Flavius Victor was the son of Magnus Maximus

Magnus Maximus

Magnus Maximus , also known as Maximianus and Macsen Wledig in Welsh, was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388. As commander of Britain, he usurped the throne against Emperor Gratian in 383...

 by his wife Elen, allegedly the daughter of Octavius. He was proclaimed an Augustus by his father and ruled nominally from 384 to his death in 388.

Victor's father was considered an usurper of the Western Roman Empire

Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....

. He negotiated receiving recognition by the legitimate Augusti Valentinian II

Valentinian II

Flavius Valentinianus , commonly known as Valentinian II, was Roman Emperor from 375 to 392.-Early Life and Accession :...

 and Theodosius I

Theodosius I

Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...

 and, when these negotiations failed, pressed the matter by proclaiming his son an Augustus, indicating an attempt to secure a succession. This method had been used by former Emperor Valentinian I

Valentinian I

Valentinian I , also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west....

 who declared his son and heir Gratian

Gratian

Gratian was Roman Emperor from 375 to 383.The eldest son of Valentinian I, during his youth Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian's brother Valentinian II was declared emperor by his father's soldiers...

 an Augustus in 367 and by Theodosius who had declared his own son and heir Arcadius

Arcadius

Arcadius was the Byzantine Emperor from 395 to his death. He was the eldest son of Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the Western Emperor Honorius...

 an Augustus in 383.

Maximus and Victor gained recognition of their legitimacy for their co-reign by Theodosius in 386. In 387, Maximus campaigned in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 against Valentinian II. Victor was left behind in Trier

Trier

Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....

. His father defeated Valentinian but failed against a then hostile Theodosius in 388. Theodosius sent Arbogastes to Trier to slay Victor.

Victor's death left Valentinian II, Theodosius and Arcadius as the sole Augusti in the Empire.

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