Florianus

Marcus Annius Florianus († September 276 at Tarsus ) was a Roman emperor .

Life

Antoninian , on which Florianus is crowned by Hercules

Due to the poor sources, little is known about Florianus. He was installed as Praetorian prefect by his half-brother Marcus Claudius Tacitus (both presumably had the same mother) after his appointment as emperor . The half-brothers initially fought together against the Goths in Asia Minor . When he learned of the death of his half-brother, Florianus immediately declared himself the new emperor in April 276. Although it received no approval from either the soldiers or the Senate , there was no opposition. Florianus immediately took action against the Goths again after taking office and reportedly achieved great success. But shortly before the end of this campaign, he received the news that Marcus Aurelius Probus , commander of the legions on the eastern border, had been proclaimed emperor.

Florianus immediately broke off all military operations against the Goths and threw all expendable forces south. At first it seemed that Florianus' victory could not be doubted, as his troops were clearly outnumbered. But it soon turned out - according to the sources - that his soldiers, who mainly came from Central Europe, could not cope with the hot desert climate. The morale of the imperial troops visibly crumbled through the Probus' delaying tactics and the spread of epidemics. In June 276 , many of Florianus' soldiers defected to Probus. When the emperor tried to regain the loyalty of his troops, he was murdered by his own soldiers in September 276 after a rule of supposedly only 88 days. Most likely, the act took place on the direct orders of the Probus, who subsequently took control.

literature

• Paul von Rohden : Annius 46 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 2, Stuttgart 1894, Col. 2266.
• Michael Peachin: Roman Imperial Titulature and Chronology, AD 235-284 . Gieben, Amsterdam 1990, ISBN 90-5063-034-0 , p. 46 f. (Discussion of the chronology) and 419-422 (compilation of the evidence in numismatic, inscribed and narrative sources).
• Eberhard Sauer: M. Annius Florianus. A three-month emperor and the stone monuments erected in his honor (276 AD). In: Historia . Volume 47, Issue 2, 1998, pp. 174-203.

Web links

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

• Robin Mc Mahon: Short biography (English) at De Imperatoribus Romanis (with references).

predecessor	Office	successor
Tacitus	Roman Emperor 276	Probus