Editing Maximian (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Coin of Maximian.jpg|thumb|200px|left|[[Antoninianus]] of Maximian. Legend: {{Smallcaps|{{abbr|imp|IMPERATOR}} maximianus {{abbr|aug|AUGUSTUS}}}}.]]
[[File:Aureus of Maximian (obverse).jpg|left|thumb|200x200px|[[Aureus]] of Maximian. Legend: {{Smallcaps|maximianus augustus}}.]]
Maximian was born around the year 250 near [[Sirmium]] (modern [[Sremska Mitrovica]], [[Serbia]]) in the [[Roman province|province]] of [[Pannonia]], into a family of shopkeepers.{{sfnm|1a1=Barnes|1y=1982|1p=32 (quoting ''[[Epitome de Caesaribus]]'' 40.10)|2a1=Rees|2y=2002|2p=30|3a1=Williams|3y=1997|3p=43–44|4a1=Pohlsander|4y=2004|4p=7}} Beyond that, the ancient sources contain vague allusions to [[Illyria|Illyricum]] as his homeland, to his Pannonian virtues,{{sfn|Barnes|1982|p=32; quoting [[Aurelius Victor]]'s ''Liber de Caesaribus'' 39.26 and the ''[[Panegyrici Latini]]'' 10(2).2.2ff}} and to his harsh upbringing along the war-torn [[Danube]] frontier.{{sfn|Rees|2002|pp=44–45; quoting the ''Panegyrici Latini'' 10(2).2.4}} Maximian joined the army, serving with Diocletian under the emperors [[Aurelian]] (r. 270–275) and [[Probus (emperor)|Probus]] (r. 276–282). He probably participated in the Mesopotamian campaign of [[Carus]] in 283 and attended Diocletian's election as emperor on 20 November 284 at [[Nicomedia]].{{sfnm|1a1=Barnes|1y=1982|1p=32–33|2a1=Rees|2y=2002|2p=30}} Maximian's swift appointment by Diocletian as Caesar is taken by the writer Stephen Williams and historian [[Timothy Barnes (classicist)|Timothy Barnes]] to mean that the two men were long-term allies, that their respective roles were pre-agreed and that Maximian had probably supported Diocletian during his campaign against [[Carinus]] (r. 283–285) but there is no direct evidence for this.{{sfnm|1a1=Barnes|1y=1981|1p=6|2a1=Williams|2y=1997|2pp=43–44}}

With his great energy, firm aggressive character and disinclination to rebel, Maximian was an appealing candidate for imperial office. The fourth-century historian [[Aurelius Victor]] described Maximian as "a colleague trustworthy in friendship, if somewhat boorish, and of great military talents".<ref>Victor, ''Liber de Caesaribus'' 39, quoted in {{harvnb|Williams|1997|p=44}}</ref> Despite his other qualities, Maximian was uneducated and preferred action to thought. The [[Panegyrici Latini|panegyric]] of 289, after comparing his actions to [[Scipio Africanus]]' victories over [[Hannibal]] during the [[Second Punic War]], suggested that Maximian had never heard of them.<ref>''Panegyrici Latini'' 10(2), quoted in {{harvnb|Williams|1997|p=44}}</ref> His ambitions were purely military; he left politics to Diocletian.{{sfn|Williams|1997|p=44}} The [[Christians|Christian]] [[Rhetoric|rhetor]] [[Lactantius]] suggested that Maximian shared Diocletian's basic attitudes but was less puritanical in his tastes, and took advantage of the sensual opportunities his position as emperor offered.{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=13}} Lactantius charged that Maximian defiled senators' daughters and traveled with young virgins to satisfy his unending lust, though Lactantius' credibility is undermined by his general hostility towards pagans.<ref>Lactantius, ''[[De mortibus persecutorum]]'' 8, quoted in {{harvnb|Williams|1997|p=44}}</ref>

Maximian had two children with his [[Syria]]n wife, [[Eutropia]]: [[Maxentius]] and [[Fausta]]. There is no direct evidence for their birthdates. Maxentius was probably born around 283 (when Maximian was in Syria), and Fausta around 289 or 290.{{sfn|Barnes|1981|p=34}} [[Flavia Maximiana Theodora|Maximiana Theodora]], the wife of [[Constantius Chlorus|Constantius]], is often called Maximian's stepdaughter by ancient sources, leading to claims by [[Otto Seeck]] and Ernest Stein that she was born from an earlier marriage between Eutropia and [[Afranius Hannibalianus]].<ref>Aurelius Victor, ''de Caesaribus'' 39.25; Eutropius, ''Breviaria'' 9.22; Jerome, ''Chronicle'' 225<sup>g</sup>; ''Epitome de Caesaribus'' 39.2, 40.12, quoted in {{harvnb|Barnes|1982|p=33}}</ref> Barnes challenges this view, saying that all "stepdaughter" sources derive their information from the partially unreliable work of history ''[[Enmannsche Kaisergeschichte|Kaisergeschichte]]'', while other, more reliable, sources refer to her as Maximian's natural daughter.<ref>''Origo Constantini'' 2; [[Philostorgius]], ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 2.16<sup>a</sup>, quoted in {{harvnb|Barnes|1982|p=33}}. See also ''Panegyrici Latini'' 10(2)11.4.</ref> Barnes concludes that Theodora was born no later than c. 275 to an unnamed earlier wife of Maximian, possibly one of Hannibalianus' daughters.{{sfn|Barnes|1982|pp=33–34}} [[Julia Hillner]] agrees with Barnes that the "stepdaughter sources" are a result of political propaganda from the later Constantinian dynasty but believes that Barnes explanation fails to explain why Theodora named one of her daughters [[Eutropia (sister of Constantine I)|Eutropia]] if her mother was an unknown Afrania instead of empress Eutropia. Hillner argues that Afranius Hannibalianus was Eutropia's brother and that Theodora was the daughter of both Maximian and Eutropia. This is in line with John Vanderspoel.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Helena Augusta: Mother of the Empire |last=Hillner |first=Julia |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2023 |isbn=9780190875299 |pages=58|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6nWVEAAAQBAJ}}</ref>