Proculus

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Antoninian of Proculus.

Proculus († 281 ) was a Roman usurper who rose up against Emperor Probus in 280/81, possibly together with Bonosus , and ruled for a few weeks.

Life

The usurpation of the Proculus, together with three other usurpations, is described in a relatively detailed manner in a vita of the Late Antique Historia Augusta , an unreliable source. There, his origin and his career are presented. Accordingly, he derived his origin from the Franks . He is said to have been a nobleman and lived in Albingaunum . His ancestors got rich through robbery. He is said to have been married to a certain Samso and to have had at least one son, Herennianus. However, both are considered fictional people.

Proculus is described as a skilled soldier. When the people of Lugdunum , fearing the emperor Probus, asked him if he was ready to become emperor , he accepted. After taking office, he was able to arm 2,000 of his own slaves.

On his return from Syria, Probus forced him to retreat north. After failing to find support from the Franks, he was betrayed and handed over to Probus, who had him killed.

Coins

The existence of the Proculus has often been questioned in research, as the Historia Augusta is generally very unreliable (almost all documents are regarded as forgeries, several people are considered fictitious, as are many incidents), especially as regards the second half of the Viten. However, a Proculus coin appeared in the 1990s that was assessed as genuine and is now in the Munich State Mint Collection ; a second specimen was found by probe users in northern England in 2012 (see picture). The existence of the usurper is now recognized, even if the vita in the Historia Augusta should only be treated with extreme caution.

literature

  • Hartwin Brandt : Facts and Fictions - the Historia Augusta and the 3rd Century . In: Klaus-Peter Johne et al. (Ed.): Deleto paene imperio Romano. Transformation processes of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century and their reception in modern times. Steiner, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-515-08941-1 , pp. 11-23 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  • Thomas Grünewald : Bandits in the Roman Empire: Myth and Reality. Routledge, London 2004, ISBN 0-415-32744-X , pp. 85-86 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  • Gerald Kreucher: The emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus and his time (= Historia individual writings. Vol. 174). Steiner, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-515-08382-0 , pp. 166-172 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  • Johannes Nollé : The first coin of the emperor Proculus. A new picture of a usurper. In: Antike Welt 6/2002, pp. 669–674.
  • Ian J. Sellars: The Monetary System of the Romans: A description of the Roman coinage from early times to the reform of Anastasius. Selbstverlag, Melbourne 2013, pp. 374–375 ( limited preview in Google book search).

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ G. Kreucher: The Emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus and his time. Stuttgart 2003, p. 167.
  2. ↑ 280 or 281, the dating fluctuates due to the unfavorable source situation, cf. G. Kreucher: The emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus and his time. Stuttgart 2003, (281) and the current proceedings by Johne u. a .: Deleto paene Imperio Romano. P. 430 (280).
  3. ↑ General Brandt: Facts and Fictions - the Historia Augusta and the 3rd century. Stuttgart 2006; on Proculus especially p. 19 (with further literature). Cf. in the same volume the contribution by Olivier Hekster , Erika Manders: Kaiser gegen Kaiser: Bilder der Macht im 3. Century. Pp. 135–144, here p. 135.
personal data
SURNAME Proculus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman counter-emperor
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd century
DATE OF DEATH 281