Soldier emperor
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As a soldier emperors in are ancient history research often Kaiser referred to the 284/85 power in the period of 235 Roman Empire exercised. In the older research, the emperors of the years 180–235 ( Commodus and the Severer ) and 284–305 ( Diocletian ) were also counted among the soldier emperors .
During the time of the soldier emperors, the so-called imperial crisis of the 3rd century fell , in which the empire was exposed to an increased threat from outside as well as to grapple with considerable internal problems.
Definition
The not unproblematic term “soldier emperor” denotes the empire of that time, which was generally heavily based on the military, and which marginalized the role of the senate (which was of little political importance in the imperial era) even more than before. Many, but not all, soldier emperors had served their positions in the army before they came to power and owed their rule directly to the troops they commanded. The term “soldier emperor” was coined in the 19th century, but made popular in particular by Franz Altheim (around 1940). It can be derived from the descriptions of the ancient historians, who were usually more senate-friendly .
The beginning of this epoch, which is generally regarded as the last section of the principate or the High Imperial Era, is traditionally set in the year 235, when soldiers killed the last Severus Alexander and with Maximinus Thrax one of their commanders was made emperor. Diocletian's accession to government in 284/85 is seen as the end of the military empire, with which one usually starts late antiquity , because Diocletian undertook a fundamental reorganization of the Roman state and ended the period of frequent violent changes of power. Although emperors were later raised from the ranks of the army , it was no longer a question of the rapid upheavals that had shaped the military emperor's time. The soldier emperors had different personal backgrounds. Some were of humble origins and relatively uneducated, and focused on their familiar military duties; others, such as Decius , Valerian or Gallienus , on the other hand, belonged to the senatorial upper class.
Even if 284 marks a meaningful turning point in many respects, the definitive end point of the soldier imperial era did not come until the late 4th century , when the close relationship between the army and the emperor loosened and the rulers ceased to campaign personally with the army. After the division of the empire in 395 at the latest , they had become palace emperors.
List of soldier emperors
On the individual emperors cf. also the overview in the manual published by Klaus-Peter Johne .
| Surname | Full name | Reign | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early soldier emperors | |||
| Maximinus Thrax | Gaius Iulius Verus Maximinus | 235- 238 | against Severus Alexander; Caesar: Maximus (from 236) |
| Magnus | (Gaius Petronius?) Magnus | 235? | Usurper in Upper Germany; Successor: Quartinus (235?) |
| Gordian I. | Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus Africanus | 238 | Counter-Emperor in Africa, with Gordian II. |
| Pupienus | Marcus Clodius Pupienus Maximus | 238 | with Balbinus , against Maximinus Thrax |
| Gordian III. | Mark Antony Gordianus | 238- 244 | 238 Caesar under Pupienus and Balbinus; Regents: Gordiana (?, To 241), Timesitheus (241–243) |
| Sabinianus | (Marcus Asinius?) Sabinianus | 240 | Counter-Emperor in Africa |
| Philip Arabs | Marcus Iulius Philippus | 244-249 | Regent since 243 (with Priscus ), from 247 with Philip II ( Caesar since 244) |
| Pacatianus | Tiberius Claudius Marinus Pacatianus | 248-248 / 49 | Counter-emperor in Moesia and Pannonia |
| Iotapianus | Marcus F (ulvius?) Ru (fus?) Iotapianus | 248 / 49-249 | Counter-emperors in Syria and Cappadocia |
| Sponsianus | unknown | ? | Counter-Emperor in Dacia (?) |
| Decius | Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius | 249- 251 | against Philip Arabs, 251 with Herennius Etruscus ( Caesar since 250); Regent: Etruscilla (251) |
| Valens Licinianus | Iulius Valens Licinianus | 250/51 | Counter-Emperor in Rome |
| Priscus | (Lucius / Titus Iulius?) Priscus | 250/51 | Counter-Emperor in Thrace (by Kniva ?) |
| Trebonianus Gallus | Gaius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus | 251-253 | with Hostilian (251, Caesar since 250) and Volusianus ( Caesar 251) |
| Aemilianus | Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus | 253 | against Trebonianus Gallus |
| Valerian | Publius Licinius Valerianus | 253- 260 | against Aemilianus, with Gallienus |
| Silbannacus | Mar (inus?) Silbannacus | 253? | Counter-Emperor in Rome (?) |
| Uranius Antoninus | Lucius Iulius Aurelius Sulpicius Severus Uranius Antoninus | 253-254 | Counter-Emperor in Syria |
| Gallienus | Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus | 253-268 | Co-emperor in the west ( Caesar 253), 260 sole rulers, with Saloninus (260, Caesar since 258) and Marinian (268); Caesar: Valerian II (256-258); Rex Regum : Odaenathus (263–267, east, with Herodian ) |
| Regalianus | Publius C (assius?) Regalianus | 260 | Counter-emperor in Pannonia and Moesia; Predecessor: Ingenuus (260?) |
