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{{short description|Roman emperor from 308 to 324}}
{{about|the Roman emperor}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox Roman emperor
| name         = Licinius
| image        = Bust_of_Licinius%2C_Kunsthistorisches_Museum.jpg
| image_size   = 
| alt          = 
| caption      = Colossal portrait head of Licinius from the theater of [[Ephesus]]. Now in the [[Kunsthistorisches Museum]], Vienna<ref>[http://laststatues.classics.ox.ac.uk/database/detail.php?record=LSA-687 http://laststatues.classics.ox.ac.uk, LSA-687 (J. Auinger)]</ref>
| succession   = [[Roman emperor]]
| reign        = 11 November 308 – {{nowr|19 September 324}}
| predecessor  = [[Severus II]]
| successor    = [[Constantine I]] (alone)
| regent       = [[Galerius]] ([[List of Byzantine emperors|East]], 308–311)<br/>Constantine I ([[Western Roman Empire|West]], 308–324)<br/>[[Maximinus Daza]] (311–313)<br/>[[Valerius Valens]] (316–317)<br/>[[Martinianus]] (324)
| reg-type     = Alongside
| birth_name   = Licinius Licinianus (?)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Craven |first1=Maxwell |url= |title=The Imperial Families of Ancient Rome |date=2019 |publisher=Fonthill Media |isbn=978-1781557389 |chapter=Licinius |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VEbCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT424}}</ref>
| birth_date   = {{circa}} 265<ref name=Jones509/>
| birth_place  = [[Moesia]] Superior, [[Roman Empire]]
| death_date   = Spring of 325 (aged around 60)
| death_place  = [[Thessalonica]]
| burial_place = 
| spouse       = [[Flavia Julia Constantia]]
| issue        = [[Licinius II]]
| full name    = Valerius Licinianus Licinius<ref name=Jones509/>
| religion     = [[Ancient Roman religion]]
}}

'''Valerius Licinianus Licinius''' ({{IPAc-en|l|ɪ|ˈ|s|ɪ|n|i|ə|s}};<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Licinius}}</ref> [[Ancient Greek|Greek]]: Λικίνιος; c. 265 – 325) was [[Roman emperor]] from 308 to 324. For most of his reign, he was the colleague and rival of [[Constantine I]], with whom he co-authored the [[Edict of Milan]] that granted official toleration to Christians in the Roman Empire. He was finally defeated at the [[Battle of Chrysopolis]] (AD 324), and was later executed on the orders of Constantine.

== Early reign ==
Born to a [[Dacians|Dacian]]<ref name=Jones509>{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=A. H. M. |last2=Martindale |first2=J. R. |title=The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. I: AD 260–395 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1971 |page=509}}</ref><ref name=DiMaio>{{cite web |url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/licinius.htm |last=DiMaio |first=Michael Jr. |title=Licinius (308–324 A.D.) |work=De Imperatoribus Romanis |date=23 February 1997}}</ref> peasant family in [[Moesia]] Superior, Licinius accompanied his close childhood friend and future emperor [[Galerius]], on the Persian expedition in 298.<ref name=Jones509 /> He was trusted enough by Galerius that in 307 he was sent as an envoy to [[Roman Italy|Italy]], to attempt to reach some sort of agreement with the usurper [[Maxentius]].<ref name=Jones509 /> When Galerius went to deal with Maxentius personally after the death of [[Severus II]], he left the eastern provinces in Licinius's care.<ref name=Gibbon>{{cite book |last=Gibbon |first=Edward |author-link=Edward Gibbon |title=The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire |volume=II |year=1776 |chapter=Chapter XIV}}</ref>

Upon his return to the east Galerius elevated Licinius to the rank of ''[[Augustus (title)|Augustus]]'' in the West on 11 November 308, and under his immediate command were the Balkan provinces of [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]], [[Thrace]] and [[Pannonia]].<ref name=DiMaio /> In 310 he took command of the war against the [[Sarmatians]], inflicting a severe defeat on them.<ref name=Lendering>{{cite web |url=https://www.livius.org/li-ln/licinius/licinius.html |last=Lendering |first=Jona |title=Licinius |work=Livius.org |access-date=26 March 2020 |archive-date=11 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911024239/http://www.livius.org/li-ln/licinius/licinius.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> On the death of Galerius in May 311,<ref name="EB"/> Licinius entered into an agreement with [[Maximinus Daza]] to share the eastern provinces between them. By this point, not only was Licinius the official ''Augustus'' of the west but he also possessed part of the eastern provinces as well, as the [[Hellespont]] and the [[Bosporus]] became the dividing line, with Licinius taking the European provinces and Maximinus taking the Asian.<ref name=DiMaio />

