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The Downfall of
Gallienus
Antoninianus
of Claudius II
During the 260s, the breakup of the
Roman Empire
into three distinct governing
entities (the core Roman Empire, the
Gallic Empire
and the
Palmyrene Empire
) placed the whole Roman
imperium into a precarious position.
Gallienus
was seriously weakened by his failure
to defeat Postumus
in the West, and the ability of
Odaenathus
to live with his arrangement with
Gallienus in the East. By 268, however, the situation had changed, as
Odaenathus
was put to death, most likely out of
court intrigue, and Gallienus fell victim to a mutiny in his own ranks. Upon the
death of Odaenathus, power fell to his younger son, who was dominated by his
mother, Zenobia
.[14]
Under threat of invasion by multiple tribes, Gallienus' troubles primarily
lay with Postumus
, whom he could not attack because his
attention was required in dealing with
Macrianus
and the invading "Skythai." After
four years of delay, Postumus had established power, but in 265, when Gallienus
and his men crossed the Alps, they defeated and besieged
Postumus
in an (unnamed)
Gallic
city. When victory appeared to be near,
Gallienus made the mistake of approaching the city walls too closely and was
gravely injured, compelling him to withdraw the campaign. In the next three
years, Gallienus' troubles would only get worse. The "Skythai" successfully
invaded the Balkans
in the early months of 268, and
Aureolus
, a commander of the cavalry, declared
himself an ally of Postumus and the new emperor in
Milan
.[15]
At this time, another invasion was taking place. A group called the Herulians
navigated through
Asia Minor
and then into
Greece
on a naval expedition. Details of these
invasions are abstract, as it is nearly impossible to reconstruct the
happenings, due to the chain of conflicts initiated by the Herulians in 268.
Scholars assume Gallienus' efforts were focused on Aureolus, the officer who
betrayed him, and the defeat of the Herulians was left to his successor,
Claudius Gothicus.
The death of Gallienus is surrounded by conspiracy and betrayal, as were many
emperors' deaths. Different accounts of the incident are recorded, but they
agree that senior officials wanted Gallienus dead. According to two accounts,
the prime conspirator was
Heraclianus
. One version of the story tells of
Heraclianus bringing Claudius into the plot while the account given by
Historia Augusta
exculpates the would-be
emperor and adds the prominent general
Marcianus
into the plot. The removal of
Claudius from the conspiracy is due to his later role as the progenitor of the
house of
Constantine
, a fiction of
Constantine
's time, and may serve to guarantee
that the original version from which these two accounts spring was current prior
to the reign of Constantine. It is written that while sitting down at dinner,
Gallienus was told that Aureolus and his men were approaching the camp.
Gallienus rushed to the front lines, ready to give orders, when he was struck
down by a commander of his cavalry. In a different and more controversial
account, Aureolus forges a document in which Gallienus appears to be plotting
against his generals and makes sure it falls into the hands of the emperor's
senior staff. In this plot,
Aurelian
is added as a possible conspirator.
The tale of his involvement in the conspiracy might be seen as at least partial
justification for the murder of Aurelian himself under circumstances that seem
remarkably similar to those in this story.[16]
Whichever story is true, Gallienus was killed in the summer of 268, and
Marcus Aurelius Claudius
was chosen by the army
outside of Milan
to succeed him. Accounts tell of people
hearing the news of the new Emperor, and reacting by murdering Gallienus' family
members until Claudius declared he would respect the memory of his predecessor.
Claudius had the deceased emperor deified and buried in a family tomb on the
Appian Way
. The traitor
Aureolus
was not treated with the same
reverence, as he was killed by his besiegers after a failed attempt to
surrender.[17]
The Campaigns of
Claudius
At the time of his Claudius' accession, the
Roman Empire
was in serious danger from several
incursions, both within and outside its borders. The most pressing of these was
an invasion of
Illyricum
and
Pannonia
by the
Goths
.[18]
Although Gallienus
had already inflicted some damage on
them at the Battle of Nestus,[19]
Claudius, not long after being named Emperor, followed this up by winning his
greatest victory, and one of the greatest in the history of Roman arms.
