then commander of the Eastern forces, in the
region between Carrhae (Harran,
Turkey) and Callinicum (Ar-Raqqah,
Syria).[15]
Diocletian may or may not have been present at the battle,[16]
but would present himself soon afterwards at Antioch, where the official
version of events was made clear: Galerius was to take all the blame for
the affair. In Antioch, Diocletian forced Galerius to walk a mile in
advance of his imperial cart while still clad in the purple robes of an
emperor.[17]
The message conveyed was clear: the loss at Carrhae was not due to the
failings of the empire's soldiers, but due to the failings of their
commander, and Galerius' failures would not be accepted.[18]
(It is also possible that Galerius' position at the head of the caravan
was merely the conventional organization of an imperial progression,
designed to show a Caesar's deference to his Augustus.)[19]
Galerius had been reinforced, probably in the spring
of 298, by a new contingent collected from the empire's Danubian
holdings.[21]
Narseh did not advance from Armenia and Mesopotamia, leaving Galerius to
lead the offensive in 298 with an attack on northern Mesopotamia via
Armenia.[18]
Diocletian may or may not have been present to assist the campaign.[22]
Narseh retreated to Armenia to fight Galerius' force, to Narseh's
disadvantage: the rugged Armenian terrain was favorable to Roman
infantry, but unfavorable to Sassanid cavalry. Local aid gave Galerius
the advantage of surprise over the Persian forces, and, in two
successive battles, Galerius secured victories over Narseh.[23]
During the second encounter, Roman forces seized
Narseh's camp, his treasury, his harem, and his wife along with it.[23]
Narseh's wife would live out the remainder of the war in Daphne, a
suburb of Antioch, serving to the Persians as a constant reminder of
Roman victory.[18]
Galerius advanced into
Media and
Adiabene, winning continuous victories,
most prominently near Erzurum,[20]
and securing Nisibis (Nusaybin,
Turkey) before October 1, 298. He moved down the Tigris, taking
Ctesiphon, and gazing onwards to the ruins of Babylon before returning
to Roman territory via the Euphrates.[24]
Peace
negotiations
Narseh had previously sent an ambassador to Galerius
to plead for the return of his wives and children, but Galerius had
dismissed this ambassador, reminding him of how Shapur had treated
Valerian.[21]
The Romans, in any case, treated Narseh's captured family with tact,
perhaps seeking to evoke comparisons to
Alexander and his beneficent conduct
towards the family of
Darius III.[18]
Peace negotiations began in the spring of 299, with both Diocletian and
Galerius presiding. Their magister memoriae (secretary) Sicorius
Probus was sent to Narseh to present terms.[21]
The conditions of the peace were heavy:[18]
Persia would give up territory to Rome, making the Tigris the boundary
between the two empires. Further terms specified that Armenia was
returned to Roman domination, with the fort of Ziatha as its border;
Caucasian Iberia would pay allegiance
to Rome under a Roman appointee; Nisibis, now under Roman rule, would
become the sole conduit for trade between Persia and Rome; and Rome
would exercise control over the five satrapies between the Tigris and
Armenia:
Ingilene, Sophanene (Sophene),
Arzanene (Aghdznik),
Corduene, and
Zabdicene (near modern
Hakkâri, Turkey). These regions
included the passage of the Tigris through the
Anti-Taurus range; the
Bitlis pass, the quickest southerly
route into Persian Armenia; and access to the
Tur Abdin plateau. With these
territories, Rome would have an advance station north of Ctesiphon, and
would be able to slow any future advance of Persian forces through the
region.[25]
Under the terms of the peace Tiridates would regain both his throne and
the entirety of his ancestral claim, and Rome would secure a wide zone
of cultural influence in the region.[21]
The fact that the empire was able to sustain such constant warfare on so
many fronts has been taken as a sign of the essential efficacy of the
Diocletianic system and the goodwill of the army towards the tetrarchic
enterprise.[26]
Persecution
of Christians
Christians had lived in peace during most of the rule
of Diocletian. The persecutions that began with an edict of February 24,
303, were credited by Christians to Galerius' work, as he was a fierce
advocate of the old ways and old gods. Christian houses of assembly were
destroyed, for fear of sedition in secret gatherings.
Diocletian was not anti-Christian
during the first part of his reign, and historians have claimed that
Galerius decided to prod him into persecuting them by secretly burning
the Imperial Palace and blaming it on Christian saboteurs. Regardless of
who was at fault for the fire, Diocletian's rage was aroused and he
began one of the last and greatest Christian persecutions in the history
of the
Roman Empire.
It was at the insistence of Galerius that the last
edicts of persecution against the
Christians were published, beginning on
February 24, 303, and this policy of repression was maintained by him
until the appearance of the general edict of toleration, issued from
Nicomedia in April 311, apparently
during his last bout of illness, in his own name and in those of
Licinius and
Constantine (see
Edict of Toleration by Galerius).
Lactantius gives the text of the edict
in his moralized chronicle of the bad ends to which all the persecutors
came, De Mortibus Persecutorum ("On the Deaths of the
Persecutors", chapters 34, 35). This marked the end of official
persecution of Christians.
