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Maxentius (278-312) was the son of former Emperor Maximian, and son-in-law to Emperor Galerius. When his father and Emperor Diocletian stepped down, Maxentius was passed over in the new tetrarchy established by Emperors Constantius and Galerius, the latter nominating Severus and Maximinus Daia as junior co-emperors. Galerius hated Maxentius and used his influence to halt his succession.<br/><br/> When Constantius died in 306 and his son Constantine was crowned emperor and accepted into the tetrarchy, Maxentius was publicly proclaimed emperor later in the same year by officers in Rome. Severus marched to Rome in 307 to punish Maxentius, but most of his army defected when they arrived, having served under his father Maximian for many years. Maxentius invited his father back to the capital and named him co-emperor, though this lasted less than a year before Maximian fled to the court of Constantine after a failed coup.<br/><br/> Maxentius ruled over his portion of the empire for roughly six years, and was mostly preoccupied with a civil war against Emperors Constantine and Licinius. He allied himself with Emperor Maximinus II to secure his power, but he eventually perished during the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 against Constantine, where he supposedly drowned in the Tiber River while attempting to retreat.
Maxentius (278-312) was the son of former Emperor Maximian, and son-in-law to Emperor Galerius. When his father and Emperor Diocletian stepped down, Maxentius was passed over in the new tetrarchy established by Emperors Constantius and Galerius, the latter nominating Severus and Maximinus Daia as junior co-emperors. Galerius hated Maxentius and used his influence to halt his succession.<br/><br/> When Constantius died in 306 and his son Constantine was crowned emperor and accepted into the tetrarchy, Maxentius was publicly proclaimed emperor later in the same year by officers in Rome. Severus marched to Rome in 307 to punish Maxentius, but most of his army defected when they arrived, having served under his father Maximian for many years. Maxentius invited his father back to the capital and named him co-emperor, though this lasted less than a year before Maximian fled to the court of Constantine after a failed coup.<br/><br/> Maxentius ruled over his portion of the empire for roughly six years, and was mostly preoccupied with a civil war against Emperors Constantine and Licinius. He allied himself with Emperor Maximinus II to secure his power, but he eventually perished during the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 against Constantine, where he supposedly drowned in the Tiber River while attempting to retreat.
Constantine I (272-337), also known as Constantine the Great and Saint Constantine, was the son of Emperor Constantius. His father sent him east to serve under Emperors Diocletian and Galerius, spending some time in the court of the latter. After his father died in 306 CE, Constantine was proclaimed his successor and emperor by his army at Eboracum (York).<br/><br/> He at first remained officially neutral in the efforts of Emperor Galerius to defeat the usurper Maxentius, but after Galerius' death, Constantine was dragged into the conflict. He eventually defeated Maxentius in 312 CE, and then fought against his erstwhile ally, Emperor Licinius, for sole control of both western and eastern portions of the Roman Empire. Licinius was defeated in 324 CE, and Constantine became emperor of a united empire.<br/><br/> Constantine enacted many reforms strengthening the empire, ending the tetrarchy system and restructuring government. He became the first emperor to claim conversion to Christianity, and he called the First Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, overseeing the profession of the Nicene Creed. He renamed Byzantium to Constantinople after himself, which would become the new capital. He died in 337 CE.