The Roman Empire in 268 A.D
At the
Battle of Naissus
, Claudius and his legions
routed a huge Gothic army.[20]
Together with his cavalry
commander, the future Emperor
Aurelian
, the Romans took thousands of
prisoners, destroyed the Gothic cavalry as a force, and stormed their
laager
(a circular alignment of wagons long
favored by the Goths).[dubious
–
discuss
] The victory earned
Claudius his surname of "Gothicus" (conqueror of the Goths),[21]
and that is how he is known to this day. More importantly, the Goths were soon
driven back across the
Danube River
by Aurelian, and nearly a century
passed before they again posed a serious threat to the empire.[22]
At the same time, the
Alamanni
had crossed the
Alps and attacked the empire. Claudius responded quickly, routing the
Alamanni at the
Battle of Lake Benacus
in the late fall of 268,
a few months after the battle of Naissus.[23]
For this he was awarded the title of "Germanicus Maximus."[24]
He then turned on the
Gallic Empire
, ruled by a pretender for the
past fifteen years and encompassing
Britain
,
Gaul, and the
Iberian Peninsula
. He won several victories and
soon regained control of Spain and the Rhone river valley of Gaul.[25]
This set the stage for the ultimate destruction of the Gallic Empire under
Aurelian.[26]
However, Claudius did not live long enough to fulfill his goal of reuniting
all the lost territories of the empire. Late in 269 he had traveled to
Sirmium
[27]
and was preparing to go to war against the
Vandals
, who were raiding in
Pannonia
.[28]
However, he fell victim to the
Plague of Cyprian
(possibly
smallpox
), and died early in January 270.[29]
Before his death, he is thought to have named Aurelian as his successor, though
Claudius' brother
Quintillus
briefly seized power.[30]
The Senate
immediately deified Claudius as "Divus
Claudius Gothicus".[31]
The
Empire and Foreign Affairs Under Claudius
Claudius was not the only man to reap the benefits of holding high office
after the death of
Gallienus
. Before the rule of Claudius
Gothicus, there had only been two emperors from the
Balkans
, but afterwards there would only be one
emperor who did not hail from the provinces of
Pannonia
,
Moesia
or
Illyricum
until the year 378, when
Theodosius I
from
Hispania
would take the throne. To comprehend
the structure of government during the reign of Claudius, we must look at four
inscriptions that deepen our understanding of a new, truncated empire. The first
is a dedication to
Aurelius Heraclianus
, the prefect involved in
the conspiracy against Gallienus, from Traianus Mucianus, who also gave a
dedication to
Heraclianus
' brother, Aurelius Appollinaris,
who was the equestrian governor of the province of
Thracia
in 267-68 AD.[32]
Because these men shared the family name, Marcus Aurelius, a name given to those
made citizens by the
constitutio Antoniniana
, we can understand that
these men did not come from the imperial élite . The third inscription
reveals the career of
Marcianus
, another leading general by the time
that Gallienus died. The fourth honors Julius Placidianus, the prefect of the
vigiles
. While we cannot prove that
Heraclianus, Appollinaris,
Placidianus
, or Marcianus were of
Danubian
origin themselves, it is clear that
none of them were members of the
Severan
aristocracy, and all of them appear to
owe their prominence to their military roles. To these men must be added Marcus
Aurelius Aurelianus (the future emperor
Aurelian
) and
Marcus Aurelius Probus
(another emperor in
waiting), both men of Balkan background, and from families enfranchised in the
time of Caracalla
.[33]
Although we see a rise in Pannonian, Moesian and Illyrian marshals, and
foreigners become notable figures, it would be impractical to think the
government could function without help from the traditional classes within the
empire. Although their influence was weakened, there were still a number of men
with influence from the older
aristocracy
. Claudius assumed the consulship in
269 with Paternus, a member of the prominent senatorial family, the Paterni, who
had supplied consuls and urban prefects throughout Gallienus' reign, and thus
