Priscus Attalus

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Solidus of Priscus Attalus

Priscus Attalus was a late antique senator of Greek origin and, as a usurper, twice a Western Roman emperor .

Attalus was the city ​​prefect of Rome in 409 . In the same year he was baptized according to the Arian creed , until then a non-Christian . He was out with massive support of the Visigoths to Gegenkaiser proclaimed. The goal of the mutinous Visigoth warriors was to obtain a claim to supply ( annona militaris ) from the Roman state . Since Emperor Honorius in Ravenna has refused to do this for years, Alaric , the leader of the Visigoths , raised his own Augustus in the form of Attalus , who should then conclude corresponding contracts with him in the name of Rome. Since Honorius was generally unpopular, the new emperor was able to gather supporters at first. But the comes Africae Heraclianus stood by Honorius and interrupted the vital grain deliveries from North Africa to Italy. Since Attalus and the Senate refused to wage an outright war against him, Alaric removed his emperor and resumed negotiations with Honorius.

Attalus' second reign did not last long either. The new Visigotenführer Athaulf had him proclaimed emperor again in 414 in Burdigala (today Bordeaux); at that time this served among others Paulinus von Pella , who later complained that the warriors had treated Athaulf Attalus and his followers badly. At the beginning of the year 416 Wallia, the successor of Athaulf, came to an understanding with the imperial court in Ravenna. Attalus was extradited and forced to take part in Honorius' triumphal procession in Rome in the same year (416). This was the last Roman triumph to be celebrated in Italy. Attalus had two fingers cut off, but his life was spared, so that he could end his days in exile on the Aeolian Islands .

literature

  • Henning Börm : Westrom. From Honorius to Justinian . Stuttgart 2013.
  • Thomas S. Burns: Barbarians within the gates of Rome. A study of Roman military policy and the barbarians, ca. 375-425 AD . Bloomington 1994.
  • John Robert Martindale: Priscus Attalus. In: The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (PLRE). Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1980, ISBN 0-521-20159-4 , pp. 180-181.

Web links

Commons : Priscus Attalus  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Priscus Attalus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Senator and temporarily Roman emperor
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century
DATE OF DEATH after 416