The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313 · External witness
Emperor Maxentius
d. 28 October AD 312 · Rival Emperor at Rome (306–312) · Rome
External witness
Who Emperor Maxentius was
The rival emperor who held Rome and Italy until Constantine defeated him at the Milvian Bridge on 28 October 312 — the battle Constantine fought under the Christian sign he had seen in the sky, and which the church read as the hinge of its whole history. Maxentius drowned in the Tiber as his troops fled across the collapsing bridge, fulfilling (Eusebius exulted) the drowning of Pharaoh’s host. Though not himself a systematic persecutor, he stands in the Christian record as the tyrant whose fall opened the age of Constantine and the peace of the church.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses and roman emperors.
Common questions
When did Emperor Maxentius die?
Emperor Maxentius is dated d. 28 October AD 312 in the archive, which places Emperor Maxentius in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
Which early sources mention Emperor Maxentius?
Emperor Maxentius is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Lactantius and Eusebius of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Emperor Maxentius from?
The archive associates Emperor Maxentius with Rome.
Who were Emperor Maxentius’ contemporaries?
The archive links Emperor Maxentius to 6 other figures, including Constantine the Great, Emperor Licinius, Severus II and Marcellus I of Rome. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 44 (the Milvian Bridge narrative)
c. AD 315The bridge in his rear was broken down... and the hand of the Lord prevailed.Lactantius · On the Deaths 44 · source text
Ecclesiastical History IX.9 (drowned 'like Pharaoh of old')
c. AD 325They sank as lead in the mighty waters.Eusebius of Caesarea · Ecclesiastical History IX.9 · source text
Life of Constantine I.38
c. AD 325As Moses and the Hebrews saw Pharaoh and his host cast into the Red Sea, so Maxentius and his soldiers sank to the bottom like a stone, when he fled before the power that Constantine bore.Eusebius of Caesarea · source text
Connected in the archive
People
- Constantine the Great
- Emperor Licinius
- Severus II
- Marcellus I of Rome
- Eusebius of Rome
- Maximian Herculius
Events in this lifetime
- AD 250 · The Decian persecution, AD 250
- AD 251 · The Novatianist schism, AD 251
- AD 257 · The Valerian persecution, AD 257
- AD 260 · Gallienus’ edict of toleration, AD 260
- AD 268 · Antioch deposes Paul of Samosata, AD 268
- AD 272 · Aurelian awards the Antioch church, AD 272
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Emperor Maxentius.
- 1Rome