were quite influential. In addition,
Flavius Antiochianus
, one of the consuls of
270, who was an urban prefect the year before, would continue to hold his office
for the following year. A colleague of Antiochianus, Virius Orfitus, also the
descendant of a powerful family, would continue to hold influence during his
father's term as prefect. Aurelian's colleague as consul was another such man,
Pomponius Bassus, a member of one of the oldest senatorial families, as was one
of the consuls in 272, Junius Veldumnianus.[34]
In his first full year of power, Claudius was greatly assisted by the sudden
destruction of the imperium Galliarum. When Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus, a high
official under Postumus
, declared himself emperor in
Germania Superior
, in the spring of 269,
Postumus
defeated him, but in doing so, refused
to allow the sack of Mainz
, which had served as
Laelianus
' headquarters. This proved to be his
downfall, for out of anger, Postumus' army mutinied and murdered him. Selected
by the troops,
Marcus Aurelius Marius
was to replace Postumus
as ruler. Marius' rule did not last long though, as
Victorinus
, Postumus' praetorian prefect,
defeated him. Now emperor of the
Gauls, Victorinus was soon in a precarious position, for the Spanish
provinces had deserted the
Gallic Empire
and declared their loyalty to
Claudius, while in southern
France
,
Placidianus
had captured
Grenoble
. Luckily, it was there that
Placidianus stopped and Victorinus' position stabilized. In the next year, when
Autun
revolted, declaring itself for Claudius,
the central government made no moves to support it. As a result, the city went
through a siege, lasting many weeks, until it was finally captured and sacked by
Victorinus.[35]
It is still unknown why Claudius did nothing to help the city of
Autun
, but sources tell us his relations with
Palmyra
were waning in the course of 270. An
obscure passage in the
Historia Augusta
life of Gallienus states that
he had sent an army under
Heraclianus
to the region that had been
annihilated by Zenobia
. But because Heraclianus was not
actually in the east in 268 (instead, at this time, he was involved in the
conspiracy of Gallienus' death), we can see that this can not be correct. But
the confusion evident in this passage, which also places the bulk of "Skythian"
activity during 269 a year earlier, under Gallienus, may stem from a later
effort to pile all possible disasters in this year into the reign of the former
Emperor. This would keep Claudius' record of being a descendant of
Constantine
from being tainted. If this
understanding of the sources is correct, it might also be correct to see the
expedition of Heraclianus to the east as an event of Claudius' time.[36]
The victories of Claudius over the
Goths
would not only make him a hero in
Latin
tradition, but an admirable choice as an
ancestor for
Constantine
, who was born at
Naissus
, the site of Claudius' victory in 269.
Claudius is also held in high esteem by
Zonaras
, whose
Greek
tradition seems to have been influenced
by Latin
. For
Zosimus
, a more reasoned contemporary view
shows him as less grand. Claudius' successes in the year 269 were not continued
in his next year as Emperor. As the "Skythai" starved in the mountains or
surrendered, the legions pursuing them began to see an epidemic spreading
throughout the men. Also, Claudius' unwillingness to do anything at the siege of
Autun
likely provoked a quarrel with
Zenobia
.[37]
Although it is not proven that the invasion of
Gaul was the breaking point between Claudius and Zenobia, the
sequence of events point to the siege as an important factor. The issue at hand
was the position that
Odaenathus
held as corrector totius orientis.
Vaballathus
, the son of Zenobia, was given this
title when Zenobia claimed it for him. From then on, tension between the two
empires would only get worse.
Heraclianus
' fabled arrival might have been an
effort to reassert central control after the death of Odaenathus, but, if so, it
failed. Although coins were never minted with the face of Odaenathus, soon after
his death coins were made with image of his son.
