Nepotianus

Coin of Nepotianus

Nepotianus (Germanized Nepotian , full name Flavius Iulius Popilius Nepotianus Constantinus ; † June 30, 350 in Rome ) was a Roman usurper of the year 350.

Life

Nepotianus was the son of Eutropias , a half-sister of Constantine the Great . Presumably Virius Nepotianus , the consul of 336, was his father. Nepotianus survived as the only male relative of Constantine next to Constantius Gallus and Julian the murders after the death of Constantine the Great . Constantine had left his kingdom to his three sons; Of these, 350 were still Constans and Constantius II alive. On January 18 of this year Magnus Magnentius was proclaimed emperor in Augustodunum ( Autun ). Constans then fled and was eventually murdered. On March 1st, Vetranio , the aged master of the Illyrian army, made himself emperor.

Against the pro-pagan policy of the praefectus urbis Romae (city prefect) Fabius Titianus , appointed by Emperor Magnentius, resistance soon arose among the urban Roman population. On June 3, 350, Nepotianus proclaimed himself emperor. He was allegedly supported by gladiators and "desperate men", probably a crowd of armed insurgents. It is unclear whether Constantius II supported Nepotianus in the seizure of power. It suggests that the Christian opposition, which also sat in the Senate , convinced Nepotianus of the need for a revolt. Magnentius sent legionaries to Rome under the leadership of his magister officiorum Marcellinus . The uprising was put down on June 30th. Nepotianus was killed and his head carried through the streets of Rome on a lance. In the proscription that followed, Eutropia, the mother of Nepotianus, was also executed.

swell

Orosius 7, 29
Aurelius Victor 42, 7

literature

Kay Ehling: The elevation of Nepotianus in Rome in June 350 AD and his program of the urbs Roma christiana. In: Göttingen Forum for Classical Studies . Volume 4, 2001, pp. 141–158 ( online ; PDF; 295 kB).
Esteban Moreno Resano: La usurpación de Nepociano (350 DC) . In: Veleia . Volume 26, 2009, pp. 297-322.

Web links

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

Michael DiMaio, Jr .: Short biography (English) at De Imperatoribus Romanis (with references).

Remarks

↑ The numismatist Curtis Clay ( Revolt of Nepotian: 351 instead of 350 AD? ) Dates the survey to the period from May 10 to June 7, 351. Michel Festy also recently pleaded for (June) 351: Philostorge: de la source latine d'Eunape à la twin spring . In: Doris Mayer (Ed.): Philostorge et l'historiographie de l'Antiquité tardive / Philostorg in the context of late antique historiography . Stuttgart 2011, p. 65ff .; Kay Ehling still thinks 350 is more plausible.

personal data
SURNAME	Nepotianus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Nepotian; Flavius Julius Popilius Nepotianus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Roman usurper of the year 350
DATE OF BIRTH	4th century
DATE OF DEATH	June 30, 350
Place of death	Rome

[1] The numismatist Curtis Clay ( Revolt of Nepotian: 351 instead of 350 AD? ) Dates the survey to the period from May 10 to June 7, 351. Michel Festy also recently pleaded for (June) 351: Philostorge: de la source latine d'Eunape à la twin spring . In: Doris Mayer (Ed.): Philostorge et l'historiographie de l'Antiquité tardive / Philostorg in the context of late antique historiography . Stuttgart 2011, p. 65ff .; Kay Ehling still thinks 350 is more plausible.