Heraclianus ( grc, Ἡρακλειανὸς, ''Herakleianòs''; died 7 March 413) was a provincial governor and a usurper of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
(412–413) opposed to Emperor
Honorius, who had originally brought him to power. Heraclianus helped put down a rebellion by
Priscus Attalus
Priscus Attalus (Greek: Πρίσκος Άτταλος, died after 416) was twice Roman usurper (in 409–10 and in 414–15), against Emperor Honorius, with Visigothic support. He was the last non-Christian pretender to the Roman imperial offi ...
. However, he decided to stage his own rebellion and during his invasion of the Italian peninsula, was either defeated in battle or captured and executed.
Biography
Opposition to Priscus Attalus
The first known act of Heraclianus was the killing of the powerful ''
Magister militum
(Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...
''
Stilicho
Flavius Stilicho (; c. 359 – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosius ...
(22 August 408) for Emperor
Honorius, who wanted to remove his influential general. Honorius rewarded Heraclianus with the appointment to the rank of ''
Comes Africae
''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count".
Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...
'', Governor of the important province of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, in late 408.
According to
Paulus Orosius
Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), ...
, Heraclianus was sent to Africa in 409. Orosius also states that the Governor of Africa in 408 was "John", who was killed by the people of his province. However, in another 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 Alchemi ...
states that Heraclianus was the successor of
Bathanarius Bathanarius (died 408) was a politician of the Western Roman Empire, ''comes Africae'' and brother-in-law of Stilicho.
Life
Bathanarius married a sister of the powerful general Stilicho.Zosimus V.37.6. He is attested as '' comes Africae'' since 4 ...
, brother-in-law of Stilicho, put to death by Honorius.
In 409, with the help of the
Visigoths
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...
of King
Alaric I
Alaric I (; got, 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃, , "ruler of all"; c. 370 – 410 AD) was the first king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades ...
,
Priscus Attalus
Priscus Attalus (Greek: Πρίσκος Άτταλος, died after 416) was twice Roman usurper (in 409–10 and in 414–15), against Emperor Honorius, with Visigothic support. He was the last non-Christian pretender to the Roman imperial offi ...
rebelled against Honorius, whose seat of power was in
Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...
, and set up his own court in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
...
. Heraclianus remained loyal to Honorius and tightly controlled African ports to restrict the
grain supply to the city of Rome
Cura Annonae ("care of Annona") was the term used in ancient Rome, in honour of their goddess Annona, to describe the import and distribution of grain to the residents of the cities of Rome and, after its foundation, Constantinople. The city of ...
and starve Rome out.
Attalus did not initially send an army to Africa against Heraclianus, as it would have to have been under Visigothic lead. Deceived by false prophecies or moved by his own jealousy of the Visigoths, he sent a lone representative, Constans, counting on his authority alone to depose Heraclianus or convince the provincials to rebel. However, Constans was killed, and Heraclianus sent Honorius the great sum he had confiscated from the envoys, intended to bribe the local population. Alaric wanted to send an army against Heraclianus under the command of his own man Drumas. But Attalus opposed this, and Alaric deposed him in 410. As Alaric intended to send a rather small army of only 500 men, it is probable that Heraclianus had only a very small force at his own disposal. However, it is also probable that Heraclianus had the support of the local population, as Emperor Honorius had recently issued a tolerance edict in favour of the
Donatist
Donatism was a Christian sect leading to a schism in the Church, in the region of the Church of Carthage, from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and t ...
s, a
Christian sect
A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...
very popular in Africa. According to the historian
Adrian Goldsworthy
Adrian Keith Goldsworthy (; born 1969) is a British historian and novelist who specialises in ancient Roman history.
Education
Adrian Goldsworthy attended Westbourne School, Penarth. He then read Ancient and Modern History at St John's College, ...
, Attalus sent a Roman commander with regular troops to secure the province of Africa, but these were seriously defeated by the Roman troops of Heraclianus, who for the time being remained loyal to the Emperor Honorius.
Usurpation against Honorius
In 412 Heraclianus was designated for the
consulate
A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth co ...
of the year 413, but in all probability he was never appointed Consul. Confident in his own power and instigated by Sabinus, his son-in-law, he rebelled against Honorius and proclaimed himself ''
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
''. His first act was to interrupt the
grain supply to the city of Rome
Cura Annonae ("care of Annona") was the term used in ancient Rome, in honour of their goddess Annona, to describe the import and distribution of grain to the residents of the cities of Rome and, after its foundation, Constantinople. The city of ...
, as he had successfully done against Priscus Attalus. Next he gathered several ships along with troops to invade Italy. Honorius had Heraclianus and his supporters proclaimed
enemies of the State
An enemy of the state is a person accused of certain crimes against the state such as treason, among other things. Describing individuals in this way is sometimes a manifestation of political repression. For example, a government may purport to m ...
and condemned to death with an edict issued in Ravenna on 7 July 412.
In 413, Heraclianus arrived in Italy with a large army to fight Honorius. With regards to his death, there are two versions: According to Orosius and
Marcellinus Comes Marcellinus Comes (Greek: Μαρκελλίνος ό Κόμης, died c. 534) was a Latin chronicler of the Eastern Roman Empire. An Illyrian by birth, he spent most of his life at the court of Constantinople. His only surviving work, the ''Chronicl ...