Under Zabdas
, a
Palmyrene
army invaded
Arabia
and moved into
Egypt
in the late summer. At this time, the
prefect of Egypt was Tenagino Probus, described as an able soldier who not only
defeated an invasion of
Cyrenaica
by the nomadic tribes to the south in
269, but also was successful in hunting down "Skythian" ships in the
Mediterranean
. However, he did not see the same
success in Egypt, for a Palmyrene underground, led by
Timagenes
, undermined
Probus
, defeated his army, and killed him in a
battle near the modern city of
Cairo
in the late summer of 270.[38]
Generally when a Roman commander is slaughtered it is taken as a sign that a
state of war is in existence, and if we can associate the death of
Heraclianus
in 270, as well as an inscription
from
Bostra
recording the rebuilding of a temple
destroyed by the Palmyrene army, then these violent acts could be interpreted
the same way. Yet they apparently were not. As David Potter writes, "The coins
of Vaballathus
avoid claims to imperial power: he
remains vir consularis, rex, imperator, dux Romanorum, a range of titles that
did not mimic those of the central government. The status vir consularis was, as
we have seen, conferred upon
Odaenathus
; the title rex, or king, is simply a
Latin
translation of mlk, or king; imperator in
this context simply means "victorious general"; and dux Romanorum looks like yet
another version of corrector totius orientis" (Potter, 263). These titles
suggest that Odaenathus' position, not unlike a king in the
Semitic
world, was inheritable. In Roman
culture, the status gained in procuring a position could be passed on, but not
the position itself. It is possible that the thin line between office and the
status that accompanied it were dismissed in Palmyrene court, especially when
the circumstance worked against the interests of a regime that was able to
defeat
Persia
, which a number of Roman emperors had
failed to do. Vaballathus stressed the meanings of titles, because in Palmyrene
context, the titles of Odaenathus meant a great deal. When the summer of 270
ended, things were looking very different in the empire than they did a year
before. After its success,
Gaul was in a state of inactivity and the empire was failing in the
east. Insufficient resources plagued the state, as a great deal of silver was
used for the
antoninianus
, which was again diluted.[39]
Religion
An account written by Aurelius Victor states that Claudius consulted the
Sibylline Books
prior to his campaigns against
the Goths
. Hinting that Claudius "revived the
tradition of the Decii", Victor illustrates the senatorial view, which saw
Claudius' predecessor,
Gallienus
, as too relaxed when it came to
religious policies.[40]
Links to
Constantinian dynasty
The unreliable
Historia Augusta
reports Claudius and
Quintillus having another brother named Crispus and through him a niece,
Claudia, who reportedly married Eutropius and was mother to
Constantius Chlorus
.[41]
Some historians suspect this account to be a
genealogical
fabrication, however, intended to
link the family of
Constantine I
to that of a well-respected
emperor.[42]
Saint Valentine
Claudius Gothicus has been linked to
Saint Valentine
since the
Middle Ages
. Contemporary records of his deeds
were most probably destroyed during the
Diocletianic Persecution
on early 4th century[43]
and a tale of martydom was invented in Passio Marii et Marthae , a
"fanciful" work published in the 5th or 6th century.[43][44]
20th-century historians agree that the accounts from this period are not
historically accurate.[43][44]
The legend refers to "Emperor Claudius" but
Claudius I
did not make any persecution against
Christians, so people assigned him to be Claudius II even although this emperor
spent most of his time warring outside of his territory.[43]
Furthermore, there is no evidence, outside of St. Valentine's legends, for
Claudius II reversing
Gallienus
's policy of toleration for
Christians.[45][43]
The legend was retold in later texts. In the
Nuremberg Chronicle
of 1493 AD, the emperor
martyred the Roman priest during a general persecution of Christians. The text
states that St. Valentine was beaten with clubs and finally beheaded for giving
aid to
Christians
in Rome.[43]
The
Golden Legend
of 1260 AD recounts how St.