An alliance between Maximinus and Maxentius forced the two remaining emperors to enter into a formal agreement with each other.<ref name=Gibbon /> So, in March of 313, Licinius married [[Flavia Julia Constantia]], half-sister of [[Constantine I]],{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} at [[Mediolanum]] (now Milan); they had a son, [[Licinius II|Licinius the Younger]], in 315. Their marriage was the occasion for the jointly-issued "[[Edict of Milan]]" that reissued Galerius's previous edict allowing [[Christianity]] (and any religion one might choose) to be professed in the Empire,<ref name=DiMaio/> with additional dispositions that restored confiscated properties to Christian congregations and exempted Christian clergy from municipal civic duties.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Carrié |first1=Jean-Michel |last2=Rousselle |first2=Aline |title=L'Empire Romain en mutation: des Sévères à Constantin, 192–337 |year=1999 |publisher=Éditions du Seuil |location=Paris |isbn=2-02-025819-6 |page=228}}</ref> The redaction of the edict as reproduced by [[Lactantius]] – who follows the text affixed by Licinius in [[Nicomedia]] on 14 June 313, after Maximinus's defeat – uses neutral language, expressing a will to propitiate "any Divinity whatsoever in the seat of the heavens".<ref>Lactantius, ''De Mort. Pers''., ch. 48, cf. Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University, [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/edict-milan.asp]. Accessed 31 July 2012</ref>

[[File:Liciniuscng780671obverse.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Brown coin depicting Licinius with laurel wreath facing right|[[Follis]] minted at [[Londinium]], c. 311. Legend: {{smallcaps|{{Abbreviation|imp|IMPERATOR}} licinius {{Abbreviation|p f |PIUS FELIX}} {{Abbreviation|aug|AUGUSTUS}}}}.]]
[[File:Cammeo “Trionfo di Licinio”.jpg|thumb|Triumph of Licinius on a cameo in the [[BnF Museum]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Duruy |first=Victor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AU4yAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA462 |title=History of Rome: And of the Roman People, from Its Origin to the Invasion of the Barbarians |date=1886 |publisher=Dana, Estes & Company |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Oeuvre : Précisions – camée, "Triomphe de Licinius" (camée.308) {{!}} catalogue |url=https://medaillesetantiques.bnf.fr/ws/catalogue/app/collection/record/ark:/12148/c33gbqrg2 |access-date=30 June 2024 |website=Département des monnaies, médailles et antiques {{!}} BnF – Site institutionnel |language=fr}}</ref>]]
[[File:Licinius I. - Münzkabinett, Berlin - 5532283.jpg|thumb|alt=Gold coin depicting Licinius with laurel wreath facing right|[[Solidus (coin)|Solidus]] minted at [[Trier]], c. 310–313. Obverse legend: {{smallcaps|licini-us {{Abbreviation|p f |PIUS FELIX}} {{Abbreviation|aug|AUGUSTUS}}}}.]]
Maximinus Daza in the meantime decided to attack Licinius. Leaving Syria with 70,000 men, he reached [[Bithynia]], although the harsh weather he encountered along the way had gravely weakened his army. In April 313, he crossed the [[Bosporus]] and went to [[Byzantium]], which was held by Licinius's troops. Undeterred, he took the town after an eleven-day siege. He moved to Heraclea, which he captured after a short siege, before moving his forces to the first posting station. With a much smaller body of men, possibly around 30,000,<ref>Kohn, George Childs, ''Dictionary Of Wars, Revised Edition'', p. 398.</ref> Licinius arrived at [[Adrianople]] while Daza was still besieging [[Heraclea Sintica|Heraclea]]. Before the decisive engagement, Licinius allegedly had a vision in which an angel recited him a generic prayer that could be adopted by all cults which Licinius then repeated to his soldiers.<ref>Carrié & Rousselle, ''L'Empire Romain en Mutation'', p. 229</ref> On 30 April 313, the two armies clashed at the [[Battle of Tzirallum]], and Daza's forces were crushed. Daza escaped, disguised as a slave, and fled to [[Nicomedia]],<ref name=Gibbon /> where he fortified the area around the [[Cilician Gates]]. Licinius's army broke through and Daza retreated to [[Tarsus in Cilicia|Tarsus]], where Licinius continued to press him on land and sea. The war between them ended only with Daza's death in August 313.<ref name=DiMaio />

Licinius sought out and killed multiple relatives of the Tetrarchs: Daza's wife and two children, Severus's son [[Flavius Severianus]], Galerius's son [[Candidianus (son of Galerius)|Candidianus]], Diocletian's wife [[Prisca (empress)|Prisca]], and [[Galeria Valeria]], daughter of Diocletian and wife of Galerius.{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=64}}

