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Biography. its limits extended as far as Sintha, a fortress in Media, and be regarded as under the special protection of the Romans. The Kings of Iberia were, in like manner, relieved from their vassalage to the Persian Crown, and placed in a state of dependence on the Imperial Go vernment; and as the people of that country had long been accustomed to the use of arms, and occupied the range of mountains which divides Asia Minor from the plains of Sarmatia, they proved to their new masters a powerful defence against the inroad of Barbarians still more ferocious than themselves. The last article of the Treaty respected the neutrality of Nisibis, as an emporium of merchandise for the mutual convenience of the two Empires; an arrangement which, although it appears to have promised the greatest advantages to Narses, was, nevertheless, the only condition of the Peace to which he thought proper, or was permitted, to make any objections.*

It continued

It was in the year 297 that Diocletian effected the forty years. tranquillity of the East, after which nearly half a century elapsed before the Persians ventured again to make an appeal to arms. This happy result was secured not less by the valour of the Legions than by the wisdom of the Emperor; who employed his victorious troops in strengthening the frontier, along the Euphrates, the Tigris, and the Araxes, by a line of garrisons and several fortified towns. He bestowed particular care on the defences of Circesium, an important city in Mesopotamia, built at the junction of the first and last of the rivers now mentioned: by which means he rendered the chances of war so unfavourable to the enemy, that it was not until the Thrones of Rome, Persia, and Armenia were occupied by new Sovereigns, that any attempt was made to disturb the repose which Diocletian had established on so firm a basis.

mian.

Triumph of During the five or six years which followed the PerDiocletian sian campaign, the Emperor devoted his attention to and Maxi- the Arts of Peace, and particularly to the extension and embellishment of his Eastern Capital. Feeling none of the attachments inspired by birth to the land or to the city in which the Cæsars had first erected the Imperial Throne, he is supposed not to have visited Rome from the period when his election was confirmed by the Senate, till, after a reign of twenty years, he repaired thither to celebrate the Triumph which had been decreed to him and his colleague Maximianus. It was in the year 303, that he consented to commemorate his accession to power, and his victories over the enemies of the Empire, by taking a share in the pageantry which was wont to reward the most important services of Roman Generals. Unaccustomed to such spectacles, he acted his part in the splendid procession, rather as a matter of duty than of inclination or pride; displaying even on this occasion his characteristic regard to economy, and showing himself more desirous to maintain decorum than to kindie the feelings of gratulation and delight. His trophies were, indeed, drawn from the remotest parts of the earth, and testified the increasing boundaries of Roman dominion in the West as well as in the East. Persia and the British Isles, Africa and the Forests of Germany, the Rhine, the Nile, the Euphrates, the Danube, and the Thames supplied their respective tokens of subjugation, and added to the interest and magnificence of his Triumph. But Diocletian was not a Roman, and could

Pet. Pat. in Legat. Eutrop. lib. ix.

This

not take a share in the sentiments which prevailed every where around him. His austere manners and parsimonious habits provoked the sarcasm of the populace; who, comparing the restricted splendour of his Games with the recollection or description of those more brilliant exhibitions which had been given by Aurelian and Probus, conceived that their privileges had been violated and their wishes despised. military pageant, however, has obtained in the eyes of posterity a distinction and an interest which it could not possess at the time; it was the last Triumph ever witnessed in the streets of Rome. The city of Romulus soon afterwards lost the honour of being the seat of Government; and the successors of Constantine did not long retain those warlike virtues, which used to adorn the Capital of the Empire with the trophies of vanquished Nations and tributary Provinces.*

Caius Valerius Diocletianus Augustus.