Valentine refused to deny Christ before the "Emperor Claudius" in 270 AD and as
a result was beheaded.[44]
Since then, February 14 marks
Valentine's Day
, a day set aside by the
Christian church in memory of the Roman priest and physician.[46] Gallienus (Latin:
Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus Augustus ;
c. 218 – 268) was
Roman Emperor
with his father
Valerian
from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to
268. He ruled during the
Crisis of the Third Century
that nearly caused
the collapse of the empire. While he won a number of military victories, he was
unable to prevent the secession of important provinces.
Life
Rise to power
The exact birth date of Gallienus is unknown. The Greek chronicler
John Malalas
and the Epitome de Caesaribus
report that he was about 50 years old at the time of his death, meaning he was
born around 218. He was the son of emperor
Valerian
and
Mariniana
, who may have been of senatorial
rank, possibly the daughter of
Egnatius Victor Marinianus
, and his brother was
Valerianus Minor
. Inscriptions on coins connect
him with Falerii
in
Etruria
, which may have been his birthplace; it
has yielded many inscriptions relating to his mother's family, the Egnatii.[3]
Gallienus married
Cornelia Salonina
about ten years before his
accession to the throne. She was the mother of three princes:
Valerian II
, who died in 258;
Saloninus
, who was named co-emperor but was
murdered in 260 by the army of general Postumus; and
Marinianus
, who was killed in 268, shortly
after his father was assassinated.
When
Valerian
was proclaimed Emperor on 22 October
253, he asked the
Senate
to ratify the elevation of Gallienus to
Caesar and
Augustus
. He was also designated
Consul Ordinarius
for 254. As
Marcus Aurelius
and his adopted brother
Lucius Verus
had done a century earlier,
Gallienus and his father divided the Empire. Valerian left for the East to stem
the Persian threat, and Gallienus remained in Italy to repel the Germanic tribes
on the Rhine
and
Danube
.
Division of the empire
had become necessary due
to its sheer size and the numerous threats it faced, and it facilitated
negotiations with enemies who demanded to communicate directly with the emperor.
Early
reign and the revolt of Ingenuus
Gallienus spent most of his time in the provinces of the Rhine area (Germania
Inferior,
Germania Superior
,
Raetia
, and
Noricum
), though he almost certainly visited
the Danube
area and
Illyricum
during 253 to 258. According to
Eutropius and Aurelius Victor, he was particularly energetic and successful in
preventing invaders from attacking the German provinces and Gaul, despite the
weakness caused by Valerian's march on Italy against
Aemilianus
in 253. According to numismatic
evidence, he seems to have won many victories there, and a victory in
Roman Dacia
might also be dated to that period.
Even the hostile Latin tradition attributes success to him at this time.
In 255 or 257, Gallienus was made Consul again, suggesting that he briefly
visited Rome on those occasions, although no record survives. During his Danube
sojourn (Drinkwater suggests in 255 or 256), he proclaimed his elder son
Valerian II
Caesar and thus official heir to
himself and Valerian I; the boy probably joined Gallienus on campaign at that
time, and when Gallienus moved west to the Rhine provinces in 257, he remained
behind on the Danube as the personification of Imperial authority.
Sometime between 258 and 260 (the exact date is unclear), while Valerian was
distracted with the ongoing invasion of Shapur in the East, and Gallienus was
preoccupied with his problems in the West,
Ingenuus
, governor of at least one of the
Pannonian provinces, took advantage and declared himself emperor. Valerian II
had apparently died on the Danube, most likely in 258. Ingenuus may have been
responsible for that calamity. Alternatively, the defeat and capture of Valerian
at the
battle of Edessa
may have been the trigger for
the subsequent revolts of Ingenuus,
Regalianus
, and
Postumus
. In any case, Gallienus reacted with
great speed. He left his son
Saloninus
as Caesar at
Cologne
, under the supervision of Albanus (or
Silvanus) and the military leadership of Postumus. He then hastily crossed the
Balkans
, taking with him the new cavalry corps
(comitatus ) under the command of
Aureolus
and defeated Ingenuus at
Mursa
or
Sirmium
.The victory must be attributed mainly
to the cavalry and its brilliant commander. Ingenuus was killed by his own
guards or committed suicide by drowning himself after the fall of his capital,
Sirmium.