Rule
as Augustus
After the elevation of
Constantius I and Galerius to the rank
of Augusti, two new Caesars were required to supply their place, and to
complete the system of the Imperial government. The two persons whom
Galerius promoted to the rank of Caesar were very much Galerius'
creatures, and he hoped to enhance his authority throughout the empire
with their elevation.[27]
First was
Maximinus Daia, whose mother was
Galerius' sister. An inexperienced youth with little formal education,
he was invested with the purple, exalted to the dignity of Caesar, and
assigned the command of Egypt and Syria. Second was
Severus, Galerius' comrade in arms; he
was sent to
Milan to receive the possession of
Italy and Africa. According to the forms of the constitution, Severus
acknowledged the supremacy of the western emperor; but he was absolutely
devoted to the commands of his benefactor Galerius, who, reserving to
himself the intermediate countries from the confines of Italy to those
of Syria, firmly established his power over three quarters of the
empire.[27]
His hopes were dashed when his colleague Constantius
died at
York in 306 and the legions elevated
his son
Constantine to the position of
Augustus. Galerius only discovered this when he received a letter from
Constantine, who informed him of his father's death, modestly asserted
his natural claim to the succession, and respectfully lamented that the
enthusiastic violence of his troops had not allowed him to obtain the
Imperial purple in the regular and constitutional manner. The first
emotions of Galerius were those of surprise, disappointment, and rage;
and, as he could seldom restrain his passions, he threatened to burn
both the letter and the messenger.[28]
But when he had time to reconsider his position, he
inevitably saw that his chances of winning a war against Constantine was
doubtful at best, especially given that he was well aware of
Constantine’s strengths as Constantine had been his guest for some time
at
Nicomedia, not to mention the
attachment of the troops to him[27].
Therefore, without either condemning or ratifying the choice of the
British army, Galerius accepted the son of his deceased colleague as the
ruler of the provinces beyond the Alps; but he gave him only the title
of Caesar, and the fourth rank among the Roman princes, whilst he
conferred the vacant place of Augustus on his favourite Severus.
The ambitious spirit of Galerius was only just gotten
over this disappointment when he beheld the unexpected loss of Italy to
Maxentius. Galerius’ need for
additional revenue had persuaded him to make a very strict and rigorous
examination of the property of his subjects for the purpose of a general
taxation. A very minute survey was taken of their real estates; and,
wherever there was the slightest suspicion of concealment, torture was
used to obtain a sincere declaration of their personal wealth. Italy had
traditionally been exempt from any form of taxation[27],
but Galerius ignored this precedent, and the officers of the revenue
already began to number the Roman people, and to settle the proportion
of the new taxes. Italy began to murmur against this indignity and
Maxentius used this sentiment to declare himself emperor in Italy, to
the fury of Galerius. Therefore, Galerius ordered his colleague Severus
to immediately march to Rome, in the full confidence that, by his
unexpected arrival, he would easily suppress the rebellion[27].
Severus was quickly captured and executed by
Maximian, who had once again been
elevated to the rank of co-emperor, this time by his son Maxentius.
The importance of the occasion needed the presence
and abilities of Galerius. At the head of a powerful army collected from
Illyricum and the East, he entered
Italy, determined to revenge the death of Severus and to punish the
rebellious Romans. But due to the skill of Maximian, Galerius found
every place hostile, fortified, and inaccessible; and though he forced
his way as far as
Narni, within sixty miles of Rome, his
control in Italy was confined to the narrow limits of his camp.
Seeing that he was facing ever-greater difficulties,
Galerius made the first advances towards reconciliation, and dispatched
two officers to tempt the Romans by the offer of a conference, and the
declaration of his paternal regard for Maxentius, reminding them that
they would obtain much more from his willing generosity that anything
that might have been obtained through a military campaign[27].
The offers of Galerius were rejected with firmness, his friendship
refused, and it was not long before he discovered that unless he
retreated, he might have succumbed to the fate of Severus. It was not a
moment too soon; large monetary gifts from Maxentius to his soldiers had
corrupted the fidelity of the Illyrian legions. When Galerius finally
began his withdrawal from Italy, it was only with great difficulty that
he managed to stop his veterans deserting him[27].
In frustration, Galerius allowed his legions to
ravage the countryside as they passed northwards. Maxentius declined to
make a general engagement.
With so many emperors now in existence, in
308 Galerius, together with the retired
emperor Diocletian and the now active Maximian, called an imperial
'conference' at
Carnuntum on the River Danube to
rectify the situation and bring some order back into the imperial
government. Here it was agreed that Galerius’ long-time friend and
military companion
Licinius, who had been entrusted by
Galerius with the defense of the Danube while Galerius was in Italy,
would become Augustus in the West, with Constantine as his Caesar. In
the East, Galerius remained Augustus and Maximinus remained his Caesar.
Maximian was to retire, and Maxentius was declared a usurper.
Galerius’ plan soon failed. The news of Licinius’
promotion was no sooner carried into the East, than Maximinus, who
governed, the provinces of Egypt and Syria, rejected his position as
Caesar, and, notwithstanding the prayers as well as arguments of
Galerius, exacted, the equal title of Augustus[27].
For the first, and indeed for the last time, six emperors administered
the Roman world. And though the opposition of interest, and the memory
of a recent war, divided the empire into two great hostile powers, their
mutual fears and the fading authority of Galerius produced an apparent
tranquility in the imperial government.
The last years of Galerius saw him relinquishing his
aspirations towards being the supreme emperor of the empire, though he
managed to retain the position of first among equals. He spent the
remainder of his years enjoying himself and ordering some important
public works, such as discharging into the
Danube the superfluous waters of
Lake Pelso, and the cutting down the
immense forests that encompassed it[27].
Death
Galerius died on 5 May 311 from a horribly gruesome
disease described by
Eusebius, possibly some form of
bowel cancer,
gangrene or
Fournier gangrene.
Gamzigrad-Romuliana, Palace of Galerius
near
Zaječar in
Serbia he had constructed in his
birthplace, was inscribed into the
World Heritage List in June 2007.
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