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Flavius Valerius Severus

 
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Flavius Valerius Severus (or rarely Severus II) (died 16 September, 307
307

Events...
) was a Western Roman Emperor from 306 to 307.

Severus was of humble birth, born in the Illyria
Illyria

'Illyria' was in Classical antiquity a region in the western part of today's Balkan Peninsula, inhabited by tribes of Illyrians, an ancient people who spoke the Illyrian languages....
n provinces around the middle of the third century AD. He rose to become a senior officer in the Roman army, and as an old friend of Galerius
Galerius

Galerius Maximianus , formally Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus was Roman Emperor from 305 to 311....
, that emperor ordered that Severus be appointed Caesar
Caesar (title)

Caesar , Latin: Caesar , is a title of emperor character. It derives from the Roman naming convention#Cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator....
 of the Western Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire....
, a post that he succeeded to on 1 May 305
305

Events...
.






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Flavius Valerius Severus (or rarely Severus II) (died 16 September, 307
307

Events...
) was a Western Roman Emperor from 306 to 307.

Severus was of humble birth, born in the Illyria
Illyria

'Illyria' was in Classical antiquity a region in the western part of today's Balkan Peninsula, inhabited by tribes of Illyrians, an ancient people who spoke the Illyrian languages....
n provinces around the middle of the third century AD. He rose to become a senior officer in the Roman army, and as an old friend of Galerius
Galerius

Galerius Maximianus , formally Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus was Roman Emperor from 305 to 311....
, that emperor ordered that Severus be appointed Caesar
Caesar (title)

Caesar , Latin: Caesar , is a title of emperor character. It derives from the Roman naming convention#Cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator....
 of the Western Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire....
, a post that he succeeded to on 1 May 305
305

Events...
. He thus served as deputy-emperor to Constantius I (Constantius Chlorus
Constantius Chlorus

Flavius Valerius Constantius , also Constantius I, was an Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire . He was commonly called Chlorus an epithet given to him by Byzantine Empire historians....
), Augustus of the western half of empire.

On the death of Constantius I in the summer of 306, Severus was promoted to Augustus by Galerius
Galerius

Galerius Maximianus , formally Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus was Roman Emperor from 305 to 311....
 himself, in opposition to the acclamation of Constantine I
Constantine I

Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus , commonly known in English_language as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine , was Roman Emperor from 306, and the undisputed holder of that office from 324 until his death in 337....
 (Constantius' son) by his own soldiers. When Maxentius
Maxentius

Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius was Western Roman Emperor from 306 to 312. He was the son of former emperor Maximian, and the son-in-law of Galerius, also an emperor....
, the son of the retired emperor Maximian
Maximian

Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius , commonly referred to as Maximian, was Caesar from July 285 and Augustus from April 1, 286 to May 1, 305....
, revolted at Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
, Galerius sent Severus to suppress the rebellion. Severus moved from his capital, Mediolanum
Mediolanum

Mediolanum, the ancient Milan, was an important Celts and then Ancient Rome centre of northern Italy. This article charts the history of the city from its settlement by the Insubres around 600 BC, through its conquest by the Ancient Rome and its development into a key centre of Western Christianity and capital of the Western Roman Empire, un...
, towards Rome, at the head of an army previously commanded by Maximian. Fearing Severus' arrival, Maxentius offered Maximian the co-rule of the empire. Maximian accepted, and when Severus arrived under the walls of Rome and besieged it, his men deserted him and passed to Maximian, their old commander. Severus fled to Ravenna
Ravenna

Ravenna is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The city is inland, but is connected to the Adriatic Sea by a canal. Ravenna once served as the seat of the Western Roman Empire and later the Ostrogoths and the Exarchate of Ravenna....
, in an impregnable position. Maximian offered to spare Severus' life and treat him humanely if the latter surrendered peaceably, which he did so in March or April 307. Despite Maximian's assurance, Severus was nonetheless displayed as a captive and later imprisoned at Tres Tabernae. When Galerius himself invaded Italy to suppress Maxentius and Maximian, the former ordered Severus' death. He was executed (or forced to commit suicide) on 16 September 307.

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