| Macrianus | Titus Fulvius Junius Macrianus | 260-261 | Counter-emperor in the east, with Quietus (both by Macrianus Maior and Ballista ); Predecessor:? Mareades (260, Syria, by Shapur I ); Successor: Mussius Aemilianus (261–262),? Memor (262, both Egypt) |
| Valens | Valens Thessalonicus | 261 | Counter-emperor in Macedonia (or Greece?); Counter-Emperor:? Piso |
| Celsus | unknown | ? | alleged usurper in Africa |
| Trebellianus | unknown | ? | alleged usurper in Cilicia |
| Aureolus | unknown | 268 | Usurper in Northern Italy |
| Emperor of the Imperium Galliarum | |||
| Postumus | Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus | 260-269 | against Gallienus; alleged Caesar and co-emperor: Postumus II. |
| Laelianus | (Gaius?) Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus | 269 | Counter-emperor in Upper Germany |
| Marius | Marcus Aurelius Marius | 269 | by Victoria (?) |
| Victorinus | Marcus Piav (v) onius Victorinus | 269-271 | against Marius (?); Regent: Victoria (271); alleged Caesar: Victorinus II. |
| Domitianus | unknown | 271? | against Victorinus (?) |
| Tetricus I. | Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus | 271-274 | against Domitianus (?, through Victoria); Caesar: Tetricus II. (From 272/73) |
| Faustinus | unknown | 273/74 | Usurper in Northern Gaul |
| Late soldier emperors | |||
| Claudius Gothicus | Marcus Aurelius (Valerius) Claudius | 268-270 | |
| Censorinus | unknown | ? | alleged usurper in Italy |
| Quintillus | Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus | 270 | |
| Aurelian | Lucius Domitius Aurelianus | 270-275 | against Quintillus, from 274 sole ruler; Regent: Severina (?, 275) |
| Felicissimus | unknown | 271? | Usurper (?) In Rome |
| Septimius | unknown | 271/72 | Counter-emperor in Dalmatia |
| Urbanus | unknown | 271/72 | Usurper in? |
| Vaballathus | Lucius Iulius Aurelius Septimius Vabal (l) athus Athenodorus | 272 | Counter-emperor in the east, Rex Regum since 267 (nominally co-regent Aurelians from 270); Regent: Zenobia ; Predecessor:? Maeonius (267); Successor: Antiochus (273, both Syria),? Firmus (273, Egypt) |
| Tacitus | Marcus Claudius Tacitus | 275-276 | |
| Florianus | Marcus Annius Florianus | 276 | |
| Probus | Marcus Aurelius Probus | 276-282 | against Florianus |
| Septimius | Lucius Septimius? | 280/81 | Usurper (?) In Britain |
| Proculus | unknown | 280/81 | Counter-Emperor in Lower Germany (and Northern Gaul?), With? Bonosus |
| Saturninus | (Gaius?) Julius Saturninus | 281 | Counter-Emperor in Syria (and Egypt?) |
| Carus | Marcus Aurelius Carus | 282-283 | against Probus (?) |
| Carinus | Marcus Aurelius Carinus | 283-285 | 283 co-emperors in the west ( Caesar since 282), until 284 with Numerian (east, Caesar since 282) and Nigrinian |
| Sabinus Julianus | Marcus Aurelius Sabinus Iulianus | 284-285 | Counter-Emperor in Pannonia and Northern Italy |
| Surname | Full name | Reign | Remarks |
literature
- Andreas Alföldi : Studies on the history of the world crisis of the 3rd century AD . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1967.
- Clifford Ando: Imperial Rome AD 193 to 284. The Critical Century. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2012.
- Ben N. Berressem: The representation of the soldier emperors . Studies on imperial self-representation in the 3rd century AD Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN 978-3-447-11032-7 (Philippika vol. 122).
- Felix Hartmann: Change of rulers and imperial crisis. Investigations into the causes and consequences of the change of rulers in the Imperium Romanum of the soldier imperial period (3rd century AD) . Lang, Frankfurt / Main 1982, ISBN 3-8204-6195-7 .
- Olivier Hekster: Rome and its Empire, AD 193-284 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2008.
-
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 978-3-515-08941-8 .
Collection of current articles by international experts. - Klaus-Peter Johne (ed.): The time of the soldier emperors . 2 volumes, Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-05-004529-0 .
- Michael Sommer : The soldier emperors . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2004, ISBN 3-534-17477-1 (compact history). ( Review )
- Karl Strobel : The Roman Empire in the 3rd Century. Model of a historical crisis? . Steiner, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-515-05662-9 .
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Gerold Walser , Thomas Pekáry : The crisis of the Roman Empire . de Gruyter, Berlin 1962.
A collection of detailed studies that can only be recommended for experts. - Christian Witschel : Crisis - Recession - Stagnation? The west of the Roman Empire in the third century AD Clauss, Frankfurt / Main 1999, ISBN 3-934040-01-2 .
Remarks
- ↑ Good overview in Matthäus Heil : "Soldier Emperor" as a term for an era . In: Klaus-Peter Johne (Ed.): Deleto paene imperio Romano. Stuttgart 2006, p. 411 ff.
- ↑ For the discussion, cf. Henning Börm : The rule of the emperor Maximinus Thrax and the six-imperial year 238. The beginning of the “Imperial Crisis”? In: Gymnasium 115, 2008, p. 69 ff.
- ↑ Klaus-Peter Johne (Ed.): The time of the soldiers' emperors . 2 volumes, Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2008.