ll the post vacated by the death of Severus,
invaded Italy to reestablish his authority, but, after threatening Rome,
was compelled to retire.

There were now six emperors. Maximian and his son Maxentius and
Constantine in the West; in the East, Gelerius, Maximin, and Licinius.
The second resignation of Maximian, and his renewed attempt to seize the
imperial power by seducing the soldiers of Constantine, and his
subsequent execution at Marseilles in February 310, reduced the number
to five. Galerius died of a lingering disorder in the following year,
and the civil war that broke out between Maxentius and Constantine,
culminating in a battle near Rome in 312, placed the sceptre of the West
in the hands of the son of Constantius. In the East, the alliance
between Licinius and Maximin dissolved into discord, and the defeat of
the latter on April 30, 313, ended in his death three or four months
later.

The empire was now divided between Constantine and Licinius, and the
ambition of the two princes rendered peace impossible. In the years 315
and 323 civil conflict broke out, ending, after the battle of Adrianople
and the siege of Byzantium, in a culminating victory for Constantine in
the field of Chrysopolis, in September. Licinius, taken prisoner, laid
himself and his purple at the feet of his lord and master, and was duly
executed.

By successive steps, from his first assuming the purple at York, to the
resignation of Licinius, Constantine had reached the undivided
sovereignty of the Roman world. His success contributed to the decline
of the empire by the expense of blood and treasure, and by the perpetual
increase as well of the taxes as of the military establishments. The
foundation of Constantinople and the establishment of the Christian
religion were the immediate and memorable consequences of this
revolution.

* * * * *

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire--II

_I.--Decay of the Empire under Constantine_

The unfortunate Licinius was the last rival who opposed the greatness of
Constantine. After a tranquil and prosperous reign, the conqueror
bequeathed to his family the inheritance of the Roman Empire; a new
capital, a new policy, and a new religion; and the innovations which he
established have been embraced, and consecrated, by succeeding
generations.

Byzantium, which, under the more august name of Constantinople, was
destined to preserve the shadow of the Roman