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to 305.

mines to re

Disgusted with the licentiousness of the people, Dio- Diocletian cletian made immediate preparations for returning to returns to Nicomedia, his favourite residence. He set out about Nicomedia, and deterthe middle of December, careless of the severe weather which he must encounter in the mountainous district sign the through which he had to pass; or ignorant, perhaps, Empire. of the effects which it was likely to produce upon a constitution diminished in its vigour by fatigue and anxiety. On his journey he fell into an alarming illness, from which he never completely recovered. The following winter he was confined to the palace; and when, in the month of March 305, he showed himself to his People, he was so pale and wasted by disease that he could scarcely be recognised by those to whom his person was the most familiar. In these circumstances he adopted a resolution, the motives of which cannot now be fully ascertained, to resign the cares of government, and to retire into the peaceful seclusion of private life. Lactantius ascribes this determination to the intriguing impatience of Galerius, who longed to exchange the subordinate rank of Caesar for the full honours of Augustus, and who, with this view, urged his benefactor to vacate the Imperial office and dignities. But it is not necessary to descend into the depths of State policy, in search of reasons for a measure which appears to have been dictated by convenience and inclination. Nay, the very principle which had originally suggested to Diocletian the division of power and the increase of Sovereign Commanders, must now have demonstrated the expediency of confiding the Government to younger minds and more vigorous hands; and there can be little doubt, that before he left Rome he exacted of Maximianus a promise to imitate his example in this respect, and to transfer the weight of Public affairs to their adopted sons, and to such assistants as they might choose to appoint.†

But whatever might be the motives which induced He realizes Diocletian to divest himself of the Purple, he performed his purpose the ceremony of abdication with much solemnity and decorum. Having assembled the Army and People in a spacious plain about three miles from Nicomedia, he ascended a lofty throne, and in a speech full of affection and dignity, declared his intention and explained his future purposes: immediately after which he stepped into a covered chariot, passed through the city which he had rendered fit to be the Capital of a great Empire, and proceeded forthwith to Salona, a pleasant village

* Euseb. in Chron. Eutrop. lib. ix. c. 27. Lactant. de Mori. Pers. c. 38.

† Aurel. Victor.

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Biography. in his native Province Dalmatia, where he had resolved to spend the remainder of his life. Maximianus, on the same day, executed a similar resolution at Milan, now become the place of his usual abode. In this act of self-denial, so much at variance with his natural love of power, he yielded to the ascendency which his wiser colleague had acquired over him, and immediately retired to a villa in Lucania, in search of that enjoyment which he had associated with his dreams of repose, but which neither his temper nor his habits were calculated to find amidst the scenes of tranquillity.*

305.

Reflections

Diocletian lived eight or nine years after his abdicahis plan of cation; but as he never again mingled in the affairs of Government Government, we may be permitted, at this stage of the narrative, to make a few remarks on the manner, the spirit, and the general objects of his Administration; the most remarkable that occurs between the era of Augustus and that of Constantine. If we consider his origin, as an Illyrian peasant, and an unlettered soldier of Fortune, the wise and comprehensive scheme which he devised for the maintenance of Civil subordination as well as of Military discipline, throughout the Empire, will appear truly astonishing. He saw, at the first glance, that the conquests of Rome had become much too extensive to be secured by a single executive authority, however active and intelligent; and remembering that the Emperor was, properly speaking, nothing more than the Commander-in-chief, he resolved to raise to that dignity three individuals, besides himself, who might exercise, in their several Provinces, the Imperial power, modified only by an obligation to support the unity of the Empire, and to act upon a recognised and uniform system of politics. By this judicious measure he removed at once the jealousy and the power of the different armies, all of whom were found to covet the honour of being led by the Sovereign, and who, to gratify their vanity or their avarice, were constantly setting up their favourite Chiefs as rival masters of the Roman State, the alternate tyrants and victims of military licentiousness. He divided the Empire into four great Provinces, in every one of which there were a supreme Head, an Imperial camp, and officers and guards suitable to the rank of such a Commander; while the fidelity of each army was secured, or, at least, its disaffection was rendered impotent, by the terror of the three others, which, under their respective Emperor or Cæsar, could be immediately marched against it. Hence we are enabled to explain why Diocletian sat twenty-one years on the Throne of Augustus, and retired at length into an honourable repose, leaving the theatre of the world to his younger and more active associates. During his long reign, there was no insurrection to shake the foundations of the Monarchy, or even to wrest the sceptre from the hands of any one of his colleagues, however unfortunate or unpopular. The Constitution was so equally balanced, that an exercise of strength in one quarter was uniformly compensated by corresponding vigour in some other; so that the four Sovereigns who wielded the energies of Europe and of Asia, found it their interest not less than their duty to confine their ambition within the limits of their several Governments. In short, he adjusted so exactly the elements of Civil and Military power, distributed them with so much wisdom, and opposed them to each other in portions so well calculated to check every tendency to excess, that he converted the instruments of sedition

