Galerius
Ga-le'rl-us, [Fr. Gai.ekk, gi'iaiR',] (Cai'us Vai.k'-
RIUS Maximia'.ni's,) a Roman emperor, was a native
of Dacia. and of humble origin. From the rank of private
soldier he rose to the highest commands in the
army. In the year 292 A.D. he was adopted as sou or
heir, with the title of Caesar, by Diocletian, whose
daughter he married ; and a few years later he commanded
the army which defeated the Persian king
Narses. The violent persecution of the Christians by
Diocletian is ascribed to the instigation of Galerius.
When Diocletian and Maximian abdicated, in 305, Galerius
and Constantius Chlorus succeeded as colleagues
in the empire, and the former took for his share Illyria,
Thrace, Macedonia, Greece, and the Eastern provinces.
His colleague having died in 306, Galerius wished to
choose Severus in his place; but Constantine and Maxentius
opposed him, and Severus was slain. After he
had failed in an attempt to capture Rome, he retired
to one of his provinces, and died in 311 a.d.
See Gibbon,
" Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ;" TlEfcsmont,
H
Histoire des Lnipereurs."
Read More
Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus (c. 260 - April or May
311), commonly known as Galerius, was Roman Emperor from 305
to 311. During his reign he campaigned, aided by Diocletian,
against the Sassanid Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon
in 299.
Early life
Galerius was born on a small farm estate, on the site where
he later built his palace, Felix Romuliana.[5] His father
was a Thracian and his mother Romula was a Dacian woman, who
left Dacia because of the Carpians' attacks.[10] He
originally followed his father's occupation, that of a
herdsman, where he got his surname of Armentarius (Latin:
armentum, herd). He served with distinction as a soldier
under Emperors Aurelian and Probus, and in 293 at the
establishment of the Tetrarchy, was designated Caesar along
with Constantius Chlorus, receiving in marriage Diocletian's
daughter Valeria (later known as Galeria Valeria), and at
the same time being entrusted with the care of the Illyrian
provinces. Soon after his appointment, Galerius would be
dispatched to Egypt to fight the rebellious cities Busiris
and Coptos...
Read More
Galerius Maximiānus, usually called Galerius, Roman emperor,
A.D. 305-311. He was first made Caesar by Diocletian, whose
daughter he had married; and upon the abdication of Diocletian
and Maximianus (305 A.D.), he became Augustus or emperor. He
died in 311, of the disgusting disease known in modern times
by the name of morbus pediculosus. He was a cruel persecutor
of the Christians.
Read More
