Gaius Cassius Regallianus
[This name is written "Regallianus" on the external side of table I of the military diploma, while on the internal side of the table II it is written as "Regalianus".] was a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
active around AD 200. He was appointed
consul suffectus in 202 as the colleague of
Titus Murenius Severus.
Both Regallianus and his colleague were unknown to historians until the publication in 2001 of a
military diploma. This discovery, and especially Regallianus' existence, attracted attention, for previously the only known occurrence of the ''cognomen'' "Regal(l)ianus" is that of a usurper,
Regalianus, who in 260 revolted against the emperor
Gallienus, in the area of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
. He is known only by the coins he had struck and a passage in the unreliable ''
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 sim ...
''. The coins minted from the usurper bear his name as
P C REGALIANVS, whose ''nomen'' is usually expanded as ''Cornelius'', although other possibilities are not excluded.
The presence, in the early 3rd century, of a consul with the rare ''cognomen'' Regalianus and belonging to a family whose name begins with 'C' opens the way to some interesting possibilities. A Regalianus descended from this consul might have been appointed governor of
Moesia
Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...
or
Pannonia
Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...
, and have rebelled against Gallienus. This would also solve a problem raised by the ''Historia'', which states Regalianus was of equestrian rank, while his governorship required the senatorial rank, as did the consulate.
See also
*
Regalianus
Notes
References
* Pferdehirt, Barbara,"Vier neue Militärdiplome im Besitz des Römisch-Germanischen Zenralmuseums", ''Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt'', 2001.
*
Eck, Werner"Prosopographische Bemerkungen zum Militärdiplom vom 20.12.202 n. Chr. Der Flottenpräfekt Aemilius Sullectinus und das Gentilnomen des Usurpators Regalianus" ''
Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik
The ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' (commonly abbreviated ZPE; "Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy") is a peer-reviewed academic journal which contains articles that pertain to papyrology and epigraphy. It has been described as "th ...
'', 139 (2002), pp. 208–210.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassius Regallianus, Gaius
3rd-century Romans
Imperial Roman consuls
Regallianus, Gaius