[August 28] Magnus Maximus, emperor of Rome

Date of Birth: circa 335

Spouse(s): Elen, daughter of Octavius, king of the Britons

Predecessor: Gratian

Reign: 384 – 387

Summary: There are two stories of the life of Magnus Maximus, one of his exploits as a Roman, the other as his exploits as a Briton. In reality, nothing is known of the mane until 368 when he appeared in Britain as a junior officer in response to the Great Conspiracy. He soon moved to Africa where he served under Theodosius the Elder, father of Emperor Theodosius I, and then he went on to serve in the Danube campaign of 376. In 380, he was back in Britain defeating the Picts and Scots along Hadrian's Wall. Victories in Britain inspired his troops and in 383 he was proclaimed emperor by his army. He went to Gaul and began recruiting an army to secure his claim to the imperial throne. All of Britain was emptied out, with Magnus taking all the soldiers, armed recruits, governors, and youth from the colony. Near Paris, Magnus defeated Emperor Gratian and killed him near Lyon. He then marched on Rome where he stopped when the eastern emperor granted him the title of Augustus alongside Valentinian II, who ruled in Italy.

Magnus Maximus settled in Gaul and ruled Britain, Spain, and Northwest Africa as well. It is possible that Magnus was the person who started the office of Comes Britanniarum (Count of the Britons) which would one day factor into the Arthurian legend. As a Christian ruler, Magnus despised heretics and was the first recorded monarch to execute people for heresy. Magnus may have retained his position had he not become eager to depose Valentinian II, his co-ruler. He marched on Italy in 387 and Valentinian fled to Constantinople. The two emperors returned in summer 388 and defeated Magnus at the Battle of the Save. While he was gone, Franks had crossed the Rhine and invaded Gaul, surrounding Magnus with threats on all sides. Magnus finally surrendered to the two emperors and was summarily executed for his crimes. Most of his family was killed as well, though his mother and two daughters were spared. One of those daughters may have married Vortigern, the comes Britanniarum and possible king of the Britons. Welsh legend has much to say about Magnus Maximus, who may be the same person as Macsen Wledig, a legendary king of the Britons. Two prominent Welsh royal lines claim descent from Magnusa and Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote extensively about his reign where he ruled under the name Maximianus. 

Date of Death: 28 August 388
Successor: Theodosius I

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Leo V, king of Armenia (1341)
• Afonso V, king of Portugal (1481)
• Boris III, tsar of Bulgaria (1943)

[August 5] Gruffydd, king of the Britons

The united kingdom of Wales, c. 1058 CE

Parents: Llywelyn, king of Gwynedd & Powys

Date of Birth: circa 1007

House: Aberffraw

Spouse(s): Ealdgyth, daughter of Ælfgar, earl of Mercia, and Ælfgifu of Northumbria

Predecessor: Iago (in Gwynedd & Powys), Meurig (in Gwent), Gruffydd (in Mogannwg & Deheubarth)
Reign: 1055 – 1063

Summary: The only person since the Anglo-Saxon conquest to be the undisputed king of the Britons and ruler of all of modern-day Wales, Gruffydd was born into an optimistic time in Welsh history when Wales' fortunes seemed to be on the rise. A close relative, Iago, inherited Gwynedd and Powys when his father died since he was still a young teenager at the time. Iago died in 1039, killed by his own men and Gruffydd was able to gain the throne there. In Powys, he was already recognized as king under Iago. Within a few months of gaining power, Gruffydd surprised his Anglo neighbor, Mercia, by suddenly attacking a band of soldiers and annihilating them, including killing its leader, Edwin, the brother of the earl of Mercia. With his eastern neighbors confused, he attacked the southern kingdom of Debeubarth and defeated the king, Hywel, in open battle at Pencader. Gruffydd claimed the Debeubarth throne at this time though Hywel still was alive and attacked the kingdom in 1044 with a fleet of Danish mercenaries. In 1047, Gruffydd was expelled from Deheubarth by the king of Gwent, who then took the throne for himself. Gruffydd continued to harass England and southern Wales for the next eight years, though he made little progress in conquering lands in either. In 1055, he finally defeated his rival in Gwent and recaptured Deheubarth, gaining the throne of that kingdom and Gwent in the process. Gruffydd was now the uncontested king of the Britons of Wales.

As a powerful lord in the west, he allied himself with the earl of Mercia, the brother of the man he killed almost twenty years earlier. The earl, Ælfgar, had lost an earldom to Harold Godwinsson, the future king Harold II. Ahead of an army, the king and the earl sacked Hareford in 1055 and destroyed its castle. Peace was concluded soon after an Ælfgar was once again earl in East Anglia. As a necessity, Gruffydd completed his conquest of Wales by conquering Morgannwg, which had already been ruled as a vassal state. The English finally recognized him as the king of a united Wales in 1056, a feat accomplished by only a single native king. For six years, Wales had peace as Gruffydd made peace with King Edward the Confessor. But the death of his ally Ælfgar in 1062 caused the English to become more brave, and Harold was given permission to attack Gruffydd at his court in Rhuddlan. The Welsh king escaped just in time out to sea. The next year, Harold's brother Tostig marched on Wales a second time while Harold led a fleet to harry the shores. Gruffydd was overrun and forced to hide in the mountains of Snowdonia. Lost and abandoned by his people, Gruffydd was killed by his own men, possibly due to resentment against their force unification under one king. Gruffydd's head was sent to Harold as tribute and Harold married Gruffydd's widow, Ealdgyth. Wales was never united again and the Norman Conquest three years later was aided in Wales by the fact that Gruffydd's unified kingdom had broken apart three years prior.

Date of Death: 5 August 1063
Successor: Bleddyn (in Gwynedd & Powys), Cadwgan (in Gwent & Morgannwg), Maredudd (in Deheubarth) 

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Louis III, king of France (882)
• Kogon, emperor of Japan (1364)