Given that Constantine had already crushed his rival Maxentius in 312, the two men decided to divide the Roman world between them. As a result of this settlement, the [[Tetrarchy]] was replaced by a system of two emperors, called ''Augusti'': Licinius became ''Augustus'' of the East, while his brother-in-law, Constantine, became ''Augustus'' of the West.<ref name="EB"/>

After making the pact, Licinius rushed immediately to the East to deal with another threat, an invasion by the Persian [[Sassanid Empire]].<ref name=Gibbon />

==Conflict with Constantine I==
{{See also|Civil wars of the Tetrarchy (306–324 AD)}}
In 316, a civil war erupted between Licinius and Constantine, in which Constantine used the pretext that Licinius was harbouring Senecio, whom Constantine accused of plotting to overthrow him.<ref name=Gibbon /> Constantine prevailed at the [[Battle of Cibalae]] in [[Pannonia]] (8 October 316).<ref name=DiMaio /> As a result of this defeat Licinius named [[Valerius Valens]] as his co-emperor (whom he originally intended to replace Constantine), only for Licinius to suffer a humiliating defeat on the plains in the [[Battle of Mardia]] (also known as the Battle of Campus Ardiensis) in [[Thrace]] which occurred either in late 316 or early 317. The two emperors were reconciled after these two battles and Licinius had his co-emperor Valens killed.<ref name=DiMaio />

Over the next seven years, the two imperial colleagues maintained an uneasy truce.<ref name=Gibbon /> Licinius kept himself busy with a campaign against the Sarmatians in 318,<ref name=DiMaio /> but temperatures rose again in 321 when Constantine pursued some Sarmatians, who had been ravaging some territory in his realm, across the Danube into what was technically Licinius's territory.<ref name=DiMaio /> When he repeated this with another invasion, this time by the [[Goths]] who were pillaging [[Thrace]] under their leader [[Rausimod]], Licinius complained that Constantine had broken the treaty between them.

Constantine wasted no time going on the offensive. Licinius's fleet of 350 ships was defeated by Constantine's fleet in 323. Then in 324, Constantine, tempted by the "advanced age and unpopular vices"<ref name="EB"/><ref name=Gibbon /> of his colleague, again declared war against him and having defeated his army of 165,000 men<ref>Grant p. 46</ref> at the [[battle of Adrianople (324)|Battle of Adrianople]] (3 July 324), succeeded in shutting him up within the walls of [[Byzantium]].<ref name="EB"/><ref name=DiMaio /> The defeat of the superior fleet of Licinius in the [[Battle of Hellespont|Battle of the Hellespont]] by [[Crispus]], Constantine's eldest son and [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]], compelled his withdrawal to [[Bithynia]], where a last stand was made; the [[Battle of Chrysopolis]], near [[Chalcedon]] (18 September),<ref name="EB">{{1911|wstitle=Licinius|volume=16|page=587|inline=1}}</ref> resulted in Licinius's final submission.<ref name=Gibbon /> In this conflict Licinius was supported by the Gothic prince [[Alica]]. Due to the intervention of Flavia Julia Constantia, Constantine's sister and also Licinius's wife, both Licinius and his co-emperor [[Martinian (emperor)|Martinian]] were initially spared, Licinius being imprisoned in [[Thessalonica]], Martinian in [[Cappadocia (Roman province)|Cappadocia]]; however, both former emperors were subsequently executed. After his defeat, Licinius attempted to regain power with Gothic support, but his plans were exposed, and he was sentenced to death. While attempting to flee to the Goths, Licinius was apprehended at [[Thessaloniki|Thessalonica]]. Constantine had him hanged, accusing him of conspiring to raise troops among the barbarians.<ref name=Gibbon /><ref>Grant, pp. 47–48</ref>

==Character and legacy==
[[File:Nis Plate BM.JPG|thumb|left|One of a hoard of five or six identical silver plates celebrating Licinius's 10th anniversary as Emperor, discovered in [[Niš]], Serbia, and now in the [[British Museum]] in London<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1969-0904-1  British Museum Collection]</ref>]]
As part of Constantine's attempts to decrease Licinius's popularity, he actively portrayed his brother-in-law as a pagan supporter. This may not have been the case; contemporary evidence tends to suggest that he was at least a committed supporter of Christians at one point.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} He co-authored the Edict of Milan which ended the [[Great Persecution]], and re-affirmed the rights of Christians in his half of the empire. He also added the Christian symbol to his armies, and attempted to regulate the affairs of the Church hierarchy just as Constantine and his successors were to do. His wife was a devout Christian.<ref>[[Peter J. Leithart]], ''[[Defending Constantine|Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom]]''. Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL: 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-8308-2722-0}}, p. 101</ref> 

