Taurinius (also called Taurinus) was 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 century ...

who revolted against

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 ...

in 232AD. He was declared emperor by the legions stationed in

Roman Mesopotamia Mesopotamia was the name of a Roman province, initially a short-lived creation of the Roman emperor Trajan in 116–117 and then re-established by Emperor Septimius Severus in c. 198. Control of the province was subsequently fought over betwe ...

when they rebelled, due to the invasion of the

Sassanids The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

in 229AD. His revolt was swiftly crushed by Alexander, in late summer of 232AD, and he drowned in the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

while attempting to flee to Sassanid territory.

History

In 229AD, during the reign of Emperor

, the

invaded Roman Mesopotamia. This led to a rebellion, in 232AD, by the provincial garrison. During this rebellion, Flavius Heracleo was killed, and the legion proclaimed Taurinius

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

. In the late summer of 232AD, Alexander arrived to crush the revolt. Taurinius fled, and drowned while attempting to cross the

into Sassanid territory.

Historiography

The ''

Epitome de Caesaribus The ''Epitome de Caesaribus'' is a Latin historical work written at the end of the 4th century. It is a brief account of the reigns of the Roman emperors from Augustus to Theodosius the Great. It is attributed to Aurelius Victor, but was written ...

'' refers to him as Taurinius, and says that he revolted against Emperor Severus Alexander, and was declared ''augustus''. He is said to have thrown himself into the Euphrates on account of fear of Severus Alexander. It is noted that this is the only mention of any event during Alexander's reign made by the ''Epitome de Caesaribus''.

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 ...

makes similar mention of him, but refers to him as Taurinus. Taurinius never controlled a mint, so no

numismatic Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

evidence of his revolt remains. Although mentioned in the ''Epitome de Caesaribus'', Taurinius is noticeably absent from

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 w ...

s '' De Caesaribus'', and Eutropiuss ''

Breviarium historiae Romanae A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such a ...

'', and is not found in any other

literary Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

epigraphic Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

evidence.

References

Primary sources

*''

'' 24.2.

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * *{{cite book, last1=Pearson, first1=Paul N., title=Maximinus Thrax: From Common Soldier to Emperor of Rome, date=2017, publisher=Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., isbn=9781510708754 232 deaths Crisis of the Third Century 3rd-century Roman usurpers Year of birth unknown Romans from unknown gentes Deaths by drowning