Maximinus II Daia - Maximinus Daia, adopted by Galerius as Caius Galerius Valerius Maximinus.

Mints: Alexandria, Antioch, Aquileia, Cyzicus, Heraclea, Carthage, Londinium, Lugdunum, Nicomedia, Rome, Serdica, Siscia, Thessalonica, Ticinum, Treveri.

Biography: Maximinus II Daia was a nephew of Galerius and this family connection accounted through his rapid promotion through the ranks, his subsequent adoption by Galerius, and his appointment as a Caesar at Diocletian and Maximus in 305. His portion of the empire included Egypt and the East, where Christianity had won a solid base and it was under him that the most severe persecutions in the region took place. His hopes for a regular succession to the position of Augustus were thwarted in 308 however, when Galerius bypassed him and promoted Licinius. Seething with resentment, Maximinus put up with this for two years, until 310, when he decided his time had come and got himself proclaimed Augustus by his troops and occupying Asia Minor to neutralize possible reaction by Licinius. The latter made a show of force, but before it came to a decisive battle the two rivals reached an agreement to abide by the status quo, none of them expecting the peace to be a long-term solution. Maximinus bid his time till early spring of 313 when he learned that Constantine, who, having finished off the short reign of Maxentius and Maximus and for the time an ally of Licinius, was on a campaign in far-away Germany. Taking this as a long-awaited opportunity, he invaded Asia Minor again, crossed the Bosphorus, took Byzantium, and met Licinius' forces in a pitched battle on May 1, 313. His soldiers outnumbered their opponents two by one, but the march through Anatolia had been long and the climate too cold. Licinius managed to turn this to his advantage and inflicted a heavy defeat on Maximinus's forces and he barely got away himself. Retreating further east before the pursuing army of Licinius, he fell ill at Tarsus and died in August 313.

List all Maximinus II Daia coins in the Catalog.

Search Maximinus II Daia coins in our Shopping Mall.

« back