Licinius (redirected from Roman emperor Licinius)

Licinius, Roman emperor

Licinius, 250–325, Roman emperor. He became coemperor with Galerius, being given the rule of Illyricum (308); after the death of Galerius he added Greece and Thrace to his territories. He allied himself with Constantine I and defeated Maximin in 313, thus becoming sole ruler in the East. He subsequently quarreled with Constantine, who defeated him (314) and forced him to cede all his European territories except for Thrace. War was resumed in 324, and Constantine defeated Licinius at Adrianople and Chrysopolis. Licinius was imprisoned and eventually put to death.

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Licinius, Roman plebian gens

Licinius (līsĭn`ēəs), Roman plebeian gens, of which several men were noteworthy.

Caius Licinius Calvus Stolo, fl. 375 B.C., was tribune of the people with Lucius Sextius. Roman historians attributed to him a number of laws, but most of these were probably made at later dates. These laws, the

Licinian Rogations, provided a strict limitation on the amount of public land that one person might hold and on the number of livestock that one could graze on the public land. They included also a strict regulation of the collection of debts, and, most significant politically, they ordained that one consul must be a plebeian. It is said that Licinius Stolo was later fined for violating his own law on the possession of public land.

Caius Licinius Macer, d. 66 B.C., orator and historian, committed suicide after his conviction by Cicero under the law against bribery and extortion. His son,

Caius Licinius Macer Calvus, 82 B.C.–c.47 B.C., poet and orator, was considered the peer of Catullus by the ancients. Only short fragments of his works remain. See also Crassus.

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Licinius

 orig. Valerius Licinianus Licinius

(died 325) Roman emperor (308–324). Born of Illyrian peasant stock, he advanced in the army and in 308 was appointed augustus by his friend the emperor Galerius. Because the empire was split up among several emperors at that time (see tetrarch), his domain was confined to Pannonia. After the death of Galerius in 311, he allied with Constantine I, defeated his competitor Maximinus in Asia Minor, and partitioned the empire (313). Although reputedly converted to Christianity, he grew alienated and launched a campaign of mild persecution against the Christians c. 320. Constantine soon drove him from power and had him executed.