Emperor Maxentius

307-312 AD

RIC VI 202

AE Follis

Obverse: IMP C MAXENTIVS PF AVG Laureate head right.

Reverse: CONSERV SVAE Roma seated in hexastyle temple, holding scepter and globe, shield leaning against her, Wreath in pediment of temple; N left, RQ in exergue.

Weighs - 5.44grams

Measures - 24.7mm x 24.4mm x 1.9mm

Maxentius (Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius Augustus) was Roman Emperor from 306 to 312. Fathered by Roman Emperor Maximian, a prolific builder: the great basilica in the forum Romanum and the Circus Maxentius (second in size only to the Circus Maximus) were both built during his reign.

He lost the civil war against Licinius and Constantine at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge and is thought to have died by drowning in the Tiber River. After his death, Constantine issued a damnatio memoriae against him. Buildings were renamed after Constantine. Additionally Constantine's propaganda ensured that history represented Maxentius as a cruel and incompetent ruler.