Galerius

Galerius
Purple-red head statue
Likely bust of Galerius in porphyry, found in 1993 at Gamzigrad and held at the National Museum [sr] in Zaječar, Serbia.[1][2]
Roman emperor
(in the East)
Augustus1 May 305 – early May 311
PredecessorDiocletian and Maximian
SuccessorMaximinus II and Licinius
(both in the East)
Co-rulers
See list
Caesar1 March 293[i] – 1 May 305 (under Diocletian)[3]
BornGalerius Maximinus[4][5]
c. 258[6][7]
Felix Romuliana, Roman Dacia, Roman Empire[7]
Diedearly May 311[8] (aged c. 53)
Serdica, Dacia Ripensis, Roman Empire
Burial
SpouseGaleria Valeria[9]
Issue
Names
Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus[3]
Regnal name
Imperator Caesar Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus Augustus
FatherDiocletian (adoptive)
MotherRomula (alleged)[10]
ReligionRoman polytheism

Galerius Valerius Maximianus[j] (/ɡəˈlɛəriəs/; Greek: Γαλέριος; c. 258 – May 311) was Roman emperor from 305 to 311. While acting as Caesar under Emperor Diocletian, Galerius obtained victory warring against the Sassanian Empire, defeating Narseh at the battle of Satala in 298 and possibly sacking the Sassanian capital of Ctesiphon in 299. He also campaigned across the Danube against the Carpi, defeating them in 297 and 300. Although he was a staunch opponent of Christianity, Galerius ended the Diocletianic Persecution when he issued the Edict of Toleration in Serdica (Sofia) in 311.

  1. ^ http://laststatues.classics.ox.ac.uk, LSA-845 (Marianne Bergmann)
  2. ^ Elsner, Jas (2018). The Art of the Roman Empire AD 100–450. Oxford University Press. p. 58. ISBN 9780198768630. A recently discovered porphyry head of a tetrarch from Romuliana in modern Serbia—the birth and burial place of Galerius (293–311) [...] It is likely that the statue portrays Galerius as Caesar after his victory over the Persians in AD 297/8.
  3. ^ a b Barnes 1982, p. 4.
  4. ^ Lactantius, de Mortibus Persecutorum, 18. "Now Galerius had lately bestowed part of his own name on that youth [Daia], and called him Maximin, in like manner as Diocletian formerly bestowed on Galerius the name of Maximian".
  5. ^ For an analysis of the official nomenclature of the Tetrarchs, see Salway, Benet (1994). "What's in a Name? A Survey of Roman Onomastic Practice from c. 700 B.C. to A.D. 700" (PDF). Journal of Roman Studies. 84: 137–140. doi:10.2307/300873. JSTOR 300873. S2CID 162435434.
  6. ^ Leadbetter, pp. 18–21.
  7. ^ a b c Barnes 1982, p. 37.
  8. ^ Lactantius, DMP 35.4. "This edict was promulgated at Nicomedia on the day preceding the kalends of May [30 April]... In a few days after he was consumed by the horrible disease that had brought on an universal putrefaction [...] This event was known at Nicomedia before the end of the month.".
  9. ^ Barnes 1982, p. 38.
  10. ^ Barnes 1982, pp. 37–38.
  11. ^ Sandys, John (1927). Latin Epigraphy: An Introduction to the Study of Latin Inscriptions. Cambridge University Press. p. 232.
  12. ^ Maxwelll, Craven (2019). The Imperial Families of Ancient Rome. Fonthill Media. p. 414.


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