Galerius

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Follis of Galerius

Galerius (* around 250; † 311 in Serdica ), whose full name was Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus , was a Roman emperor . First he was from 293 to 305 subordinate co-emperor ( Caesar ) in the first tetrarchy until he rose to Augustus in 305 . Until his death in 311 he tried to preserve the tetrarchical system, which had been in crisis since the rising of Constantine in 306 (see dissolution of the Roman tetrarchy ).

Life

Rise to the emperor

According to tradition (which is not always reliable), Galerius was an Illyrian shepherd and, according to Eutropius, came from the Serdica region. On the basis of excavations, Galerius' birthplace could be precisely determined in 1984. It is located around 160 kilometers from Serdica near the present-day Serbian town of Zaječar and today consists only of monumental ruins: Galerius later built a residence on the site where his home village was and named it Romuliana in honor of his mother . Born around 250, he apparently began his military career under Emperor Aurelian and later also served under Probus . Galerius rose to the highest honor.

In order to ensure more security in the empire and especially for the empire, responsibility for the provinces was to be divided among four rulers at the end of the 3rd century. The system of the tetrarchy stipulated that two older Augusti two younger Caesares , who were distinguished by their bravery, were placed as helpers. In 286 , Emperor Diocletian appointed Maximian , who had served as his sub-emperor since 285, to be Augustus for the West, and both of them now formally held the same rank. As Caesares , Constantius I and Galerius were appointed in 293 - either simultaneously or at intervals of a few weeks .

Partial view of the Galerius Palace in Thessaloniki, view of the octagon from the southwest

On May 21, 293, Galerius was appointed co-emperor ( Caesar ) for the east of the empire by Emperor Diocletian in the course of the establishment of the tetrarchy . His residence cities were Sirmium and Thessaloniki . Galerius left his first wife and married Valeria , Diocletian's daughter. In 294 Galerius fought in Egypt and from 296 against the Sassanids , against whom he initially suffered a defeat. In 298, however, he defeated the Persian great king Narseh , which brought Rome greater territorial gains in the Peace of Nisibis . A triumphal arch was erected in his honor in Thessaloniki for his achievements .

When Galerius took the place of the departed Augustus Diocletian in May 305 , his power seemed greater than ever. From now on he ruled, with the support of his new Caesar Maximinus Daia , over an extensive empire that extended over the entire Balkans and Asia Minor . At the same time, Constantius I had also risen to the rank of (senior) Augustus in the west , whose previous office was now occupied by Caesar Severus . But when Constantius I died in 306 and Constantine I , the son of Constantius, and in 307 Maxentius , the scion of the former Augustus Maximian, appeared as usurpers , the previously stable tetrarchical system of rule was unbalanced. In many cases, modern historians see it as the decisive mistake of Galerius not to have taken a clear position towards Constantine at first: he was neither recognized as Augustus , nor gave Galerius orders to take military action against him. Instead, he accepted him as Caesar . However, this neither satisfied Constantine's ambition, nor did it deter imitators, such as Maxentius. Galerius, since the death of Constantius senior Augustus , ultimately tried in vain to preserve the system: The Tetrarchy, which had been painstakingly restored at the Carnuntum Conference in 308 , dissolved after Galerius' death in 311. His son Candidianus was eliminated by Licinius in 313 .

Galerius and the Christians

Galerius is traditionally regarded, at least according to the Christian Lactantius , as the instigator of the great persecution of Christians under Diocletian (since 303) and at least continued this after his resignation in 305 as his successor in the office of Augustus alongside Constantius († 306).

Most recently, Galerius suffered from a plague-like illness. On April 30, 311, shortly before his death, however, he decreed an edict of tolerance (Tuldungserlass) : The decree ended the persecution of Christians and made Christianity a religio licita (permitted religion) by allowing Christians to meet, insofar as this was in keeping with public order didn't bother. The decree of the terminally ill emperor also approved - rather the imperative - the restoration of the Christian churches. The Milan Convention of 313 "gave some kind of legal recognition to Christians for the first time in history" (Grant). The church received state funds for the first time in 313, which previously only flowed to the previous, pagan-dominated state religion. The bishop was given certain procedural rights effective by the state, and he was allowed to use the imperial post.

