| Maximus | |
|---|---|
| Usurper of the Western Roman Empire | |
| Reign | 409 - 411 (in Hispania only, in competition with Constantine III and Honorius); ? 420-2 (may or may not be same figure) |
Maximus was Roman usurper (409 - 411) in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula - modern Portugal and Spain). He had been elected by general Gerontius, who might have been his father. When the usurper Constantine III ordered his general Gerontius to resign his command in Hispania, Gerontius mutinied and installed Maximus. While in power, Maximus was involved in civil war against two other emperors, Constantine III and Honorius. In the first 18 months of his reign Gerontius's forces defeated, but did not destroy, Constantine's forces. Seeing the losses of the armies of the two usurpers, Honorius sent his general Constantius III with an army to attack both, in which Constantius was quite successful. After Gerontius's death in 411, defeated in the Battle of Arles by Constantius, Maximus forfeited his claims and entered a monastery. Another Maximus is recorded claiming the purple in Hispania, in 420-422; it is possible these two are the same.
