Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus, called himself "Herculius"
in the religious hierarchy where
Diocletian
was "Jovius", i.e. Augustus of upper rank.
He was born near Sirmium in Pannonia in 250. Was an outstanding
military officer in Germania and Asia during the reigns of
Aurelianus
and
Probus.
In the year 286
Diocletian associated
Maximianus to the government and later each one of them adopted
a Caesar starting the Tetrarchy. Maximianus Hercules was in
charge of the western part of the Empire and ruled over Italy,
Gaul, Africa and the Island of the Mediterranean. After defeating
the pirates and the Moors he was received in triumph in Rome
with
Diocletian in 303 as a result
of their military deeds. He married his daughter
Fausta
to
Constantinus (son of his Caesar
Consantius "Chlorus").Maximianus
abdicated in Milan on the first day of May of 305 and passed
the power to
Consantius "Chlorus"
who died in 306 giving the start to a very troubled succession.
The first to succeed was
Severus imposed
as Caesar by
Galerius. In 307 Severus
got killed and
Constantinus proclaimed
himself as the only legal successor to his father. The son of
Maximianus,
Maxentius, who was aiming
at the title of Augustus, convinced his father to overtake the
power again, as he did. Afterwards he had a quarrel with
Maxentius
and fleed Rome resigning again and fledging to Arles where
Constantinus
was stationed. Taking advantage that
Constantinus
was absent the got the backing of the troops to be proclaimed
Emperor for a third time. In this opportunity
Constantinus
got him captured but forgave him and let him stay at his house,
but soon after Maximianus came up again so the Emperor condemned
him to the death penalty allowing him to choose the way it would
be applied. Maximianus finally strangled himself in 310 at the
age of 60 years.