4 – And Then There Were Two: Licinius Defeats Maximinus Daia
Licinius took Galerius’ Balkan territories soon after the death of the emperor but was unable to prevent Maximinus from taking important territories in Asia Minor. The two men came to an uneasy truce whereby the Bosporus became the border between their lands. Constantine’s decisive victory completely changed things because now, both men knew they had beat the other to gain a level of power equal to that of Constantine.
Licinius wisely continued to remain on friendly terms with Constantine when he confirmed the emperor’s Edict of Milan in 313 (in June) which ordered tolerance of Christians; Licinius also agreed that Constantine was the ‘senior’ Augustus. In early 313, Maximinus crossed the Bosporus with an army and landed in Thrace. It was a disastrous move because his troops were exhausted from crossing the mountains of Asia Minor in winter. Nonetheless, he continued marching onward and took Heraclea after a short siege.
Meanwhile, Licinius arrived at Adrianople while his enemy was still attacking Heraclea. Maximinus moved to the ‘first station’ some 18 miles from the town and was told that Licinius had camped in the ‘second station’ which was 18 miles from Maximinus’ current location. The two would-be emperors engaged in negotiations which proved fruitless so on April 30, 313, the two armies met at the Battle of Tzirallum.
On the surface, Maximinus held all the aces; he had 70,000 men against Licinius’ 30,000 and his troops included seasoned veterans from the Asiatic provinces. Initially, the numerical advantage gave Maximinus the advantage but soon, Licinius’ superior tactical ability helped him gain the upper hand, and after a few hours, he completely routed the enemy and attained a decisive victory.
Maximinus fled the battlefield with remarkable speed and was apparently 160 miles away at Nicomedia within 24 hours of his defeat. Ancient sources suggest the defeat broke him as he was seen trembling and pale and was not wearing his imperial robes. Although Licinius bided his time, he eventually pursued his enemy in the hope of earning a crushing win to end the conflict. Licinius marched on Tarsus where he laid siege to his enemy. Maximinus either committed suicide by drinking poison or died from illness in August 313.
Licinius gained all of Maximinus’ territories so, at this stage, the complicated nature of the civil war had ended. The empire was divided amongst two men with Licinius ruling the east and Constantine in charge of the west. Everything east of Pannonia belonged to Licinius while Constantine ruled everything west of Italy. At this point, the two emperors could have reigned side by side peacefully but as this is ancient Rome we’re talking about, trouble was never far away.