It is possible that he converted.<ref name="abbott">{{cite book |first1=John Stevens Cabot |last1=Abbott |author-link= John Stevens Cabot Abbott |title=The History of Christianity}}</ref> However, [[Eusebius of Caesarea]], writing under the rule of Constantine, charges him with expelling Christians from the Palace and ordering military sacrifices to pagan gods, as well as interfering with the Church's internal procedures and organization.<ref>James Richard Gearey, "The Persecution of Licinius". MA thesis, University of Calgary, 1999, Chapter 4. Available at [http://dspace.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/1880/25021/1/47942Gearey.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220045723/http://dspace.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/1880/25021/1/47942Gearey.pdf|date=20 December 2014}}. Accessed 31 July 2012.</ref> It has been theorized that he originally supported Christians along with Constantine, but later in his life turned against them and to paganism.<ref name="abbott"/>

Finally, on Licinius's death, his memory was branded with infamy; his statues were thrown down; and by edict, all his laws and judicial proceedings during his reign were abolished.<ref name=Gibbon />  Such official erasure from the public record has come to be called ''[[damnatio memoriae]]''.

==Family tree==
{{Simplified Tetrarchs family tree}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book |last=Barnes |first=Timothy D. |author-link=Timothy Barnes (classicist) |title=Constantine and Eusebius |url=https://archive.org/details/constantineeuseb0000barn/mode/1up |year=1981 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, MA |isbn=978-0-674-16531-1 }}
* Grant, Michael (1993), ''The Emperor Constantine'', London. {{ISBN|0-7538-0528-6}}
* Pears, Edwin. “The Campaign against Paganism A.D. 324.” ''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 24, No. 93 (January 1909): 1–17.
* {{wikicite |reference=[[Otto Seeck|Seeck, Otto]] (1926), "[[s:de:RE:Licinius 31a|Licinius 31a]]", ''[[Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft]]'', volume 13, part 1, columns 222–231.|ref={{sfnref|Seeck}} }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef | before=[[Severus II]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[List of Roman emperors|Roman emperor]]
 | years=308–324
 | with=[[Galerius]], [[Constantine I]], [[Maximinus Daza|Maximinus]],<br>[[Valerius Valens|Valens]] and [[Martinianus]] }}
{{s-aft | after=[[Constantine I]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef | before= [[Diocletian]]|before2=[[Galerius]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[List of Roman consuls|Roman consul]]| years=309 |regent1= [[Constantine I|Constantine Augustus]]}}
{{s-aft | after= Tatius Andronicus|after2=[[Pompeius Probus]]}}
{{s-bef | before= [[Galerius]]|before2=[[Maximinus Daza]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[List of Roman consuls|Roman consul]] II| years=312–313 |regent1= [[Constantine I|Constantine Augustus]]}}
{{s-aft | after=[[Gaius Ceionius Rufius Volusianus|G. Ceionius Rufius Volusianus]] |after2=Petronius Annianus}}
{{s-bef | before= [[Gaius Ceionius Rufius Volusianus|G. Ceionius Rufius Volusianus]] |before2=Petronius Annianus}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[List of Roman consuls|Roman consul]] III| years=315 |regent1= [[Constantine I|Constantine Augustus]]}}
{{s-aft | after= Antonius Caecina Sabinus |after2=[[Gaius Vettius Cossinius Rufinus|G. Vettius Cossinius Rufinus]]}}
{{s-bef | before= [[Ovinius Gallicanus]] |before2=[[Caesonius Bassus]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[List of Roman consuls|Roman consul]] IV| years=318 |regent1= [[Crispus|Crispus Caesar]]}}
{{s-aft | after= [[Constantine I|Constantine Augustus]] |after2=[[Licinius Caesar]]}}
{{s-bef | before= [[Constantine I|Constantine Augustus]] |before2=[[Constantine II (emperor)|Constantine Caesar]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[List of Roman consuls|Roman consul]] V| years=321 |regent1= [[Licinius Caesar]]}}
{{s-aft | after= [[Petronius Probianus]] |after2=[[Amnius Anicius Julianus]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Roman emperors}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:260s births]]
[[Category:325 deaths]]
[[Category:4th-century executions]]
[[Category:4th-century murdered monarchs]]
[[Category:4th-century Roman consuls]]
[[Category:4th-century Roman emperors]]
[[Category:Constantinian dynasty]]
[[Category:Dacians]]
[[Category:Executed Roman emperors]]
[[Category:Licinii]]
[[Category:People executed by hanging]]
[[Category:People executed by the Roman Empire]]
[[Category:People from Zaječar District]]
[[Category:Tetrarchy]]
[[Category:Valerii]]
[[Category:Illyrian emperors]]
[[Category:Damnatio memoriae]]