Flavius Valerius Severus (died September 307), also called Severus II, was a Roman emperor from 306 to 307. After failing to besiege Rome, he fled to Ravenna. It is thought that he was killed there or executed near Rome.

Background and early career

Severus was of humble birth, born in Northern

Illyria In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...

around the middle of the third century. A friend of emperor Galerius, he rose to become a senior officer in the Roman army, being nominated as ''

caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...

'' of the Western Roman Empire. According to

Lactantius Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius (c. 250 – c. 325) was an early Christian author who became an advisor to Roman emperor, Constantine I, guiding his Christian religious policy in its initial stages of emergence, and a tutor to his son Cr ...

, Diocletian objected to Galerius's suggestion, saying in response, "What! That dancer, that habitual drunkard who turns night into day and day into night?" Galerius persisted, saying that Severus has served faithfully as paymaster and purveyor of the army.

(4th century). Lord Hailes (transl.) (2021)
On the Deaths of the Persecutors
'. Evolution Publishing, Merchantville, NJ , pp. 31-47 Diocletian acquiesced and Severus succeeded to the post of ''caesar'' on 1 May 305, thus becoming the junior colleague of Constantius I, '' augustus'' of the western half of empire.

Augustus, 306–307

On the death of Constantius I in Britain in the summer of 306, Severus was promoted to '' augustus'' by Galerius. This was done as a reaction to the acclamation of

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea ...

(Constantius' son) by his own soldiers at York. Lactantius reports that Galerius had done this to promote the older man to the higher office, while accepting the imperial symbols of Constantine and accepting him as a member of the Tetrarchy, albeit with the rank of ''caesar''. When

Maxentius Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius (c. 283 – 28 October 312) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 306 until his death in 312. Despite ruling in Italy and North Africa, and having the recognition of the Senate in Rome, he was not recognized ...

, the son of the retired emperor

Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...

, revolted at Rome, Galerius sent Severus to suppress the rebellion. Severus moved towards Rome from his capital, Mediolanum, at the head of an army previously commanded by Maximian. Fearing the arrival of Severus, Maxentius offered Maximian the co-rule of the empire. Maximian accepted, and when Severus arrived under the walls of Rome and besieged it, his men deserted to Maximian, their old commander. Severus fled to Ravenna, an impregnable position. Maximian offered to spare his life and treat him humanely if he surrendered peaceably, which he did in March or April 307. Despite Maximian's assurance, Severus was nonetheless displayed as a captive and later imprisoned at Tres Tabernae. One belief is that when Galerius himself invaded Italy to suppress Maxentius and Maximian, the former ordered Severus's death, and that he was executed on September 307 at ''Tres Tabernae'', near the current Cisterna di Latina. Lactantius reports that he was permitted to kill himself by opening his veins. Another belief is that Severus II was killed in Ravenna. '' Annales Ecclesiastici'', vol. 1, pp. 769-770 Severus was survived by his son Flavius Severianus, but he was eventually killed during his war against Licinius.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Severus, Flavius Valerius 3rd-century births 307 deaths 4th-century Roman emperors Constantinian dynasty Imperial Roman consuls Tetrarchy Valerii