Magnus Maximus

Flavius 'Magnus' Maximus usurped the Western throne in early 383 AD, and ruled for five years, before losing a civil war to Theodosius, at the time emperor in the East, in 388 AD.

He has been a central character in both Eagle and the Flame and Wolf and the Crown, and in the third instalment of the series, Tribune and the Sword, I cover the events of his short but eventful reign.

Funnily enough, when I started writing Eagle and the Flame, I had not intended for it to be the first of three books centred around Maximus' rise. It was meant to be a standalone book, covering the 'barbarian conspiracy,' as it would come to be known. A coalition of tribes from Germany, Ireland and Scotland all descended on Roman Britain at once, essentially cutting the island off from the empire for almost a year.

It was Flavius Theodosius, father of the man that would become Theodosius the Great, that led the relief army over from Gaul to bring Britain back into the fold of the empire.

It's a good book (I think), a classic adventure set on Hadrian's Wall, with a central character named Sixtus Vicotrinus who is a bit of a likeable rogue. It wasn't long after I had finished the book that I decided I wanted to explore the later Roman Empire in more detail, and the idea for Wolf and the Crown was born. Set some 16 years after the first book, it covers Maximus being declared Imperator in the field by his men.

I set it up as a great conspiracy. My central characters, Victorinus and Gaius Felicius, unaware of what their commander in planning. One is stranded north of the Wall and faces as a desperate struggle for survival, the other is an unwilling officer in Maximus' army, and doesn't see the truth that stares him in the face until it's too late.

At the end of the book (WARNING - spoilers alert!) Felicius is exiled by Maximus and forced to flee east to the court of Theodosius. Victorinus, his sons sworn to serve in Maximus' army, stays with the usurper, for the sake of his sons, if nothing else.

That leads us pleasingly into Tribune and the Sword, with Victorinus a reluctant commander for Maximus, and Felicius heading up Theodosius' army in the east. Two old friends facing off against the backdrop of a dying empire. There can only be one winner.

Back to Maximus himself, there are differing commentaries as to how he got proclaimed emperor. One theory is that it was a spontaneous decision by his men, and he had no prior knowledge of it coming. I dismissed this quite quickly. When you consider it was just a matter of weeks before he sailed his army to Gaul from Britain, I can't see how he would have been able to organise and supply an army in such a short space of time, not without some forward planning having already occurred.

Couple that with his lightning quick strike on Gratian, the rightful emperor of the West at the time, and the speed in which Gratian was defeated, then I can only assume Maximus had been plotting it all along.

Why would he, though? Again, there are differing theories. The one I went with (though it is by no way proven, but I felt made a better story!) is that Maximus and Theodosius were related. In my books, I have them as cousins.

Could it be that Maximus was watching on with envy from Britain as Theodosius rose to prominence in the east? In fairness, Theodosius had done little to earn the opportunity. Gratian had executed his father, and Theodosius was living in exile on his farm. I'd wager it was a shock when he received the order to go east with all haste and take immediate control of the army!

I shall write separately about Theodosius, but for now, focusing on Maximus, I can understand how he would feel wronged by that move. Maximus was a proven military commander, Theodosius had far less experience. It is not impossible that Maximus' actions were driven by pure envy.

Once he had usurped the throne though, and most of the West was under his control, he does not appear to have done a particularly good job. Peace did not seem to suit him. He was a soldier, bred for war, and ruling over civil matters did not seem to be his priority.

It was not long, before Theodosius in the east had to make a decision. Did he back Valentinian II, Gratians younger brother, who held a legitimate claim to the throne but had no real power due to Maximus' hold on the army. Or did he back Maximus himself.

In the end, thanks to a swiftly made marriage alliance with Valentinian, Theodosius declared for him and marched his army west to confront Maximus.

Maximus' army was smaller, but there is a strong argument to say he had the superior troops. They had fought for him in Britain and Gaul, and were mostly made up of men from within the empire. In contrast, Theodosius' army was larger but heavily reliant on mercenaries from across the River Danube.

In the end, it seemed the numbers counted. Theodosius defeated Maximus' army at Poetovio in Pannonia, and then besieged him at Aquileia in northern Italy, where Maximus was defeated, and then executed, his head sent on a tour around the empire as a warning to others with sinister ambitions.

And so, Maximus' five year reign came to end. His son was executes shortly after him, though it is said his wife and daughters were allowed to live. It really did prove to be the beginning of the end for the West. The losses taken in the war, coupled with another defeat they would suffer at the hands of Theodosius again a few years later, proved too much to recover from, and it slipped into a decline it would never recover from, capitulating completely less than a hundred years later.

The main question I ask myself constantly when researching the later Roman Empire, is who exactly would want to be an emperor? None of them lasted particularly long!

Read all about this in Tribune and the Sword!