, Heraclianus arrived in Italy and moved towards Rome, but he was frightened by the arrival of ''Comes''
Marinus. He left his army and fled to
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
, where he was put to death on 7 March. The second version, as put forth by
Hydatius
Hydatius, also spelled Idacius (c. 400 – c. 469) was a late Western Roman writer and clergyman. The bishop of Aquae Flaviae in the Roman province of Gallaecia (almost certainly the modern Chaves, Portugal, in the modern district of Vila Real), h ...
, sees Heraclianus defeated at ''Utriculum'' (maybe ''Oriculum'', in
Umbria
it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, ...
, halfway between Rome and Ravenna), in a battle with 50,000 deaths, then fleeing to Carthage, where he was put to death by envoys sent by Honorius in the temple of
Memoria
Memoria was the term for aspects involving memory in Western classical rhetoric. The word is Latin, and can be translated as "memory".
It was one of five canons in classical rhetoric (the others being inventio, dispositio, elocutio, and pronunti ...
. Sabinus, Heraclianus' son-in-law, fled to the eastern court at
Constantinople but was later sent back and then exiled.
Heraclianus' name does not appear in the ''
Fasti consulares
In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simil ...
'', the list of all Roman consuls, as Honorius probably revoked his appointment and left
Lucius
Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from '' Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames ('' praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from ...
as Consul without colleague. Heraclianus' acts were revoked; his possessions, 2,000 lb of gold and land of the same value, were confiscated and given to
Flavius Constantius.
Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is com ...
accused Heraclianus of mistreating those who had fled from Rome to Carthage on the occasion of Attalus' usurpation (Heraclianus imprisoned the noblewomen
Anicia Faltonia Proba Anicia Faltonia Proba (died in Africa, 432) was a Roman noblewoman of the ''gens'' Anicia.
Biography
Proba's father was Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius (consul in 379); the famous poet Faltonia Betitia Proba was her grandmother. She marri ...
,
Anicia Iuliana and
Demetrias
Demetrias ( grc, Δημητριάς) was a Greek city in Magnesia in ancient Thessaly (east central Greece), situated at the head of the Pagasaean Gulf, near the modern city of Volos.
History
It was founded in 294 BCE by Demetrius Polio ...
, and freed them only after a huge payment), and of being a drunken and corrupt man.
[Jerome, Ep. 130.7]
Notes
Bibliography
Primary sources
*
Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is com ...
, ''Epistulae'', 130.7; ''Dialogus contra Pelagianos'', 3.19; ''Commentaria in Ezechielem'', 9.28
*
Jordanes
Jordanes (), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat widely believed to be of Gothic descent who became a historian later in life. Late in life he wrote two works, one on Roman history ('' Romana'') a ...
, ''Romana'', 325
*
Hydatius
Hydatius, also spelled Idacius (c. 400 – c. 469) was a late Western Roman writer and clergyman. The bishop of Aquae Flaviae in the Roman province of Gallaecia (almost certainly the modern Chaves, Portugal, in the modern district of Vila Real), h ...
, ''Chronicon'', 51,56
*
Marcellinus Comes Marcellinus Comes (Greek: Μαρκελλίνος ό Κόμης, died c. 534) was a Latin chronicler of the Eastern Roman Empire. An Illyrian by birth, he spent most of his life at the court of Constantinople. His only surviving work, the ''Chronicl ...
, ''Chronicon'', ''sub anno'' 413
*
Olympiodorus of Thebes
Olympiodorus of Thebes ( grc-gre, Ὀλυμπιόδωρος ὁ Θηβαῖος; born c. 380, fl. c. 412–425 AD) was a Roman historian, poet, philosopher and diplomat of the early fifth century. He produced a ''History'' in twenty-two volumes, wr ...
, frammento 23
*
Orosius
Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), t ...
, ''Historiae adversum Paganos'', 7.29,42
*
Procopius of Caesarea
Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...
, ''Guerra vandalica'', 1.2.30.36
*
Prosper of Aquitaine
Prosper of Aquitaine ( la, Prosper Aquitanus; – AD), a Christian writer and disciple of Augustine of Hippo, was the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle.
Life
Prosper was a native of Aquitaine, and may have been educated at ...
, ''sub anno'' 413
*
Sozomen
Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos ( grc-gre, Σαλαμάνης Ἑρμείας Σωζομενός; la, Sozomenus; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church.
Family and home
He was born arou ...
, 9.8.3–7
*
Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking u ...
, AM 5904
*
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 Alchemi ...
, ''Historia Nova'', 5.37; 6.7–11
* ''
Chronica Gallica of 452
The ''Chronica Gallica of 452'', also called the ''Gallic Chronicle of 452'', is a Latin chronicle of Late Antiquity, presented in the form of annals, which continues that of Jerome. It was edited by Theodor Mommsen in the ''Monumenta Germaniae His ...
'', 75
Secondary sources
*
Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale,
John Morris, ''
The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...
'', "Heraclianus 3", volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1992, , pp. 539–540.
* Bury, J. B., ''A History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene'', Vol. I (1889)
* Smith, William, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', Volume 2, C. Little and J. Brown, Boston, 1870
p. 402
{{end
413 deaths
5th-century Roman usurpers
5th-century Roman consuls
Comites rei militaris
Imperial Roman consuls
Year of birth unknown