Panegyr. Vet. vii. 15.

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305.

It was with a similar view that he diminished the Diocletianus number of the Prætorian Guards, those insolent and Augustus. formidable soldiers who had so frequently assumed the right of giving away the Imperial diadem, and supplied their place by two faithful Legions of his own countrymen, who, under the titles of Jovians and Herculians, were appointed to perform the service of the Imperial household. Regarding the Senate, too, which since the days of Probus had recovered a part of its original influence, as an obstacle to the exercise of the simple despotism which he wished to establish in the person of the Emperors, he resolved to annihilate the power of that venerable Order, by transferring the seat of Government to a distance from Rome. The plan which Constantine realized had its origin in the profound policy of Diocletian; and, in truth, before the son of Constantius ascended the Throne of the Cæsars, the foun dations of the Eastern Empire were laid in the maxims which had prevailed since the death of Carinus. It has been judiciously observed, that as long as the Em perors resided in the ancient Capital, though the Senate might be oppressed it could not be entirely neglected. The successors of Augustus exercised the power of dictating whatever laws their wisdom or caprice might suggest; but those laws were ratified by the sanction of that Assembly. The model of ancient freedom was preserved in its deliberations and decrees; and wise Princes, who respected the prejudices of the Roman People, were in some measure obliged to assume the language and behaviour suitable to the General and first Magistrate of the Republic. In the Armies and in the Provinces they displayed the dignity of Monarchs; and when they fixed their residence at a distance from the Capital, they for ever laid aside the dissimulation which Augustus had recommended to those who were to inherit his power. In the exercise of the legislative as well as the executive authority, the Sovereign advised with his Ministers instead of the great Council of the Nation. The name of the Senate was mentioned with honour till the last period of the Empire; the vanity of its Members was still flattered with honorary distinctions; but the Assembly which had so long been the source, and so long the instrument of power, was respectfully suffered to sink into oblivion.*

It is, perhaps, a useless speculation to inquire whe- Inquiry ther the Roman Commonwealth still retained, in the whether the time of Probus, a sufficient tincture of its original spirit could have Republic and purity to have enabled it to throw off the corrupt been retaint which it had derived from its long association with stored. arbitrary rule; and whether the Senators could have resumed so much of their ancient authority as to have checked the insubordination of the armies, and extended once more the Civil power of the Consul over that of the Military Commander. But, whatever may be the opinion entertained on the point now stated, there can be no doubt that the progress of despotism was accelerated at Rome, by the practice of nominating the first Magistrate of the State the principal officer of the Legions: for, although the term of command was short, and the General descended into the Citizen as soon as the hour of danger was past, the People were thereby accustomed to see the laws, civil and military, executed by the same person, and to obey in Peace the

* Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch, xiii.

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Biography. authority at which they were accustomed to tremble in War. It was, accordingly, to be expected, that the individual who found himself placed permanently at the head of the army, would soon forget the origin and nature of the power with which he was intrusted. The Civil offices of Consul, Proconsul, Censor, and of Tribune, by the union of which it had been formed, might, no doubt, remind him of its Republican extraction; but as all military jurisdiction is necessarily despotic, and must be exercised with a very slight respect to personal freedom or abstract rights, the Government of Rome could not fail to become arbitrary, as soon as the Commander-in-chief ceased to be elective. Had Probus thought fit to relinquish the prerogative conferred upon Augustus, and resigned his office at the end of the first year after his elevation to the Empire, he might have restored the Senate to vigour, and the Constitution to the activity of its first principles. The title which he bore, it is true, denoted originally no higher rank than that of General of the Roman armies; but it had, long prior to his accession, assumed a more lofty import, and was felt to convey the unlimited authority of the most powerful of all Princes, a Military Sovereign. It is probable, therefore, that before the reign of the Emperor just named, the influence of custom had become too strong for that of a mere speculative reverence for ancient institutions; and that the Sword had too long triumphed over the Gown to permit the existence of a rational hope pointed towards the restoration of Public liberty.

His pomp

Diocletian did not attempt to imitate the example of and manners his Pannonian predecessor, nor to amuse the Romans of Eastern with the exhibition of a phantom which he had no inSovereignty. tention to clothe with reality. He saw that the time was come when all the power of the State must be concentrated in the Emperor, and when those who commanded the Legions must direct the general affairs of the Government at home and abroad. With this view he, perhaps, judged wisely, when he resolved to withdraw the exercise of such power from the eyes of the Senate, and to establish in a part of the Empire where magnificent titles and unrestricted authority were more familiar, his new system of honours and of administration. On the confines of Asia he deemed it expedient to adopt the dress and to inculcate the manners of Eastern nations. Laying aside the military cloak of Purple, which alone distinguished the Imperial Commander from the other Officers with whom he served, he assumed the more splendid robes of the Persian Court. He adopted also a diadem, that ornament so much detested by the Romans as the ensign of Royalty, and the use of which had been considered as the most desperate act of the madness of Caligula. Multiplied forms and ceremonies obstructed access to the gates of the Palace; and when a subject was at length admitted into the Imperial presence, it was expected that he should fall prostrate on the ground, and adore, according to the Oriental fashion, the divinity of his lord and master. The general character and subsequent conduct of Diocletian will not allow us to ascribe to mere personal vanity the ostentation which ne established at Nicomedia. He flattered himself, it has been supposed, that the sight of so much splendour and luxury would subdue the imagination of the multitude; that the Monarch would thereby be protected from the rude license of the People and of the soldiers; and that habits of submission would

Valerius

Diocletianus

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A. D. 285.

to

305.

insensibly be productive of sentiments of venera- Caius tion.* The support of such an establishment necessarily Augustus. implied the existence of a regular system of taxation. We find, accordingly, that the reign of Diocletian is distinguished in the Annals of Rome as a season of severe oppression, and of multiplied grievances. In former times the state of an Emperor did not require a permanent revenue of great amount; and, if we except the occasional extravagance of Nero, and of Taxation. two or three similar characters, we shall find that the Romans had no cause to complain that their wealth was squandered on the pleasures or magnificence even of the most tyrannical Princes. A life spent in a camp, and frequently in the presence of an active enemy, presented few temptations to indulge in expensive show or sensual enjoyments. But when the more luxurious Moderation and majestic system of Diocletian was established, the of DiocleRomans beheld four Sovereigns in different parts of the tian. Empire, contending with each other for the vain superiority of pomp and grandeur; multiplying the number of their servants and officers beyond all example; and crowding every department of the State with dependents, who at once encouraged and imitated their profusion. Deploring the misery which resulted from such a condition of things, Lactantius asserts, that those who were maintained upon the public taxes, exceeded those who contributed to them, and hence that the Provinces were oppressed by the weight of imposts and every other species of exaction. It is admitted, indeed, even by those Historians who condemn this Emperor for giving birth to a scheme so pernicious to the Commonwealth, that the evil, during his reign, was confined within the bounds of moderation; that the Revenue was managed with prudence and economy; that after all the expenses of the Government were discharged, there still remained in the Imperial treasury a sum which could be spared for the ornaments of peace, or for the exigences of war; and, consequently, that he merited the reproach of fixing a bad precedent, rather than of exercising an actual oppression.

