Domitius Alexander
Lucius Domitius Alexander († around 310) was a Roman counter-emperor in the province of Africa .
Life
Alexander was of lower origin and came either from Phrygia (as reported by the Epitome de Caesaribus and Zosimos, who wrote 200 years later ) or from Pannonia (as stated by Aurelius Victor ). Before the year 308, when he was already old, he was vicarius Africae (governor of the province of Africa). He can therefore probably be identified with a Valerius Alexander, who was vicarius Africae from 303 to 306 , and could have changed his name (following Aurelian ) when he was made emperor . It is no longer possible to determine with certainty whether he previously held an office. Zosimos claims that he was an incompetent and cowardly governor, unable to hold an office worthily.
When Maxentius , the (counter) emperor in Rome , took Alexander's son hostage to ensure the loyalty of the African troops, Alexander refused to hand over his son and allowed himself to be proclaimed Augustus . When exactly this happened can no longer be determined with certainty. A date of 308/309 is close, after Maxentius was not recognized as a legitimate emperor at an imperial conference in Carnuntum . Rome was dependent on the African grain deliveries, so that the usurpation apparently led to unrest in the urban Roman population. Maxentius had to react quickly, especially since Alexander could possibly rely on an alliance with his rival Constantine . Around 309/10 Maxentius sent his prefects Rufius Volusianus and Zenas with a small force to Africa, where they achieved a quick victory against Alexander. The usurper was captured and executed shortly afterwards.
literature
- Dietmar Kienast , Werner Eck , Matthäus Heil : Roman imperial table. Basic features of a Roman imperial chronology . 6th, revised edition. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2017, ISBN 978-3-534-26724-8 , p. 281.
- Wolfgang Kuhoff : Diocletian and the epoch of the tetrarchy. The Roman Empire between crisis management and rebuilding (284–313 AD) . Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2001, ISBN 3-631-36792-9 , pp. 863-869.
- Arnold Hugh Martin Jones , John Robert Martindale, John Morris : L. Domitius Alexander 17. In: The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (PLRE). Volume 1, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1971, ISBN 0-521-07233-6 , p. 43.
- Otto Seeck : Alexandros 71) . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 1, Stuttgart 1893, Col. 1445.
Web links
- Michael DiMaio, Jr .: Short biography (English) at De Imperatoribus Romanis (with references).
Remarks
- ↑ The full name can be found in the four inscriptions CIL 8, 7004 ; CIL 8, 21959 ; CIL 8, 22183 ; Inscriptions Latines de l'Algérie 1.3921; elsewhere he appears exclusively as Alexander .
- ↑ Zosimos 2,12,3; Epitome de Caesaribus 40.20; Aurelius Victor, Liber de Caesaribus 40.17. Otto Seeck , in: RE, Vol. I, 1, Col. 1445, turns it into "born in Phrygia [...] of Pannonian parents of lower class".
- ↑ For example PLRE, Vol. 1, p. 43 and Kuhoff, Diokletian und die Epoche der Tetrarchy , p. 381.
- ↑ Zosimos 2:12.
- ^ Kuhoff, Diokletian und die Epoche der Tetrarchy , p. 864 (spring 309).
- ↑ Chronograph von 354 , in: Theodor Mommsen (Ed.), Chronica minora saec. IV. V. VI. VII. (I) , Berlin 1892, pp. 13–148, here p. 158. Also Bruno Bleckmann , Konstantin der Große , Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2003, p. 54.
- ↑ Kienast / Eck / Heil, Kaisertabelle , p. 281.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Domitius Alexander |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lucius Domitius Alexander |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Governor of Africa, Roman counter-emperor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 3rd century |
| DATE OF DEATH | at 310 |