Quintillus

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Aureus of the Quintillus

Quintillus († 270 ), with full name Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus , was a brother of the Roman emperor Claudius Gothicus and in 270 as his successor himself emperor.

Life

Little is known about Quintillus. He allegedly had two children and was probably born in the 20s of the 3rd century. Probably at the beginning of September 270 he was proclaimed emperor by his former soldiers after the early death of his brother. The Senate and the provinces , which were still under imperial control during the turbulent times of the imperial crisis of the 3rd century , had nothing to object to his enthronement for the time being, but soon afterwards the Danube regions raised a counter-emperor with Aurelian .

Quintillus now moved to Aquileia , which he used as the headquarters of the defensive forces in northern Italy. There he awaited Aurelian's army, but finally his soldiers ran over to Aurelian. Quintillus died shortly afterwards; according to some sources he was murdered, according to others he gave himself to death. The information on the length of his reign varies from just 17 days (according to the majority of sources) to 77 days ( chronograph of 354 ).

reception

Roman historiography sees Quintillus as a very capable and humble ruler, presumably because he had a good relationship with the Roman Senate.

Quintillus is often compared with his predecessors Servius Sulpicius Galba and Publius Helvius Pertinax . Senatorial sources rated all three emperors very benevolently, although each of them died before the first year of reign could be completed.

The writer Erwin Wickert described the life of Quintillus in a novel.

literature

  • Udo Hartmann : Claudius Gothicus and Aurelian . In: Klaus-Peter Johne : The time of the soldier emperors . Berlin 2008, p. 307f.
  • Michael Peachin: Roman Imperial Titulature and Chronology, AD 235-284 . Gieben, Amsterdam 1990, ISBN 90-5063-034-0 , p. 43 (discussion of the chronology) and 380-382 (compilation of the evidence in numismatic, inscribed and narrative sources)

Web links

Commons : Quintillus  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Hartmann, p. 307, assumes 229 based on a statement in Johannes Malalas .
  2. ↑ In older representations, the spring of 270 was often mentioned as the time of the emperor's elevation, but this is not possible due to the Egyptian papyrus finds, see Hartmann, p. 308f.
  3. ↑ Erwin Wickert: The purple. Roman emperor's novel. Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, Stuttgart 1980. ISBN 3-421-01972-X .
predecessor Office successor
Claudius Gothicus Roman Emperor
270 		Aurelian
personal data
SURNAME Quintillus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Quintillus, Marcus Aurelius Claudius; Quintile
BRIEF DESCRIPTION roman emperor
DATE OF BIRTH uncertain: between 220 and 230
DATE OF DEATH 270