But the character of Diocletian may be most dis- His remarks tinctly appreciated, from the tranquil resolution with on the diffi which he descended from the throne and retired into culty of gothe privacy of domestic life. When the impatient and verning wei ambitious spirit of Maximianus attempted to place him once more on the theatre of public affairs, he replied, that if he had an opportunity to show to his colleague the excellent kitchen garden which he had planted with his own hands at Salona, he would no longer urge him to relinquish the enjoyment of an undisturbed repose for the uneasy distinctions of Imperial greatness.† His remarks, also, on the difficulty of governing will prove that he had studied to perform his duty as a ruler, and, moreover, that his success had not, on all occasions, corresponded to the sincerity of his endeavours. They have been preserved by Vopiscus, whose father, we are assured, heard them from the lips of the Emperor himself. "Often, said Diocletian, do four or five individuals combine to deceive their Sovereign, and to tell him things which have no foundation in fact. The Prince, shut up in his Palace,

• Aurel. Victor. Eutrop. lib. ix. c. 26. Panegyr. Vet. Lactart. de Mort. Pers. c. 39, &c.

+ Utinam Salonæ possetis visere olera nostris manibus instituta, profectò numquam istud tentandum judicaretis. Aurel. Victor, Epit. 54.

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Accused

lation.

Biography, has no means of arriving at the truth, and is compelled to believe what they are pleased to communicate. Hence, he promotes men who are unfit for the employment with which they are intrusted; and he removes from his service others whose fidelity and worth give them the best claim to his confidence. In short, by the collusion of a few unprincipled courtiers, a benevolent and even a cautious Monarch, animated too with the best intentions, is frequently betrayed and sold; his power is rendered an instrument to effect the worst purposes, and his exertions for the public good are converted into the means of injustice and oppression." After this acknowledgment we ought not to be surof dissimu prised, when we are informed that he was sometimes suspicious, and unwilling to resign himself to the professions of those who were the most ready to offer their services. Being taught by experience the necessity of reserve, he has been charged with timidity and artifice in the conduct of his Government; and although it is admitted that he was singularly fortunate in the choice of the best instruments for effecting his purposes, the Historians of his reign insinuate that his prudence was not always free from insincerity, and that in the selection of his Ministers he was influenced much more by a regard to his own interest than by esteem for the character of the individuals whom he promoted. The qualities of his mind are supposed to have presented a considerable resemblance to those of Augustus, the founder of the Empire. Neither of these Princes was a stranger to dissimulation, while both proved excellent rulers, from a certain innate love of peace, as well as from an unusual dexterity in identifying the welfare of the State with their more secret views of personal aggrandizement.†

Caius

Valerius Diocletianus Augustus.

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A. D. 285.

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305.

The few years which he passed at Salona after his resignation of the Throne, were devoted to those pleasures in which a mind unembued with Literature finds the readiest amusement and relaxation. He built, he planted and improved his fields; but the most splendid monument of his taste was the Palace which he erected at Spalatro, a delightful spot about six or seven miles distant from his native village. A modern who has described the ruins of this ancient edifice informs us, that the "soil is dry and fertile, the air Palace of Spalatro. pure and wholesome; and though extremely hot during the summer months, the country seldom feels those sultry and noxious winds, to which the coasts of Istria and some parts of Italy are exposed. The views from the Palace are no less beautiful than the soil and climate are inviting. Towards the West lies the fertile shore that stretches along the Adriatic, in which a number of small Islands are scattered in such a manner as to give this part of the sea the appearance of a great lake. On the North side lies the bay which led to the ancient city of Salona; and the country beyond it, appearing in sight, forms a proper contrast to that more extensive prospect of water, which the Adriatic presents both to the South and to the East. Towards the North the view is terminated by high and irregular mountains, situated at a proper distance, and in many places covered with villages, woods, and vineyards." In this favourite retreat Diocletian ended his days in Death of the year 313; not without suspicion of having had re- Diocletian. course to a voluntary death, to which he is said to have been urged by the misfortunes of his family, and the crimes of his former associates.*

Biography.

