uential of the new Augusti, disregarded the
claims of Constantine, the son of Constantius, and nominated two of his
own favorites, Severus and Maximinus Daia. In this Constantius acquiesced
but when he died in Britain in 306 A. D., his army acclaimed Constantine
as his successor. Galerius was forced to acknowledge him as Caesar.

*The revolt of Maxentius, 306 A. D.* In the same year Maxentius, the son
of Maximian, took advantage of the opposition aroused in Rome by the
attempt of Galerius to make the city subject to taxation, and caused
himself to be proclaimed Caesar. He was supported by his father, who
emerged from his enforced retirement, and defeated and brought about the
death of Severus, whom Galerius had made Augustus, and sent to subdue him.
Maxentius then took the title of Augustus for himself. The same rank was
accorded to Constantine by Maximian, who made an alliance with him and
gave him his daughter, Fausta, in marriage. Upon the failure of an attempt
by Galerius to overthrow Maxentius, an appeal was made to Diocletian to
return to power and put an end to the rivalries of his successors (307
A. D.). He refused to do so, but induced Maximian, who had quarrelled with
his son, to withdraw a second time from public life. Licinius, who had
been made Caesar by Galerius in place of Severus, became an Augustus,
while Daia and Constantine each received the title of Son of Augustus
(_filius Augusti_), a distinction which Constantine, from the beginning,
and Daia, soon afterwards, ignored. Thus, by 310 A. D., there were five
Augusti (including Maxentius), in the empire and no Caesars. It was not
long before the ambitions of the rival emperors led to a renewal of civil
war.

*The rival Augusti, 310-312 A. D.* In 310 Maximian tried to win over the
army of Constantine, but his attempt failed and cost him his life. The
following year Galerius died, after having, in concert with Constantine
and Licinius, issued an edict which put an end to the persecution of the
Christians and granted them the right to practice their religion; an
admission that the state had failed in its plan to stamp out the religion
of Christ. The empire was then divided as follows: Constantine held
Britain, Gaul and Raetia, Maxentius Spain, Italy and Africa, Licinius the
Illyrian and Balkan provinces, and Maximinus Daia the lands to the east of
the Aegean, including Egypt. The attempt of Maxentius to add Raetia to his
dominions brought him into conflic