There was every reason for Constantine to move swiftly with all the troops he could safely take from duty along the Rhine, since Maximian’s next move would undoubtedly be the formation of a pact with Maxentius in Rome, giving the two of them control of the entire western half of the Empire. That accomplished, they could then attack Licinius and seize the fertile provinces of Illyr icum before Galerius would be in a position to mount any serious opposition.
Less than a week was required for the descent by water to Arles, but word of Constantine’s coming reached Maximian when someone along the river saw the giant armada floating southward and rode night and day to warn him, sure of gaining a reward. By the time Constantine reached Arles, his fatherinlaw had retreated to Massilia on the coast, taking Fausta and her little daughter with him.
Heavily fortified Constantine
Since Massilia was heavily fortified Constantine decided upon a different tactic than the usual direct assault. Accompanied only by a driver and a trumpeter, he was driven back and forth in his golden chariot before the walls of the city, standing in the vehicle with his cloak of imperial purple billowing out behind him, while he shouted a command for the legions in Massilia to seize the city in his name. When there was no immediate response from Massilia, he reluctantly ordered preparations for an attack the following day. But just before midnight there was a stir in the camp and a cloaked feminine figure, accompanied by a detail of soldiers and a servant bearing a blanketwrapped bundle, came to his tent. It was Fausta with their little daughter.
“You’ve not been harmed?” Constantine asked quickly.
“By my own father?” she demanded, apparently blaming him because she had been routed out in the middle of the night. “What kind of monsters do you think we are in my family?”
Constantine knew well from actual experience what kind of monsters there were in her family, and that they must be destroyed. But happy to have her and the child back, he ignored the sharp note in her voice.
“Thank God, you’re safe anyway,” he said.
“The gods deserve no thanks,” she said tartly. “Father sent me to you.”
“Why?”
“What else would you expect? He only seized control because we received word that you were dead. He was afraid some of your generals might have the same idea.”
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