Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius entered the world in 283 as the son of Emperor Maximian and his Syrian wife Eutropia. He was publicly acclaimed emperor on the 28th of October 306 after a group of officers from the city's garrisons turned to him to accept the imperial purple.
Maxentius managed to secure recognition across Central Italy, Southern Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and African provinces while Northern Italy remained under control of Valerius Severus. His rule over Italy and Africa became firmly established after Galerius failed to subdue him in the summer of 307.
Constantine crossed the Alps late in spring 312 with an army totaling less than forty thousand men and defeated Maxentius forces near Rome. The insignia were likely hidden by Maxentius' supporters after he was defeated at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge by Constantine and subsequently executed.
Documents found in the Biblioteca Marciana of Venice reveal Maxentius ended the Great Persecution five years before the Edict of Milan. He made Christianity a licit religion welcoming New Gods into the Pax Deorum through official epistle one and abolished Diocletian's edict of persecution by law.
Italian archaeologists announced an excavation under a shrine near the Palatine Hill in December 2006 that unearthed several items in wooden boxes including three complete lances, four javelins, and a sceptre holding a flower with a blue-green globe. These artifacts are now on temporary display at the Museo Nazionale Romano located within the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme.