Usurpation of Magnus Maximus

Magnus Maximus was a commander in Britain who was proclaimed emperor by his troops in 383. He crossed to Gaul, defeated Gratian and established control over Britain, Gaul and Spain while Valentinian II retained other western territories.

Theodosius initially reached an accommodation with Maximus, but conflict resumed when Maximus invaded Italy in 387. Theodosius defeated him in 388 and had him executed. The episode drained Britain of troops and became part of later British and Welsh historical memory.

Wolf and the Crown and Tribune and the Sword use the rise of Maximus to turn frontier soldiers into participants in imperial politics. The usurpation supports fiction about army loyalty, ambition, civil war and the dangerous prestige of a successful frontier commander.