Magnentius, 18 January 350 - 10 August 353 A.D.

Flavius Magnus Magnentius was born in Samarobriva (Amiens), Gaul. Some sources state that Magnentius' father was a Briton and his mother a Frank and he may have once been a slave owned by Constantine the Great. He was a man of studious habits, powerful in conversation, with great military skill, but hard-hearted and cruel. When he was a captain of the guard, a group of his soldiers threatened to murder him; Constans threw his paludamentum over him as a protection and saved his life. Constans made Magnentius commander of the Herculians and Jovians, the Imperial guard units.

When the army grew dissatisfied with the Emperor Constans the soldiers elevated Magnentius to the purple at Augustodunum (Autun) on 18 January 350. Constans was hunting near the Pyrenees away from his forces when he heard the news, he took sanctuary in a temple at Castrum Helenae in Hispania. Magnentius sent a few of his men who tracked him down, breached the temple, and murdered him. Magnentius quickly attracted the loyalty of the provinces in Britannia, Gaul, and Hispania, in part because he proved to be far more tolerant towards Pagans. His control of Italia and Africa was secured through the election of his men to the most important offices.

There were some that resisted Magnentius. Nepotian, a member of the Constantinian dynasty, rebelled and ruled the city of Rome for twenty-eight days. Vetranio, commander of the Pannonian army, was elected Augustus by his troops in Mursa on 1 March 350. Unlike Magnentius, Constantius II recognized Vetranio, sending him the imperial diadem. This resistance strained Magnentius' resources while Constantius' army approached.

Constantius II had been thousands of miles away embroiled in a difficult war with the Parthians in Syria and it took several months to hear of what happened out west. He had the difficult choice of following through with this war or deal with the dangerous usurpation of Magnentius. He decided to sign a hasty peace treaty with the Parthians which ceded vast sections of territory and marched west with 60,000 men to deal with Magnentius.

Magnentius tried in vain to seek a diplomatic solution to the problem with Constantius as he wanted to avoid an open armed conflict with his army at all costs. After electing his brother Decentius as Caesar and gathering as many troops as possible, Magnentius advanced his armies to meet those of Constantius. In the Battle of Mursa Major in 351, Magnentius led his troops into battle, while Constantius spent the day of battle praying in a nearby church. Despite Magnentius' heroism, his troops were defeated and forced to retreat back to Gaul. Magnentius made a final stand in 353 at the Battle of Mons Seleucus. Defeated again, he fled to Lugdunum (Lyons) where he committed suicide by falling on his sword.

Following the suppression of Magnentius' rebellion, Constantius began to root out his followers. The most notorious agent he employed in this search was the primicerius notariorum Paulus Catena ("Paul the Chain"). Magnentius' wife, Justina, later married Valentinian I.

Also see: ERIC - Decentius

Obverse Legends

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DNMAGNENTIOPERPETVOAVG
DNMAGNENTIVSAVG
DNMAGNENTIVSPFAG
DNMAGNENTIVSPFAVG
FLMAGNENTIVSPFAVG
IMCAEMAGNENTIVSAVG
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Mints

Ambianum
Aquileia
Arelate
Lugdunum
Roma
Siscia
Treveri

|Dictionary of Roman Coins|

Decentius

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