It has been asserted that the usurper Magnus Maximus can be identified with the commander Maximus who served during the Gothic uprising of 376–77. This assertion is tempting because it connects imperial events in Africa, the Balkans and Britain during a pivotal period. However, this note aims to dispel this identification. It does so by both examining the socio-institutional ramifications of promotion in the imperial chain of command and cross-examining literary traditions previously overlooked in this identification.