Invasion of the
Alamanni
A major invasion by the
Alemanni
and other Germanic tribes occurred
between 258 and 260 (it is hard to fix the precise date of these
events),probably due to the vacuum left by the withdrawal of troops supporting
Gallienus in the campaign against Ingenuus.
Franks
broke through the lower Rhine, invading
Gaul, some reaching as far as southern Spain, sacking Tarraco (modern
Tarragona
).The Alamanni invaded, probably
through
Agri Decumates
(an area between the upper Rhine
and the upper Danube), likely followed by the
Juthungi
. After devastating Germania Superior
and Raetia (parts of southern
France
and
Switzerland
), they entered Italy, the first
invasion of the Italian peninsula, aside from its most remote northern regions,
since Hannibal
500 years before. When invaders
reached the outskirts of Rome, they were repelled by an improvised army
assembled by the Senate, consisting of local troops (probably prǣtorian guards)
and the strongest of the civilian population.On their retreat through northern
Italy, they were intercepted and defeated in the
battle of Mediolanum
(near present day
Milan
) by Gallienus' army, which had advanced
from Gaul, or from the Balkans after dealing with the Franks.The battle of
Mediolanum was decisive, and the Alamanni didn't bother the empire for the next
ten years. The Juthungi managed to cross the Alps with their valuables and
captives from Italy. An historian in the 19th century suggested that the
initiative of the Senate gave rise to jealousy and suspicion by Gallienus, thus
contributing to his exclusion of senators from military commands.
The revolt of
Regalianus
Around the same time,
Regalianus
, a military commander of
Illyricum
, was proclaimed Emperor. The reasons
for this are unclear, and the Historia Augusta (almost the sole resource
for these events) does not provide a credible story. It is possible the seizure
can be attributed to the discontent of the civilian and military provincials,
who felt the defense of the province was being neglected.
Regalianus held power for some six months and issued coins bearing his image.
After some success against the
Sarmatians
, his revolt was put down by the
invasion of Roxolani
into
Pannonia
, and Regalianus himself was killed
when the invaders took the city of
Sirmium
. There is a suggestion that Gallienus
invited Roxolani to attack Regalianus, but other historians dismiss the
accusation.It is also suggested that the invasion was finally checked by
Gallienus near Verona
and that he directed the restoration of
the province, probably in person.
Capture of Valerian, revolt of Macrianus
In the East, Valerian was confronted with serious troubles. A band of
Scythians
set a naval raid against
Pontus
, in the northern part of modern Turkey.
After ravaging the province, they moved south into
Cappadocia
. Valerian led troops to intercept
them but failed, perhaps because of a plague that gravely weakened his army, as
well as the contemporary invasion of northern
Mesopotamia
by
Shapur I
, ruler of the
Sassanid Empire
.
