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Saturninus (253–268)
The Gallienus usurpers were the usurpers who claimed imperial power during the reign of Gallienus (253–268, the first part of which he shared with his father Valerian). The existence of usurpers during the Crisis of the Third Century was very common, and the high number of usurpers fought by Gallienus is due to his long rule; fifteen years was a long reign by the standards of the 3rd century Roman Empire. Uprisings after the defeat of Valerian After Valerian's defeat and capture by the Persians in 260, his son Gallienus became the only emperor. However, many uprisings happened, both in the East, with the formation of the Palmyrene Empire, and in the West, with the birth of the Gallic Empire. With the uncertainty of the period, the legions wanted to restore Roman power in the wake of Valerian's defeat, against the pressure of the barbarian people in the west and the Persians in the East. Usurpers in the West * 260: Ingenuus – Chosen by the population and the army of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Usurper
Roman usurpers were individuals or groups of individuals who obtained or tried to obtain power by force and without legitimate legal authority. Usurpation was endemic during the Roman imperial era, especially from the crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the rule. The first dynasty of the Roman Empire, the Julio-Claudians (27 BC – 68 AD), justified the imperial throne by familial ties, namely with the connection (although only through adoption) with Augustus, the first emperor. Eventually, conflicts within the Julio-Claudian family triggered a series of murders, which led to the demise of the line. Nero died with public enemy status, and following his suicide, a short civil war began, known as the Year of the Four Emperors. The Flavian dynasty started with Vespasian, only to end with the assassination of his second son, Domitian. The 2nd century was a period of relative peace that was marked by the rule of the so-called Five Good Emperors, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claudius Gothicus
Marcus Aurelius Claudius "Gothicus" (10 May 214 – January/April 270), also known as Claudius II, was Roman emperor from 268 to 270. During his reign he fought successfully against the Alemanni and decisively defeated the Goths at the Battle of Naissus. He died after succumbing to a "pestilence", possibly the Plague of Cyprian that had ravaged the provinces of the Empire. Early life and origin The most significant source for Claudius II is the collection of imperial biographies called the '' Historia Augusta''. However, his story, like the rest of the ''Historia Augusta'', is riddled with fabrications and obsequious praises. In 4th century, Claudius was declared a relative of Constantine the Great's father, Constantius Chlorus, and, consequently, of the ruling dynasty. The ''Historia Augusta'' should be used with extreme caution and supplemented with information from other sources: the works of Aurelius Victor, Pseudo-Aurelius Victor, Eutropius, Orosius, Joannes Zonaras, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aegyptus Province
In Greek mythology, Aegyptus or Ægyptus (; grc, Αἴγυπτος) was a legendary king of ancient Egypt. He was a descendant of the princess Io through his father Belus, and of the river-god Nilus as both the father of Achiroe, his mother and as a great, great grandfather on his father's side. Family Aegyptos was the son of King Belus of Egypt and Achiroe, a naiad daughter of Nile, or of Sida, eponym of Sidon. He was the twin brother of Danaus, king of Libya while Euripides adds two others, Cepheus, king of Ethiopia and Phineus, betrothed of Andromeda. He may be the same or different from another Aegyptus who was called the son of Zeus and Thebe.Tzetzes on Lycophron, ''Alexandra'' 1206 Aegyptus fathered fifty sons by different women: six of whom by a woman of royal blood called Argyphia; ten by an Arabian woman; seven by a Phoenician woman; three by Tyria; twelve by the naiad Caliadne; six by Gorgo and lastly another six by Hephaestine. According to Hippostratu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mussius Aemilianus
Lucius Mussius Aemilianus '' signo'' Aegippius (died 261 or 262) who held a number of military and civilian positions during the middle of the third century. He is best known as a Roman usurper during the reign of Gallienus. Sources The sources for this emperor include Eusebius, ''Ecclesiae Historia'' 7.11; ''Epitome de Caesaribus'', 32.4; ''Historia Augusta'', "Gallienus" 4.1-2, 5.6, 9.1; " Tyranni Triginta" 22.1-8, as well as several papyri and one inscription. Career Mussius Aemilianus probably was of Italian stock. His career in imperial service is documented up to 18 May 247 from an inscription recovered at Fiumicino. Appointments he held up to that date include ''praefectus vehiculorum trium provinciarum Galliarum'', ''procurator Alexandreae Pelusi'' and a third location (now lost), ''procurator portus utriusque Ostiae''. Valerian appointed him ''Praefectus'' of Roman Egypt, a position he held from possibly as early as 256 to 261. While the primary concern of the g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Historia Augusta
The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the similar work of Suetonius, ''The Twelve Caesars'', it presents itself as a compilation of works by six different authors (collectively known as the ''Scriptores Historiae Augustae''), written during the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine I and addressed to those emperors or other important personages in Ancient Rome. The collection, as extant, comprises thirty biographies, most of which contain the life of a single emperor, but some include a group of two or more, grouped together merely because these emperors were either similar or contemporaneous. The true authorship of the work, its actual date, its reliability and its purpose have long been matters for controversy by historians and scholars ever since Hermann Dessau, in 1889, rejected ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Achaea
Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The capital is Patras which is the third largest city in Greece. Geography Achaea is bordered by Elis to the west and southwest, Arcadia to the south, and Corinthia to the east and southeast. The Gulf of Corinth lies to its northeast, and the Gulf of Patras to its northwest. The mountain Panachaiko (1926 m), though not the highest of Achaea, dominates the coastal area near Patras. Higher mountains are found in the south, such as Aroania (2341 m) and Erymanthos (2224 m). Other mountain ranges in Achaea are Skollis, Omplos, Kombovouni and Movri. Its main rivers ordered from west to east are the Larissos, Tytheus, Peiros, Charadros, Selinountas and Vouraikos. Most of the forests are in the mountain ranges, though several ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valens Thessalonicus
Valens Thessalonicus was a Roman usurper during the reign of Emperor Gallienus. Background In June 260, Persian king Shāpūr I defeated and took Valerian (emperor), Emperor Valerian captive at Edessa in Roman Mesopotamia. Valerian's son, Gallienus who had ruled jointly with his father, immediately became the sole Roman emperor. Gallienus, however, ruled the western portion of the empire and was far away from the threats of the East. Without Valerian in the east, the border populations and their legions felt vulnerable and elected their own emperors to guarantee they would have leaders against foreign threats. After the capture of Valerian, the legions of Pannonia threw off their allegiance to Gallienus and proclaimed Ingenuus, their military commander, emperor. After Gallienus put down this rebellion and returned to Italy to deal with the Alemannic invasion, another Roman general in Pannonia, Regalianus, would attempt to take the throne. Meanwhile, in Syria, Macrianus Major, o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi (usurper)
Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi ( 261 AD) was probably a Roman general whom the imperial pretender Macrianus Major sent to suppress the governor of Achaia, Valens Thessalonicus. His existence is attested only by the unreliable ''Historia Augusta'', which labels Piso as one of several usurpers who plagued the reign of Emperor Gallienus. While some historians grudgingly regard Piso as a historical figure, many reported details of his life, including his usurpation, are dismissed as fabrications. Background In June 260, Persian king Shāpūr I defeated and took Emperor Valerian captive at Edessa in Roman Mesopotamia. Valerian's son, Gallienus who had ruled jointly with his father, immediately became the sole Roman emperor. Gallienus, however, ruled the western portion of the empire and was far away from the threats of the East. Without Valerian in the east, the border populations and their legions felt vulnerable and elected their own emperors to guarantee they would have leaders agai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palmyra
Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second millennium BC. Palmyra changed hands on a number of occasions between different empires before becoming a subject of the Roman Empire in the first century AD. The city grew wealthy from trade caravans; the Palmyrenes became renowned as merchants who established colonies along the Silk Road and operated throughout the Roman Empire. Palmyra's wealth enabled the construction of monumental projects, such as the Great Colonnade, the Temple of Bel, and the distinctive tower tombs. Ethnically, the Palmyrenes combined elements of Amorites, Arameans, and Arabs. The city's social structure was tribal, and its inhabitants spoke Palmyrene Aramaic, a variety of Western Middle Aramaic, while using Koine Greek for commercial and diplomatic purposes. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odaenathus
Septimius Odaenathus (Palmyrene Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; ar, أذينة, translit=Uḏaina; 220 – 267) was the founder king ( ''Mlk'') of the Palmyrene Kingdom who ruled from Palmyra, Syria. He elevated the status of his kingdom from a regional center subordinate to Rome into a formidable state in the Near East. Odaenathus was born into an aristocratic Palmyrene family that had received Roman citizenship in the 190s under the Severan dynasty. He was the son of Hairan, the descendant of Nasor. The circumstances surrounding his rise are ambiguous; he became the lord (''ras'') of the city, a position created for him, as early as the 240s and by 258, he was styled a ''consularis'', indicating a high status in the Roman Empire. The defeat and captivity of Emperor Valerian at the hands of the Sassanian emperor Shapur I in 260 left the eastern Roman provinces largely at the mercy of the Persians. Odaenathus remained on the side of Rome; assuming the title of king, he led the Pal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prefect
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's office, department, or area of control is called a prefecture, but in various post-Roman empire cases there is a prefect without a prefecture or ''vice versa''. The words "prefect" and "prefecture" are also used, more or less conventionally, to render analogous words in other languages, especially Romance languages. Ancient Rome ''Praefectus'' was the formal title of many, fairly low to high-ranking officials in ancient Rome, whose authority was not embodied in their person (as it was with elected Magistrates) but conferred by delegation from a higher authority. They did have some authority in their prefecture such as controlling prisons and in civil administration. Feudal times Especially in Medieval Latin, ''præfectus'' was used to r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balista
Balista or Ballista (died ''c.'' 261), also known in the sources with the name of "Callistus", was one of the Thirty Tyrants of the controversial ''Historia Augusta'', and supported the rebellion of the Macriani against Emperor Gallienus. History Balista was the praetorian prefect under Valerian. After the Persian Empire defeated and captured that emperor in the Battle of Edessa, a body of Roman troops was rallied by a fiscal officer, Macrianus, and Balista. Joined, in some accounts, by Odaenathus, the ''Lord of Palmyra'', they routed the Persian army that was returning from the ravaging of Cilicia. Then Macrianus proclaimed his sons, Macrianus Minor and Quietus, as emperors.D.S.Potter (2004), p.256 He stayed with Quietus in the East, while Macrianus and his elder son moved with the army against the West. In the Balkans, Macrianus were routed by the commander of Roman cavalry, Aureolus, a general loyal to Gallienus, and killed. Then, according to some accounts, Gallienus i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
