Allectus

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Quinarius with the coin image of Allectus

Allectus († 296) was in Britain from 293 to 296 usurper and anti-emperor to the tetrarchs Diocletian and Maximian .

Career and takeover

The origin of the Allectus is unknown. There is little information about his person in the sources, not even his full name has come down to us. More detailed information is only the reports relating to the suppression of the British Empire special by the Caesar of the West, I. Constantius be found.

Allectus held the office of treasurer ( quaestor ) under the British counter-emperor Carausius . When Carausius lost control of the coastal areas of northern Gaul and the important port and naval base of Gesoriacum / Bononia ( Boulogne ) due to an offensive by the Roman imperial troops in 293 , Allectus had him murdered and, with the support of Franconian traders, took control of Britain.

Domination

The fact that three years passed between the reconquest of Northern Gaul and the military action against Allectus leads the research, with reference to the Panegyrici , which in this case are the main source of information, to the fact that Constantius needed this time to start a new one To build up the fleet and, on the other hand, to drive the Franks and other enemy tribes completely from the mouth of the Rhine. In order to be able to attack Britain successfully at all, the fleet first had to be completed, but above all it was necessary to recruit and train new crews for them. After completing these preparations, Constantius had the invasion fleet concentrate in the ports and bays of the Gallic Channel coast. The preparations for this lasted more than two years and also included the overthrow of rebellious Batavians at the mouth of the Rhine, who probably worked first with Carausius and then with Allectus. In 296, Constantius felt able to act against apostate Britain.

Defeat and death

The attempt of Allectus to establish itself again in Bononia was foiled by Constantius. In 296 he was also unable to prevent the invasion of Constantius, who carried out a pincer attack on the Channel coast of Britain with his army and fleet.

Constantius divided his fleet into two squadrons. The first was under his own command at Gesoriacum , the second was commanded by his Praetorian prefect Asclepiodotus and assembled near the mouth of the Seine . According to sources, Constantius' flotilla was the first to set sail. However, because of the caelo et mari turbidis , because of the rough seas, she had great difficulties getting ahead and had to return to Gaul without having achieved anything . However, this statement contradicts the report of another Panegyricus who describes the sea as extremely calm at the time of Constantius' crossing.

In the meantime, the Asclepiodotus's fleet had set course for Vecta , the Isle of Wight . The two naval units probably crossed the canal in quick succession. Asclepiodotus reached the coast of Britain almost unnoticed. Thanks to the thick fog, he slipped between the patrols of the Classis Britannica and was able to go ashore at Portus Dubris ( Dover ), Rutupiae ( Richborough ) or Portus Lemanis (Lympne). Bad weather had made his landing even easier. The ships were pulled onto the beach and burned, presumably to force the soldiers to fight to the extreme. Perhaps Asclepiodotus did not want to leave his ships to Allectus as a welcome reinforcement for his fleet in the event of defeat. Then the expeditionary army marched towards Londinium .

At this news, Allectus pulled together all available units to repel the intruders. He hurried to meet them and wanted to go to Farham to fight. Constantius took advantage of this opportunity to land with his troops undisturbed on the Kent coast . Due to the bad weather, however, many of his transport ships deviated from the planned course and instead entered the Thames estuary . Without their equipment and men, Constantius was forced to avoid a direct fight with Allectus. Nevertheless, his troops advanced quickly and without resistance inland. Allectus, obviously completely surprised by this new development, was only able to send a small part of his troops into the field against the new attacker, since the greater part of his army had already deployed on the south coast to face Asclepiodotus there.

Asclepiodotus succeeded in a battle in the area of ​​today's Northamptonshire or Berkshire an overwhelming victory over Allectus, who was killed in the process. However, some archaeologists assume that the town of Calleva Atrebatum ( Silchester ) was the scene of this decisive battle. His Frankish mercenaries fled to Londinium, when they got there, they began to plunder the townspeople, but soon met the soldiers of the transport ships that had been driven into the Thames and had now landed there. The looters were slaughtered.

Gold multiplum worth 9 solidi (top) and reverse of a gold multiplum worth 10 aurei of Constantius I (bottom), depicting him as the emperor accepting the submission of the city of Londinium (LON) after the victory over Allectus

With Allectus' defeat and death, the last separatist regime of the 3rd century fell. Asclepiodotus 'victory and chance success in Londinium was mainly due to the reintegration of Britain; Constantius' personal part in it was negligible. It even gives the impression that Constantius did not take part in the decisive fighting against Allectus. However, this did not prevent him from being celebrated as the savior of Britain on numerous coins and medals. On a coin, for example, as Hercules in a lion's skin, he extends his hand to a kneeling Britannia, while Victoria offers him a laurel wreath. On a medallion minted in Trier, Constantius is celebrated as Redditor Lucis Aeternae (“ Restorer of Eternal Light”) and thus presents himself as the sole savior and liberator of Britain. The panegyricians extol his arrival on the island in similar exuberant tones .

In 296 Constantius went back to Gaul, in 306 he returned - meanwhile seriously ill - but died soon after in Eburacum ( York ).

A milestone found near the town of Carlisle , northern England, testifies to the events of those decades . It was originally labeled with the following text: For the Emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelius Maus (aeus?) Carausius Pius Felix, the undefeated Augustus . After Carausius and Allectus had been removed, the stone was simply turned over, the now obsolete inscription was buried in the ground and a new one was chiseled in: For Flavius ​​Valerius Constantius, the most distinguished Caesar .

Medieval reception

Geoffrey von Monmouth adds Allectus and other historical personalities to his work History of the Kings of Britain (written around 1136). Allectus is depicted here as the commander of three Roman legions, who overthrows the King of Britain, Carausius, from his throne. This in turn is attacked, defeated and killed by Asclepiodotus , who appears here as Duke of Cornwall . The last loyal followers of the Allectus are then besieged in London, but surrender because they are guaranteed safe conduct. Asclepiodotus, however, breaks his promise, has the men executed and their severed heads thrown into the Galobroc River .

Daily political reception

In the spring of 2019, a probe in Kent found a 24-carat gold coin with the image of Allectus in a field. The sensational find was widely reported in the UK media. The Daily Mail , one of the most important and aggressive tabloids in Great Britain and one of the most vehement supporters of Brexit for years , described the usurper Allectus, who wanted to make Britain independent from the Roman Empire, in its reporting as "Brexiteer of his time", which was a discussion triggered.

literature

Web links

Commons : Allectus  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ Sheppard Frere, Britannia: A History of Roman Britain, third edition, 1987, p. 331
  2. ↑ Panegyrici latini VIII (5) 6.14-20
  3. ↑ Geoffrey of Monmouth : Historia Regum Britanniae - Book 5.4 in the English-language Wikisource
  4. ↑ Friedbert Meurer : “With Brexit, he set his own monument”. In: DLF , June 13, 2018, accessed December 4, 2019.
  5. ^ Philip Plickert: Controversy over historical treasures. In: FAZ , September 17, 2019, accessed on December 4, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Allectus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman emperor or usurper in Britain
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd century
DATE OF DEATH 296