In 259 or 260, the Roman army was defeated in the
Battle of Edessa
, and Valerian was taken
prisoner. Shapur's army raided
Cilicia
and
Cappadocia
(in present day
Turkey
), sacking, as Shapur's inscriptions
claim, 36 cities. It took a rally by an officer
Callistus
(Balista), a fiscal official named
Fulvius Macrianus
, the remains of the Eastern
Roman legions, and
Odenathus
and his
Palmyrene
horsemen to turn the tide against
Shapur. The Persians were driven back, but Macrianus proclaimed his two sons
Quietus
and
Macrianus
(sometimes misspelled Macrinus) as
emperors. Coins struck for them in major cities of the East indicate
acknowledgement of the usurpation. The two Macriani left Quietus, Ballista, and,
presumably, Odenathus to deal with the Persians while they invaded Europe with
an army of 30,000 men, according to the Historia Augusta . At first they
met no opposition. The Pannonian legions joined the invaders, being resentful of
the absence of Gallienus. He sent his successful commander Aureolus against the
rebels, however, and the decisive battle was fought in the spring or early
summer of 261, most likely in Illyricum, although
Zonaras
locates it in Pannonia. In any case,
the army of the usurpers surrendered, and their two leaders were killed.
In the aftermath of the battle, the rebellion of Postumus had already
started, so Gallienus had no time to deal with the rest of the usurpers, namely
Balista and Quietus. He came to an agreement with Odenathus, who had just
returned from his victorious Persian expedition. Odenathus received the title of
dux Romanorum and besieged the usurpers, who were based at
Emesa
. Eventually, the people of Emesa killed
Quietus, and Odenathus arrested and executed Balista about November 261.
The revolt of Postumus
After the defeat at Edessa, Gallienus lost control over the provinces of
Britain, Spain, parts of Germania, and a large part of Gaul when another
general, Postumus
, declared his own realm (usually known
today as the
Gallic Empire
). The revolt partially coincided
with that of
Macrianus
in the East. Gallienus had installed
his son Saloninus and his guardian,
Silvanus
, in Cologne in 258. Postumus, a
general in command of troops on the banks of the Rhine, defeated some raiders
and took possession of their spoils. Instead of returning it to the original
owners, he preferred to distribute it amongst his soldiers. When news of this
reached Silvanus, he demanded the spoils be sent to him. Postumus made a show of
submission, but his soldiers mutinied and proclaimed him Emperor. Under his
command, they besieged Cologne, and after some weeks the defenders of the city
opened the gates and handed Saloninus and Silvanus to Postumus, who had them
killed. The dating of these events is not accurate, but they apparently occurred
just before the end of 260. Postumus claimed the consulship for himself and one
of his associates, Honoratianus, but according to D.S. Potter, he never tried to
unseat Gallienus or invade Italy.
Upon receiving news of the murder of his son, Gallienus began gathering
forces to face Postumus. The invasion of the Macriani forced him to dispatch
Aureolus with a large force to oppose them, however, leaving him with
insufficient troops to battle Postumus. After some initial defeats, the army of
Aureolus, having defeated the Macriani, rejoined him, and Postumus was expelled.
Aureolus was entrusted with the pursuit and deliberately allowed Postumus to
escape and gather new forces. Gallienus returned in 263 or 265 and surrounded
Postumus in an unnamed Gallic city. During the siege, Gallenus was severely
wounded by an arrow and had to leave the field. The standstill persisted until
the death of Gallienus, and the
Gallic Empire
remained independent until 274.
The revolt of
Aemilianus
In 262, the mint in
Alexandria
started to again issue coins for
Gallienus, demonstrating that Egypt had returned to his control after
suppressing the revolt of the Macriani. In spring of 262, the city was wrenched
by civil unrest as a result of a new revolt. The rebel this time was the prefect
of Egypt,
Lucius Mussius Aemilianus
, who had already
given support to the revolt of the Macriani. The correspondence of bishop
Dionysius of Alexandria
provides a colourful
commentary on the sombre background of invasion, civil war, plague, and famine
that characterized this age.
Knowing he could not afford to lose control of the vital Egyptian granaries,
Gallienus sent his general Theodotus against Aemilianus, probably by a naval
expedition. The decisive battle probably took place near Thebes, and the result
was a clear defeat of Aemilianus. In the aftermath, Gallienus became Consul
three more times in 262, 264, and 266.
