Maternus (usurper)
Maternus († March 187 in Rome ?) Was a Roman usurper who rose against Emperor Commodus in southern Gaul .
Life
Maternus, who at Herodian as a deserter is characterized, Bandit and soldiers of fortune, should have in 185 (or 186) placed at the head of a rebellion that was apparently fueled also from social unrest, and settled for Imperator cry. The uprising, which is said to have spread to Spain, was put down by Pescennius Niger in the so-called bellum desertorum . Maternus escaped to northern Italy, where he continued the gang war. During the celebration of the Great Goddess in March 187, he allegedly planned an assassination attempt on the emperor. The plan was blown and Maternus was executed before the festivities began. This incident caused Commodus to reinforce his bodyguards and to keep himself even more away from government affairs and public appearances.
The reliability of Herodian's account of the usurpation and the assassination plans of Maternus is sometimes questioned by research, the sources are altogether contradicting.
swell
literature
- Géza Alföldy : Bellum desertorum. In: Bonner Jahrbücher . Volume 171, 1971, pp. 367-376.
- Karl Christ : History of the Roman Empire. From Augustus to Constantine . 5th edition. Beck, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-406-36316-4 .
- Thomas Grünewald : Bandits in the Roman Empire: Myth and Reality. Routledge, London 2004, ISBN 0-415-32744-X , p. 124 ff.
- Peter Tasler: Commodus . In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde . Volume 5, pp. 68-78, here: p. 75.
- Ralf Urban : Gallia rebellis. Surveys in Gaul as reflected in ancient evidence (= Historia individual writings. Volume 129). Steiner, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-515-07383-3 , pp. 84-85.
- Martin Zimmermann : Emperor and Event. Studies on the history of Herodian (= Vestigia . Vol. 52). CH Beck, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-406-45162-4 , pp. 85-112.
Remarks
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Maternus |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Roman usurper |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 2nd century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 187 |
| Place of death | uncertain: Rome |