Gaius Petronius Magnus (died 235 AD) was a
senator of
consular rank and a
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 cent ...
. After the death of Emperor
Severus Alexander
Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was ...
there was much ill-feeling in the Senate about the elevation of
Maximinus Thrax
Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus "Thrax" ("the Thracian"; – 238) was Roman emperor from 235 to 238.
His father was an accountant in the governor's office and sprang from ancestors who were Carpi (a Dacian tribe), a people whom Diocleti ...
to the throne. A group of officers and senators under the leadership of Magnus plotted to overthrow Maximinus. Their plan was to have soldiers destroy the bridge over the river
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
, after Maximinus had brought the army across during his campaign against the
Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
. Maximinus would be left stranded on the north bank of the Rhine, at the mercy of the Germans. Before it was realized, the plan was discovered and all conspirators executed.
References
s.v. "Maximinus Thrax" ''De Imperatoribus Romanis''
3rd-century Roman usurpers
235 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Romans from unknown gentes
Senators of the Roman Empire
Petronii
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