Herulian invasions, revolt of Aureolus, conspiracy and death
In the years 267–269, Goths and other barbarians invaded the empire in great
numbers. Sources are extremely confused on the dating of these invasions, the
participants, and their targets. Modern historians are not even able to discern
with certainty whether there were two or more of these invasions or a single
prolonged one. It seems that, at first, a major naval expedition was led by the
Heruli
starting from north of the
Black Sea
and leading in the ravaging of many
cities of Greece (among them,
Athens
and
Sparta
). Then another, even more numerous army
of invaders started a second naval invasion of the empire. The Romans defeated
the barbarians on sea first. Gallienus' army then won a battle in
Thrace
, and the Emperor pursued the invaders.
According to some historians, he was the leader of the army who won the great
Battle of Naissus
, while the majority believes
that the victory must be attributed to his successor,
Claudius II
.
In 268, at some time before or soon after the battle of Naissus, the
authority of Gallienus was challenged by
Aureolus
, commander of the cavalry stationed in
Mediolanum
(Milan),
who was supposed to keep an eye on
Postumus
. Instead, he acted as deputy to
Postumus until the very last days of his revolt, when he seems to have claimed
the throne for himself. The decisive battle took place at what is now
Pontirolo Nuovo
near Milan; Aureolus was
clearly defeated and driven back to Milan. Gallienus laid siege to the city but
was murdered during the siege. There are differing accounts of the murder, but
the sources agree that most of Gallienus' officials wanted him dead. According
to the
Historia Augusta
, an unreliable source compiled
long after the events it describes, a conspiracy was led by the commander of the
guard
Aurelius Heraclianus
and Marcianus.
Cecropius, commander of the Dalmatians, spread the word that the forces of
Aureolus were leaving the city, and Gallienus left his tent without his
bodyguard, only to be struck down by Cecropius.One version has Claudius selected
as Emperor by the conspirators, another chosen by Gallienus on his death bed;
the Historia Augusta was concerned to substantiate the descent of the
Constantinian dynasty
from Claudius, and this
may explain its accounts, which do not involve Claudius in the murder. The other
sources (Zosimus
i.40 and
Zonaras
xii.25) report that the conspiracy was
organized by Heraclianus, Claudius, and
Aurelian
.
According to Aurelius Victor and Zonaras, on hearing the news that Gallienus
was dead, the Senate in Rome ordered the execution of his family (including his
brother Valerianus and son Marinianus) and their supporters, just before
receiving a message from Claudius to spare their lives and deify his
predecessor.
Arch of Gallienus
in Rome, 262 –
dedicated to, rather than built by, Gallienus.
Legacy
Gallienus was not treated favorably by ancient historians, partly due to the
secession of Gaul and
Palmyra
and his inability to win them back.
According to modern scholar Pat Southern, some historians now see him in a more
positive light.Gallienus produced some useful reforms. He contributed to
military history as the first to commission primarily
cavalry
units, the
Comitatenses
, that could be dispatched anywhere
in the Empire in short order. This reform arguably created a precedent for the
future emperors
Diocletian
and
Constantine I
.
The biographer
Aurelius Victor
reports that Gallienus forbade
senators
from becoming military commanders.
This policy undermined senatorial power, as more reliable
equestrian
commanders rose to prominence. In
Southern's view, these reforms and the decline in senatorial influence not only
helped Aurelian to salvage the Empire, but they also make Gallienus one of the
emperors most responsible for the creation of the
Dominate
, along with
Septimius Severus
, Diocletian, and Constantine
I.
By portraying himself with the attributes of the gods on his coinage,
Gallienus began the final separation of the Emperor from his subjects.A late
bust of Gallienus (see above) depicts him with a largely blank face, gazing
heavenward, as seen on the famous stone head of
Constantine I
. One of the last rulers of Rome
to be theoretically called "Princeps", or First Citizen, Gallienus' shrewd
self-promotion assisted in paving the way for those who would be addressed with
the words "Dominus et Deus" (Lord and God). |