Silvanus (counter-emperor)

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Silvanus († September 7, 355 ) was the Roman counter-emperor for 28 days in 355 .

Life

Claudius (?) Silvanus was born in Gaul as the son of Bonitus, an officer of Frankish descent who had served under Constantine . Silvanus served in the military first under the usurper Magnentius , then under Constantius II , to whom he transferred shortly before the battle of Mursa (351). Silvanus eventually rose (still quite young) to become army master . Constantius II entrusted him around 352/353 with the task of pushing Germanic tribes invading Gaul back beyond the Rhine border.

Apparently, however, Silvanus had made several enemies at the imperial court. Through an intrigue, courtiers succeeded in convincing Constantius II that Silvanus was planning to take over imperial power. The emperor ordered Silvanus back, but the wrongly suspected Silvanus actually had himself proclaimed emperor on August 11, 355 in Colonia Agrippina ( Cologne ) - probably for fear of Constantius' retaliation . It is possible that Silvanus was urged to do this by his own soldiers, which was not unusual in late antiquity . Allegedly, he should also have thought of fleeing to the Franks, which a confidante advised him against.

Ironically, Constantius, who was in Mediolanum (Milan) , had previously commissioned an investigation, which Silvanus, for whom several Frankish officers at court had also campaigned, had exonerated. However, challenged by the open usurpation of Silvanus, Constantius now took measures. He ordered Silvanus to come to him and appointed Ursicinus to be his successor as army master. In the letter that Ursicinus was supposed to hand over to Silvanus, however, it was not mentioned that Constantius already knew of the usurpation, so that Silvanus initially felt safe. Ursicinus carried out the murder of Silvanus, who was then killed by bribed soldiers only 28 days after his elevation. Silvanus looked in vain for protection in a meeting room of the Christian community, the first Christian cult room in Cologne mentioned in writing.

In response to the usurpation of Silvanus, Constantius appointed his cousin Julian on November 6, 355 as Caesar and sent him to Gaul to maintain the imperial presence.

Ammianus Marcellinus reports in detail about the usurpation of Silvanus , who as a contemporary witness and companion of Ursicinus experienced part of the events in Cologne. A short biography can be found e.g. B. also with Aurelius Victor .

Remarks

  1. ↑ CIL 10.06945 ; D (ominus) N (oster) Imp (erator) Cl (a) udi (us) / Silvanus Aug (ustus). The evidence of a milestone in Campania is uncertain and probably represents a prescription from CLAVDIVS IVLIANVS to CLVDIVS SILVANVS; it is also extremely unlikely that the short-lived Gallic usurper was ever recognized in Italy, especially since Constantius was in Milan. Cf. Alexander Demandt: The late antiquity . 2nd edition Munich 2007, p. 109, note 55.
  2. ↑ Cf. Ammianus Marcellinus 15,5,15f.
  3. ↑ Ammianus Marcellinus 15,5,6ff.

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Silvanus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Claudius Silvanus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman counter-emperor
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century
DATE OF DEATH September 7, 355