Severus, Flavius Valerius
Roman emperor in 306 and 307.
After serving as an army officer in Pannonia (present-day western Hungary and northern Croatia and Slovenia), Severus was appointed, on May 1, 305, caesar (junior emperor) to the emperor Constantius I Chlorus (ruled 305–306) and given control of Pannonia, Italy, and Africa. Upon Constantius' death (July 25, 306), Severus was made augustus of the West by the remaining emperor, Galerius, who controlled the East. But the new ruler became unpopular when he imposed higher taxes on the people of Rome and of Italy. On Oct. 28, 306, a revolt broke out in Rome, led by Maxentius, son of the former emperor Maximian, who had abdicated in 305. The following spring Severus marched upon Rome from Mediolanum, but his troops deserted him and he was forced to take refuge in Ravenna. He surrendered to Maximian on condition that his life be spared, but shortly afterward he was executed.