Maxentius

Maxentius ruled Italy and Africa from AD 306 to 312 and was defeated by Constantine at the Milvian Bridge. Born around 283, he was the son of the emperor Maximian and the son-in-law of Galerius, which by the logic of the Tetrarchy should have secured him a place in the succession — and did not, since Diocletian's system was designed to promote by merit rather than birth and both Maxentius and Constantine were passed over in 305. When Constantine was proclaimed by his father's troops in Britain in 306, Maxentius took the opportunity, and the praetorian guard and the people of Rome declared him emperor that October. His support came precisely from those the Tetrarchy had marginalised: the city of Rome, which had ceased to be an imperial residence, and the praetorians, whom Diocletian had reduced. He brought his father out of retirement, defeated two invasions by Severus and Galerius, and held Italy for six years. Maximian later turned on him and was driven out. He was a considerable builder in a city that had been neglected for decades: the enormous Basilica Nova in the Forum, which Constantine finished and claimed, the temple of Romulus for his dead son, and the restoration of the temple of Venus and Roma. He also rebuilt the city walls. He was tolerant towards Christians and returned confiscated property, which the later Christian sources conceal because he lost. Constantine invaded in 312. Maxentius left the walls, fought at the Milvian Bridge on 28 October, and drowned in the Tiber when a pontoon collapsed. His head was paraded through Rome.

MyHistorian
A causal knowledge graph of history