Everything about Licinius totally explained
Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c.
250 -
325) was
Roman emperor from 308 to
324.
Of
Dacian peasant origin, born in
Moesia Superior near modern
Zaječar in
Serbia,
Licinius accompanied his close childhood 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 eastern 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 and allowed
Christianity to be professed in the empire.
In the following month, on
April 30, Licinius inflicted a decisive defeat on Maximinus at the
Battle of Tzirallum, after Maximinus had tried attacking him. Then, Licinius established himself master of the East, while his brother-in-law, Constantine, was supreme in the West.
In
314, a civil war erupted between Licinius and Constantine, in which Constantine prevailed at the
Battle of Cibalae in
Pannonia (
October 8, 314) and again two years later, when Licinius named
Valerius Valens co-emperor, in the plain of
Mardia (also known as
Campus Ardiensis) in
Thrace. The emperors were reconciled after these two battles and Licinius had his co-emperor Valens killed.
Licinius' fleet of 350 ships was defeated by Constantine I's fleet in
323. In
324, Constantine, tempted by the "advanced age and unpopular vices" of his colleague, again declared war against him, and, having defeated his army of 170,000 men 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 in the
Battle of the Hellespont by
Crispus, Constantine’s eldest son and
Caesar, compelled his withdrawal to
Bithynia, where a last stand was made; the
Battle of Chrysopolis, near
Chalcedon (
September 18), resulted in Licinius' final submission. While Licinius' co-emperor
Sextus Martinianus was killed, Licinius himself was spared due to the pleas of his wife, Constantine's sister, and interned at
Thessalonica. The next year, Constantine had him killed, accusing him of conspiring to raise troops among the barbarians.
Trivia
Out of unknown reasons, Licinius was traditionally for centuries throughout the entire Serbian historiography considered as a Serb and as a forefather of the
House of Nemanjić. This only changed with the historical school of Slavic migrations being conceived in the 19th century.
Further Information
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