
Magnus Maximus (339-28 August 388), also known as Macsen Wledig, was Western Roman Emperor from 384 to 388, succeeding Gratian and preceding Theodosius I. He was also King of Gliwissig from 360 to 380 (succeeding Gwrgant ap Arthfael and preceding Owain Finddu) and King of Deheubarth from 360 to 380 (preceding Annwn Dynod).
Biography[]
Magnus Maximus was born in Gallaecia, Western Roman Empire in 339 AD, a distant relative of Theodosius I. He served under Count Theodosius in North Africa in 373 and on the Danube in 376, and he came to be known as a greedy and reckless general in the Roman Army. In 380, he was sent to Roman Britain, where he repelled a Pictish and Scottish invasion in 381. He became popular among his troops due to the emperor Gratian's unpopularity; in 383, his troops proclaimed him emperor, and he made his son Flavius Victor co-emperor. Magnus led a large portion of the Britannia garrison to invade Roman Gaul, and he defeated Gratian after five days of skirmishing near Paris; Gratian was murdered at Lyon on 25 August. Magnus Maximus then invaded Italy, but Theodosius I intervened before he could depose the young Valentinian II. In 384, Bishop Ambrose of Milan negotiated a peace between the rival emperors, and Magnus Maximus was recognized as emperor in the west. In 387, he forced Valentinian out of Mediolanium, forcing him to flee to Theodosius. Theodosius and Valentinian defeated Magnus Maximus at the Battle of the Save in 388, forcing him to retreat to Aquileia. At the same time, Marcomer's Franks invaded and conquered northern Gaul. Magnus Maximus was forced to surrender at Aquileia, and, although he pleaded for mercy, he was executed.
Legacy[]
Magnus Maximus was also the first King of Deheubarth, having ruled over that region during his service in Britain. He and Saint Elen fathered Annwn Dynod, Owain Finddu, Flavius Victor, Severa ferch Macsen, Flavius Claudius Constantinus, Gratianna ferch Macsen, Tudwal ap Macsen, and Ednyfed ap Macsen; he was thus the father-in-law of Vortigern, the father of two Roman emperors, the grandfather of Ambrosius Aurelianus, the great-grandfather of Uther Pendragon, and the great-great-grandfather of King Arthur.