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306.

THE retirement of Diocletian and Maximianus was immediately followed by the accession of the two Casars, Constantius and Galerius, to the Imperial The plan of Government required that the new Emperors should each appoint an assistant, to occupy the second rank in the State, and to command Constantius the Legions in their respective Provinces. Galerius, Galerius whose ambitious views are said to have extended to the the possession of the whole Empire, hastily usurped suple. the privilege of election; and named as Cæsars, his own nephew Daza, or Maximinus, and Severus, an officer of rank and ability, but more distinguished, perhaps, for his attachment to his master than for virtue or professional reputation.‡

Ego a patre meo audivi, Diocletianum Principem, jam privatum, dixisse nihil esse difficilius quam bene imperare, &c. Vopisc. in Aurel. c. 43.

Aurel. Victor, Epit. Parum honesta in amicos fides. Eutrop. lib. x. c. 1, 2.

Eutrop. lib. x. c. 1.

VOL. XI.

From A. D.

305.

This arrangement excluded from power the son of Constantius Maximianus, who had married a daughter of Galerius, Chlorus as also the heir of Constantius, the celebrated Con- Augustus. stantine, who was at that period resident at Nicomedia, a visiter or a hostage in the hands of Diocletian. The former of these young men was rejected on account of his rough and disrespectful manners, which gave great offence to his father-in-law; the latter was confined to a private station, because it was apprehended that, if once invested with sovereign authority, his aspiring genius could not rest satisfied with any degree under the very highest.

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to 306,

Biography, without a murmur. Galerius, therefore, found himself the master of the greater part of the Roman dominions. He governed, in person, Illyricum, Thrace, and Asia Minor; he intrusted to Maximin the important Provinces of Egypt and Syria; while he confided to the command of Severus the whole of Italy as well as that part of Africa which stretches from Cyrene to the Western Ocean. Constantius, on the other hand, saw in the administration of the Civil and military duties connected with Gaul, Spain, and Britain, a sufficient field for the exercise of his talents, his virtues, and his ambition. His age, not less than the rank which he had held under Diocletian, entitled him indeed to the precedency in the Empire, a distinction which does not appear to have been disputed by his more assuming and imperious colleague; but it is manifest, at the same time, that both from the situation of his Government and the limits within which his power was restricted, the successor of Diocletian did not inherit the full share of his authority.

The Empire

have been divided.

It has been maintained by several writers, ancient as supposed to well as modern, that upon the accession of Constantius and Galerius the Roman Empire was actually divided. But there is no evidence on record that any departure was made, on this occasion, from the principle introduced by Diocletian, or that the distribution of Provinces among the four rulers implied any thing more than a convenient allotment of supreme authority, to be exercised for the benefit of the whole. Whatever might be the scheme contemplated by the intriguing mind of Galerius, his plans for its accomplishment were soon thwarted by the troubles which ensued in the East as well as in the West, and, more especially, by the rising fortunes of Constantine, who ultimately succeeded in reuniting under one Head the extensive dominions of Rome, and in consolidating, once more, in a single hand, the scattered portions of Imperial

Constantine

power.

