Magnus Maximus

Who was Magnus Maximus?

Magnus Maximus, also known as Maximianus and Macsen Wledig in Welsh, was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388.

In 383 as commander of Britain, he usurped the throne against emperor Gratian; and through negotiation with emperor Theodosius I the following year he was made emperor in Britannia and Gaul – while Gratian's brother Valentinian II retained Italy, Pannonia, Hispania, and Africa. In 387 Maximus' ambitions led him to invade Italy, resulting in his defeat by Theodosius I at the Battle of the Save in 388. In the view of some historians his death marked the end of direct imperial presence in northern Gaul and Britain. Although these increasingly neglected provinces remained part of the Roman Empire after Maximus, no significant Roman emperor ever went north of Lyons again. However, as a balance to this view, the imperial career of Constantine III between 407 and 411, who was also acclaimed emperor in Britain and acknowledged as co-emperor by a legitimate sovereign, can be viewed as a repeat of that of Maximus.