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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Curtis, post: 1319163, member: 26430&quot;]That&#039;s very interesting about Magnus! </p><p><br /></p><p>To be honest, I tried to read what I could easily access about him when I first found I had a Magnus Maximus, and found little mention except of his rise as a successful and popular general in Gaul (where, true to Roman form, he decided that was sufficient to proclaim himself Augustus), followed by a (winning) power struggle with Gratian, and a (losing) one with Theodosius &amp; Valentinian II.</p><p><br /></p><p>If Wikipedia can be trusted, then you&#039;re right: He persecuted the &quot;Priscillianists&quot; as Christian heretics, the first ever to do so, killing at least 7. This may have been politically motivated to curry favor with the Pope and Bishops, since his main claim to power seems to have been the ability to take it by force from Gratian. It sounds as if the Priscillianists were executed while trying to appeal to Gratian for mercy (he had sent them into exile), but in the meantime Mag Max had taken his place. (It&#039;s still unclear to me how directly involved Mag Max was in Gratian&#039;s assassination, but it any case, I doubt it pleased his brother Val II, or Theo, whose rule owed to his relationship with Gratian).</p><p><br /></p><p>Also according to Wiki: He also censured orthodox Christians for burning a Jewish synagogue.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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