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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;jcbrown, post: 3327906, member: 99433&quot;]According to sources, Maximinus entered service under Severus.&nbsp; He was in personal and direct service to Severus, Caracalla and Elagabalus prior to assuming the purple.&nbsp; You may enjoy some of the stories of his rise under Severus.&nbsp; Whether the stories are completely accurate is debatable.</p><p><br /></p><p>Per Historia Augusta (I call it fairy tales, but it&#039;s what we have.)&nbsp; &quot; It was in the following way that he first came into prominence in the reign of Severus. Severus, on the birthday of Geta, his younger son, was giving military games, offering various silver prizes, arm-rings, that is, and collars, and girdles. This youth, half barbarian and scarcely yet master of the Latin tongue, speaking almost pure Thracian, publicly besought the Emperor to give him leave to compete, and that with men of no mean rank in the service. Severus, struck with his bodily size, pitted him first against sutlers — all very valorous men, none the less — in order to avoid a rupture of military discipline. Whereupon Maximinus overcame sixteen sutlers at one sweat, and received his sixteen prizes, all rather small and not military ones, and was commanded to serve in the army. The second day thereafter, when Severus had proceeded to the parade-ground, he happened to espy Maximinus rioting in his barbarian way among the crowd, and immediately ordered the tribune to take him in hand and school him in Roman discipline. And he, when he perceived that the Emperor was talking about him — for the barbarian suspected that he was known to the Emperor and conspicuous even among many —, came up to the Emperor&#039;s feet where he sat his horse. And then Severus, wishing to try how good he was at running, gave his horse free rein and circled about many times, and when at last the aged Emperor had become weary and Maximinus after many turns had not stopped running, he said to him, &quot;What say you, my little Thracian? Would you like to wrestle now after your running?&quot; And Maximinus answered, &quot;As you please, Emperor.&quot; On this Severus dismounted and ordered the most vigorous and the bravest soldiers to match themselves with him; whereupon he, in his usual fashion, vanquished seven at one sweat, and alone of all, after he had gotten his silver prizes, was presented by Severus with a collar of gold; he was ordered, moreover, to take a permanent post in the palace with the body-guard. In this fashion, then, he was made prominent and became famous among the soldiers, well liked by the tribunes, and admired by his comrades. He could obtain from the Emperor whatever he wanted, and indeed Severus helped him to advancement in the service when he was still very young. In height and size and proportions, in his great eyes, and in whiteness of skin he was pre-eminent among all.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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