Didius Julianus

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dupondius of Didius Iulianus

Marcus Didius Severus Iulianus (rarely also Julian I ; born January 30, 133 or February 2, 137 in Milan ; † June 2, 193 in Rome ) was Roman Emperor from March 28, 193 until his death after only 66 days . He was the second emperor of the second four-emperor year .

After the death of Pertinax , who had been slain by mutinous guardsmen, the Roman Empire reached a temporary low point when the Praetorians simply "auctioned" the imperial throne to the highest bidder. Basically, this process hardly differed from previous ones, and Pertinax had also tried to win the Guard over by promising money. This time, however, according to Cassius Dio , this was felt to be too unabashed and offensive. Since Didius Iulianus, who was a respected senator, experienced politician and general and quite "capable of being an emperor" ( capax imperii ), could not keep his promises and had numerous internal enemies, he was soon murdered. His memory was deliberately eclipsed among the Severans who followed him .

Life

Promotion and family

Didius Iulianus was born in Milan on January 30, 133, the offspring of one of the city's most respected families, the gens Didia . His father was the Senator Quintus Petronius Didius Severus. His North African mother Aemilia Clara was related to Salvius Iulianus , who in turn was a well-known lawyer under Hadrian . He was married to Manlia Scantilla , who came from a long-established Roman family that was already very influential at the time of the republic, but their real affiliation is questionable. During the short reign of her husband, coins were also minted with her portrait and her name in the legend. The same applies to their daughter Didia Clara .

Like many members of the nobility , Iulianus completed a political career and entered the Senate around 157, still under Antoninus Pius , after the necessary dressing of the bursar . He is mentioned for the first time as a praetor around 164 . He was thus qualified to command troops and provinces as an imperial legate. Around 170 he commanded the Legio XXII Primigenia in Mogontiacum (Mainz) , before serving as governor of the province of Gallia Belgica for three years from 172 onwards. As such, he distinguished himself by repelling a naval advance by the Saxons.

In 175 Iulianus was suffect consul together with his later predecessor as emperor, Publius Helvius Pertinax , and thus qualified for the highest offices. After that he was governor again from 176 to 177, first of the province of Dalmatia ; from around 180 to 185 he then served in the same rank in Germania inferior and then returned to Italy. After he was acquitted a little later of the charge of conspiracy against Emperor Commodus , he was installed as the imperial governor of Bithynia et Pontus . He was then proconsul of the province of Africa Proconsularis and thus held one of the most prestigious positions in the empire.

Domination

Sliding into civil war

After Pertinax 's death, the extremely rich and high-ranking, though allegedly unpopular Julianus in Rome , according to Cassius Dio , who made a career under the Severians, hurried to the Praetorian camp and made the guards soldiers a generous offer. After bitter haggling, the soldiers finally awarded Julianus the bid for 25,000 sesterces per man; the competitor Sulpicianus , the city ​​prefect and father-in-law of Pertinax, was left empty-handed as the Praetorians feared that he might avenge Pertinax's death.

After this deal, the soldiers forced the Senate to appoint Julianus as the new emperor. In order to curb the popular anger that arose afterwards, Iulianus made far-reaching promises, which however remained without result. After all, he had his wife Manlia Scantilla and his daughter Didia Clara elevated to Augusta .

As emperor, Julian is said to have been polite to the point of submission; he tried to get the senators to his side with parties. But what was dangerous - he failed to realize this - was the resistance within the military. After just a few days, the displeasure was expressed in the proclamation of three opposing emperors by their troops: Clodius Albinus , Pescennius Niger and Septimius Severus , who were all governors of various provinces and who opposed the current ruler. Given the brevity of time that has passed, however, it is likely that they had intended to rebel against Pertinax by now. Clodius Albinus and Septimius Severus allied with each other for the time being, and Severus' troops marched on Rome.

Collapse of defense

Meanwhile Iulianus tried to react to the threat, because the Severan troops were already in Ravenna , where the entire second main fleet of the Roman navy overran. His simulation games were supposed to turn Rome into a fortress. Therefore, temporary walls were raised and trenches were dug. There was even a rumor that he was going to use circus elephants for city defense.

Julianus made a serious mistake by delegating the Praetorians to these defensive measures. The highly paid elite fighters, not used to such heavy physical labor, allegedly tried to evade their duties in every possible way. The organization and preparation of the defense was therefore very hesitant.

death

Septimius Severus was temporarily declared an enemy of the state by the Senate. The Senate sent a delegation to him to remind him of his oath of allegiance to the Reich; also sent with centurions should assassinate Severus. Most of the ambassadors defected, however, as the military situation was hopeless.

Desperate, Iulianus then sent one of his Praetorian prefects to ask Septimius Severus to accept the post of co-emperor. Septimius Severus, however, simply had this envoy killed and sent the frightened Praetorians a message in which he made the following offer: If the guardsmen handed over the murderer of Pertinax to him and joined him, he would guarantee them impunity. The Praetorians accepted the offer. With this Iulianus lost his last military support and the victory of Severus was certain.

When the Senate heard of this on June 1, the incumbent consul immediately convened a special session in which Iulianus was deposed in absentia and Septimius Severus was appointed the new sole ruler. Iulianus was sentenced to death at the same time and holed up with his last loyal followers in the imperial palace; There he was killed on June 2 by an assassin acting on behalf of the Senate. According to Cassius Dio, he died with tears and said, “But what have I done? Who have I ever curled a hair? ”According to the Late Antique Historia Augusta , he was buried in the grave of Salvius Iulianus. He fell into the damnatio memoriae .

literature

  • Werner Eck : M. Didius Severus Iulianus. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 3, Metzler, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-476-01473-8 , Sp. 542.
  • Richard de Kind: Pertinax or Didius Julianus? Some reflections on the imperial iconography of 193 AD. In: Bulletin Antieke Beschaving. Volume 79, 2004, p. 175 ff.
  • JB Leaning: Didius Julianus and his Biographer. In: Latomus. Volume 48, 1989, p. 548 ff.
  • Arthur Woodward: The Coinage of Didius Julianus and his Family. In: Numismatic Chronicle. Volume 121, 1961, p. 71 ff.
  • Martin Zimmermann : Emperor and Event. Studies on the history of Herodian (= Vestigia . Vol. 52). CH Beck, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-406-45162-4 , pp. 151-170.

Web links

Commons : Didius Julianus  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Ursula Kampmann: The coins of the Roman Empire. Regenstauf 2004, p. 196 f.
  2. CIL 6, 41122
  3. See François Chausson, Benoit Rossignol: La carrière de Didius Julianus: Rhin et Belgique . In: François Chausson (Ed.): Occidents Romains , Paris 2009, pp. 301 ff.
predecessor Office successor
Pertinax Roman Emperor
193
Septimius Severus