Licinius

Gaius Valerius Licinianus Licinius was an old comrade of Galerius, appointed Augustus of the West at the Conference of Carnuntum in 308 in a last attempt to save the Tetrarchic system. He eventually controlled only the East. In 313, he met Constantine at Milan and co-issued the Edict of Milan granting universal religious toleration. Two civil wars followed (in 316 and 324), and Licinius was finally defeated at the Battle of Chrysopolis. He was initially spared but executed in 325 on suspicion of further conspiracy.

Licinius is Constantine's great foil: a ruler who maintained the old Tetrarchic pantheon while Constantine progressively identified with Christianity. The Edict of Milan, which they co-issued, is the foundational document of religious toleration in late antiquity. His coins document the last generation of purely pagan imperial coinage in the East.

Key Events

Coinage

Licinius struck coinage from the major eastern mints throughout his long reign. The IOVI CONSERVATORI (Jupiter the Protector) type is closely associated with him; he maintained Jupiter as his divine patron while Constantine embraced Christianity. His portrait develops from a conventional Tetrarchic style toward a more individualised late Constantinian aesthetic. The VOT XX types near the end of his reign mark two decades of imperial rule.

Related Resources

Further Reading

• Roman Imperial Coinage, Volumes VI–VII, C.H.V. Sutherland & Patrick M. Bruun
• Roman Coins and Their Values, Volume IV, David R. Sear