Lactantius and other Christian church teachers and apologists portray Galerius as a villain and monster. Because of his simple origins, Galerius was generally considered to be uncouth, as a man who lacked the courtly polish; on the other hand, he was also described as energetic, well-meaning and just. Galerius was a traditionalist and was unable to recognize the epochal dimensions of the new, Christian era, or only at the end of his life.

Galerius Peak , a mountain on Alexander I Island in Antarctica, has had his name since 2017 .

presentation

Portrait head of Galerius made of porphyry , found in Galerius' palace in Gamzigrad

While Galerius evidently embodied a handsome man of strong build at a young age, his figure grew in fullness over time. This can be helpful in distinguishing the portraits of Galerius as Caesar from later ones as Augustus . His portrait is characterized by a mostly rough treatment, his strong neck and the characteristic forehead wrinkles mentioned above. In most cases, Galerius has a beard. In the case of portraits without such a person, it is sometimes assumed that this is due to his tolerance of Christianity - albeit only shortly before his death - but this remains speculation, because the Edict of Tolerance in no way reveals sympathy for Christianity. The strict, even demarcation of the hair, the straight nose, wide-open eyes with strongly raised eyebrows, in some cases the beginnings of a slight double chin as well as the straight hairline are characteristic of the portrait of the emperor. Overall, his portrait is dominated by harmony in the composition, his facial expression conveys a tense, suspiciously scrutinizing look.

The portrait of Galerius appears not only on sculptural monuments, but also on coins. Sensory carriers such as eyes and ears are strongly emphasized, the hair is indicated by parallel lines, his neck has an enormous circumference and the typical forehead motif is easy to recognize even on these small image carriers. Based on these characteristics, it was possible for the ancient population to identify their emperor , although his name is of course given in the legend on the coin. Coins, which were and are important carriers of information, made it possible for the rulers to represent themselves. Due to the rapid spread of the currency, every Roman citizen knew within a short time about the appearance of the reigning emperor and his current programs, and so the coin was used as a propaganda tool well suited.

The simplification of the structures, as found in the portrait of Galerius, is also found in portraits of unknown people of that time. It is initially due to a changing design language and not (yet) to a decline in artistry.

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Few sources report on the reign of Galerius. The various late antique breviaries , historical fragments ( Petros Patrikios ), coins, inscriptions, papyri and archaeological findings are important. Furthermore, the history of the Byzantine Johannes Zonaras , who consulted sources from late antiquity, some of which are lost today.

literature

Web links

Commons : Galerius  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ See Wolfgang Kuhoff , Diokletian und die Epoche der Tetrarchy , Frankfurt am Main 2001, p. 123.
  2. ↑ On the dating cf. William Seston: Dioclétien et la Tétrarchie , Vol. I, Paris 1946: First Constantius I was elevated to Caesar on March 1, then Galerius followed in May.
  3. ↑ Pedro Barceló : The Roman Empire in the Religious Change of Late Antiquity. Emperor and bishops in conflict . Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7917-2529-1 , p. 31.
  4. ↑ Erich Schnepel: Jesus in the Roman Empire. The way of the church of Jesus in the first four centuries. Betanien, Oerlinghausen 2013 (first edition furrow 1936), ISBN 978-3-935558-41-9 , p. 59
  5. ↑ Pedro Barceló: The Roman Empire in the Religious Change of Late Antiquity. Emperor and bishops in conflict . Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2013, p. 33.
  6. ↑ Erich Schnepel: Jesus in the Roman Empire. The way of the church of Jesus in the first four centuries. Betanien, Oerlinghausen 2013 (first edition furrow 1936), ISBN 978-3-935558-41-9 , p. 61ff.
  7. ↑ On Zonaras as a source for Galerius cf. Michael DiMaio, Zonaras' Account of the Neo-Flavian Emperors , 1977, p. 98 f.
predecessor Office successor
Diocletian Roman Emperor
293 / 305–311 		Licinius and Maximinus Daia
personal data
SURNAME Galerius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gaius Valerius Maximianus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Emperor of the Roman Empire
DATE OF BIRTH at 250
PLACE OF BIRTH Serdica, Illyria
DATE OF DEATH 311
Place of death Serdica