Maximinus II

Born Daza around 270, he entered the imperial power structure in 305 when his uncle Galerius made him caesar — a move resented enough to help trigger the Tetrarchy's collapse into civil war the next year. He declared himself augustus in 310, ruling uneasily alongside Licinius while launching one of the final waves of Christian persecution as a devoted pagan. In 313 he broke with Licinius outright and met him at the Battle of Tzirallum, where his forces were crushed. He died that July in retreat, having just issued an edict granting Christians the tolerance he'd spent years denying them.