Marcus Claudius Tacitus (; died June 276) was
Roman emperor from 275 to 276. During his short reign he campaigned against the
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
and the
Heruli
The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Roman authors as one of several " Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, attacking ...
, for which he received the title ''Gothicus Maximus''.
Early life
His early life is largely unknown. An origin story which claimed Tacitus to be the heir of an old
Umbria
it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, ...
n family and one of the wealthiest men of the empire with a total wealth of 280 million sestertii circulated after his coronation. His faction distributed copies of the historian
Publius Cornelius Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
' work, which was barely read at the time, perhaps contributing to its partial survival. Modern historiography rejects his alleged descent from the historian as a fabrication. It is more likely that he emerged from the
Illyrian military, which made him a representative of the army in imperial politics.
In the course of his long life he held various civil offices, including the
consulship
A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...
twice, once under
Valerian and again in 273, earning universal respect.
Emperor
After the assassination of
Aurelian, the army, apparently showing remorse towards its role in the death of the beloved emperor, relinquished the right of choosing his successor to the
Senate. After a few weeks, the throne was offered to the aged ''Princeps Senatus'', Tacitus.
According to the ''
Historia Augusta'', Tacitus, after ascertaining the sincerity of the Senate's regard for him, accepted their nomination on 25 September 275, and the choice was cordially ratified by the army.
If true, Tacitus would have been the last emperor elected by the Senate. However, it's possible that much of this narrative is fictitious, as
Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to:
People
*
* Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints
* Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy
* Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alchem ...
and
Zonaras
Joannes or John Zonaras ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Ζωναρᾶς ; 1070 – 1140) was a Byzantine Greek historian, chronicler and theologian who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held th ...
report that Tacitus was actually proclaimed by the army without any intervention of the Senate. His proclamation as emperor should have happened in late November or early December.
In older historiography, it was generally accepted that Aurelian's wife,
Ulpia Severina
Ulpia Severina was Roman empress as the wife of Roman emperor Aurelian from 270 to 275. Severina is unmentioned in surviving literary sources and known only from coinage and inscriptions and as a result, very little is known about her. Her Ulpia ...
, ruled in her own right before the election of Tacitus which could indicate an interregnum which lasted as long as six months.
Contemporary bibliography considers that no interregnum may have existed between Aurelian's death and the coronation of the new Emperor. Tacitus had been living in
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demog ...
before his election, and returned only reluctantly to the assembly of the Senate in Rome, where he was elected. He immediately asked the Senators to deify Aurelian, before arresting and executing Aurelian's murderers.
[Southern, pg. 127] In ancient sources, he was described as very old at that time, but in reality he was possibly in his fifties.
Amongst the highest concerns of the new reign was the restoration of the ancient Senatorial powers. He granted substantial prerogatives to the
Senate, securing to them by law the appointment of the emperor, of the consuls, and the provincial governors, as well as supreme right of appeal from every court in the empire in its judicial function, and the direction of certain branches of the revenue in its long-abeyant administrative capacity.
Probus respected these changes, but after the reforms of
Diocletian in the succeeding decades not a vestige would be left of them.
Fighting barbarians
Next he moved against the barbarian mercenaries that had been gathered by Aurelian to supplement Roman forces for his Eastern campaign. These mercenaries had plundered several towns in the Eastern Roman provinces after Aurelian had been murdered and the campaign cancelled. His half-brother, the Praetorian Prefect
Florian, and Tacitus himself won a victory against these tribes, among which were the
Heruli
The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Roman authors as one of several " Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, attacking ...
, gaining the emperor the title ''Gothicus Maximus''.
Death
On his way back to the west to deal with a
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
and
Alamannic invasion of
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
, according to
Aurelius Victor
Sextus Aurelius Victor (c. 320 – c. 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. Victor was the author of a short history of imperial Rome, entitled ''De Caesaribus'' and covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. The work ...
,
Eutropius and the
Historia Augusta, Tacitus died of fever at
Tyana
Tyana ( grc, Τύανα), earlier known as Tuwana ( Hieroglyphic Luwian: ; Akkadian: ) and Tuwanuwa ( Hittite: ) was an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern Kemerhisar, Niğde Province, Central Anatolia, Turkey. It w ...
in
Cappadocia
Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde.
According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...
around June 276, after a rule of just over 6 months. In a contrary account,
Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to:
People
*
* Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints
* Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy
* Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alchem ...
claims he was assassinated, after appointing one of his relatives to an important command in
Syria.
[Zosimus, I:63:2]
References
Sources
Ancient sources
*
Historia Augusta, ''Vita Taciti''
English translation*
Eutropius, ''Breviarium ab urbe condita'', ix. 16
English translation*
Aurelius Victor
Sextus Aurelius Victor (c. 320 – c. 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. Victor was the author of a short history of imperial Rome, entitled ''De Caesaribus'' and covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. The work ...
,'' "Epitome de Caesaribus"''
English translation*
Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to:
People
*
* Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints
* Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy
* Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alchem ...
, ''"Historia Nova"''
English translation*
Joannes Zonaras, Compendium of Histor
extract: Zonaras: Alexander Severus to Diocletian: 222–284
Secondary sources
*
*
*
* Southern, Pat. The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine, Routledge, 2001
*Gibbon. Edward ''Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire'' (1888)
*
Further reading
*
Constantine P. Cavafy
Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Πέτρου Καβάφης ; April 29 (April 17, OS), 1863 – April 29, 1933), known, especially in English, as Constantine P. Cavafy and often published as C. P. Cavafy (), was a Gree ...
, ''The Complete Poems'', Harcourt, Brace & World (1961), p. 201
*
Alan Dugan
Alan Dugan (February 12, 1923 – September 3, 2003) was an American poet.
His first volume ''Poems'' published in 1961 was a chosen by the Yale Series of Younger Poets and went on to win the National Book Award for Poetry and the Pulitzer P ...
, ''Poems 2'', Yale University Press (1963), p. 33
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tacitus
200 births
276 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
3rd-century Roman emperors
3rd-century murdered monarchs
Illyrian people
Imperial Roman consuls
Crisis of the Third Century
Claudii
Murdered Roman emperors
Gothicus Maximus