Licinius - Character & Legacy

Character & Legacy

Constantine made every effort to blacken the reputation of his imperial colleague. To this end, stories began circulating about Licinius’s cruelty. It was said that he had put to death Severianus, the son of the emperor Severus, as well as Candidianus, the son of Galerius. To this was added the execution of the wife and daughter of the Emperor Diocletian, who had fled from the court of Licinius before being discovered at Thessalonica. Much of this can be considered imperial propaganda on the part of Constantine.

In addition, as part of Constantine’s attempts to decrease Licinius’s popularity, he actively portrayed his brother-in-law as a pagan supporter. This was not the case; contemporary evidence tends to suggest that he was at least a committed supporter of Christians. He co-authored the Edict of Milan which ended the Great Persecution, and re-affirmed the rights of Christians in his half of the empire. He also added the Christian symbol to his armies, and attempted to regulate the affairs of the Church hierarchy just as Constantine and his successors were to do. His wife was a devout Christian. It is even a possibility that he converted. However, it's exactly on the matter of his regulation of Church affiars that Licinius’s name was dragged through the mud by Eusebius of Caesarea, who charges him with expelling Christians from the Palace and ordering military sacrifice, as well as interfering with the Church's internal procedures and organization. According to Eusebius, this turned what appeared to be a committed Christian into a man who feigned sympathy for the sect but who eventually exposed his true bloodthirsty pagan nature, only to be stopped by the virtuous Constantine.

Finally, on Licinius’s death, his memory was branded with infamy; his statues were thrown down; and by edict, all his laws and judicial proceedings during his reign were abolished.