Mhernotehtml

[[1]]When Maxentius was a private citizen, his full name was Marcus Valerius Maxentius (ILS, 666); he only adopted the fuller name after his acclamation(ILS, 669-671); such variations, however, as Marcus Valerius Maxentius (CIL, 10.6836; ILS, 672), Gaius Valerius Maxentius(CIL, 10.6868), and Gaius Aurelius Valerius Maxentius (CIL 8.22346) appear on inscriptions.

For a listing of sources on Maxentius' background and family life, see A.H.M. Jones, J.R. Martindale, and J. Morris, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, [Cambridge, 1971], s.v. "M. Aur. Val. Maxentius 5" 1.571, Mats Cullhed, Conservator Urbis Suae: Studies in the Politics and Propoganda of the Emperor Maxentius, (Stockholm, 1994), 14ff, and T.D. Barnes, New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine, (Cambridge, 1982), 12ff, 34ff.

Although there is a tradition that he was a bastard, it is likely that this is nothing but Constantinian propaganda(PLRE, 1.573)

Barnes discussed the various possibilities for the date of Maxentius' birth(New Empire, 34-35).

[[2]]Maxentius' acclamation is discussed, for example, by Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 28ff, Cullhed, 32ff, Wm. Ennslin, RE 14, s.v. "Maximianus (2)," col. 2519.47ff, andidem, RE 7, s.v. "Valerius (Diocletianus) (142)," col. 2439.22ff, and I. König, Origo Constantini: Anonymus Valesianus, (Trier, 1987), 82ff

For listing of the chronology of Maxentius' reign, see Dietmar Kienast, Römische Kaisertabelle, (Darmstadt, 1990), 287ff.

[[3]]For a discussion of Galerius' invasion of Italy, see, for wxample, Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 31ff, and E Groag, RE 14, col.2430.48ff.

Elsewhere Arnold and I have written, " For a discussion of the various theories about Maximianus' plots against Constantine I, see W. Huss, "Das Ende des Maximianus," in Latomus, 37(1978), pp. 719ff; the best introduction to the sources which treat Herculius' last days remains Moreau's commentary on Lactantius De mortibus persecutorum(J Moreau [ed.], De la mort des persécuteurs, Paris, 1954, II, pp. 366ff.)." (Michael DiMaio and Duane Arnold, "Per Vim, Per Caedem, Per Bellum: A Study of Murder and Ecclesiastical Politics in the Year 337 A.D.," Byzantion, 62[1992], 175, n.113)

[[4]]For a discussion of the revolt of Alexander, see Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 33ff; for a listing of the recent scholarship on Alexander's revolt, see Kienast, Römische Kaisertabelle, 289.

[[5]]For a discussion of the Batle of the Milvian Bridge, the sources that treat it, and the character of Maxentius, see Michael DiMaio, Jörn Zeuge, and Natalia Zotov, "Ambiguitas Constantiniana: the Caeleste Signum Dei of Constantine the Great," Byzantion, 58(1989), 333ff.