Galerius

Roman Emperor. He was born into a peasant family circa AD 250 and first worked as a herdsman, before joining the army, where he rose through the ranks to become a senior officer. In AD 293 he was chosen as Caesar in the Tetrachy established by the Emperor Diocletian, and held power in the Balkan provinces and also Asia Minor. In AD 296, he was called to the East to deal with a Persian invasion of Syria, and suffered a heavy defeat which led to the loss of the province of Mesopotamia. He finally defeated the Persians in AD 297, and a year later retook Mesopotamia and added new territory across the River Tigris to the Empire. He became joint Emperor with Constantius I on the abdication of Diocletian and Maximian in AD 305. When Constantius died on campaign in Britain he appointed Severus II as his new co ruler, but this provoked a rebellion by Maxentius, the son of Maximian, which resulted in Severus's death and a weakening of his own authority. In AD 311 he was overcome by a serious illness, possibly cancer, and executed many of his doctors for failing to cure him. He issued an edict from his death bed cancelling the persecution of the Christians, which has been interpreted as an attempt to escape divine retribution, he died a few days later. He had built a magnificent mausoleum on the Via Egnatia, but was instead buried at the Imperial Palace of Felix Romuliana.