The distinguished person just named was, as we escapes from have already mentioned, at the Court of Nicomedia Nicomedia. when the late Emperors executed their purpose of retiring from the Throne. His affable disposition, his handsome figure, and above all, his military qualities had recommended him to the Legions and to the people, as a worthy candidate for the vacant office of Cæsar. His relationship, besides, to the Sovereign of the West, the acknowledged Head of the Empire, gave to his claims so much the appearance of right, that the elevation of the rude Maximin and of the pliant Severus, was regarded as a positive injury inflicted on the son of Constantius. Such symptoms of popular favour could not fail to exasperate the jealousy of Galerius, and to increase the danger of the young Prince; whose departure, although earnestly solicited by his father, was delayed from time to time under the most frivolous pretences. Permission being at length obtained, Constantine, who suspected the intentions of the tyrant, set out from Nicomedia in the night; and travelling with the utmost speed through Bithynia, Thrace, Dacia, Pannonia, Italy, and Gaul, he arrived on the Western coast of the last named Country, just in time to join the Legions which were about to sail for Britain, to make war upon the Caledonians.†

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to

306.

nates Con

Having subdued the Northern Barbarians, Constan- Constantius tius returned to York, where he died in the month of Chlorus July in the year 306. Finding his end drawing near, he Augustus. announced to the army that he had appointed Constantine the sole heir of his power, and desired that they would honour and obey him as their future Emperor. The troops, who were deeply attached to the cause of their master, took pleasure in complying with his last request; and no sooner did he expire, than Constantius they saluted his son by the title of Augustus, and pre- dies at York pared to invest him with the Purple. Ambition as well and nomias prudence whispered to Constantine the expediency stantine his of accepting the high office to which he was thus in- heir. vited. He forthwith wrote to Galerius, that death had deprived himself and the Empire of a parent, and that the Legions, actuated by a feeling of strong affection for their late Commander, had substituted in his place the individual who now addressed him, and who, as he had not been able to obtain power in a regular and Constitutional manner, would have been much more gratified to see it bestowed elsewhere. The Emperor of the East received the intelligence with a burst of passion, during which he threatened to cast both the messenger and the letter into the flames; but, when his resentment subsided, he saw the folly of questioning an appointment which he could not annul, and he, accordingly, acknowledged the son of his former colleague Sovereign of all the countries beyond the Alps, Gaul, Spain, and Britain. But he refused to ratify the nomination of the soldiers in so far as it respected the rank which they had bestowed upon Constantine; degrading him to the lowest place among the four Princes of the Empire, and clothing his dependent Severus with the dignity of Augustus.*

Oct. 306.

But the harmony of the Empire, which the new Maxentius Cæsar was unwilling to disturb, was soon violated by seizes the the turbulent ambition of Maxentius, the son of Maxi- Purple. mianus, who appears to have fixed his residence at Rome. Galerius, following the example of Diocletian, attempted to humble the Capital, by reducing still farther the establishment of Prætorian Guards, by imposing taxes on all classes of the People, and by removing from it the last remains of Republican freedom and even of Imperial grandeur. Five hundred years had passed since the Romans, by their extensive conquests, were relieved from the burden of contributing to the necessities of the State; and they could not now endure with patience the insolence of an Illyrian peasant, who from his Throne on the confines of Asia, presumed to number the descendants of Brutus and of Scipio among the tributaries of his distant Empire. Stimulated by the dissatisfaction which prevailed everywhere around him, as well as by the success of Constantine, who had boldly laid his hand upon the honours which were denied to his birth, Maxentius placed himself at the head of the few Guards who were still allowed to continue embodied, invited the other troops to join his standard, and concluded by openly assuming the Purple.†

It is doubtful whether Maximianus was privy to this Maxim conspiracy on the part of his son; but no sooner was returne the standard of rebellion displayed than he left his re- power. tirement, to aid, by his counsel and military experience,

*Eumen. Panegyr. Vet. Victor, Epit. Euseb. in Vit. Const. Eccles. Hist. lib. viii. c. 13. Liban. Orat. iii..

Lactant. de Mort. Pers. c 25. Panegyr. Vet. in Max. et Const. Zosim. lib. ii. Aurel. Victor, Epit.