Taurinus (counter-emperor)

Taurinus was a Roman counter-emperor . He rebelled against Emperor Severus Alexander around 231 .

Very little is known about Taurinus. All that has been handed down is that he - apparently in the east of the Roman Empire - was made emperor and that he threw himself into the Euphrates and drowned “out of fear” . It is only mentioned in two sources, both of which were not made until late antiquity : in the Epitome de Caesaribus and in the Laterculus of Polemius Silvius . Polemius mistakenly places his rebellion in the reign of Emperor Elagabal .

At that time there was a rebellious mood in the army and a tendency to mutinies, Severus Alexander had little authority with the soldiers. This constellation favored the rebellion of Taurinus. The specific reason for his elevation to the rank of anti-emperor is unknown. It was very likely related to the Sasanian offensive and the Roman counter-offensive in the Roman-Persian War of 230 / 231-232.

Research is considering the possibility that the name Taurinus is a misspelling of "Uranius"; according to this hypothesis, Taurinus is to be equated with Uranius, who is mentioned as a counter-emperor against Severus Alexander by Polemius Silvius, Zosimos and Georgios Synkellos . Uranius was raised at Edessa , which geographically would fit death in the Euphrates. However, Polemius Silvius clearly differentiates between Uranius and Taurinus, which speaks against the equation.

literature

Julia Sünskes Thompson: Uprisings and protests in the Roman Empire . Habelt, Bonn 1990, ISBN 3-7749-2466-X , pp. 42f., 85-87

Remarks

↑ Epitome de Caesaribus 24.2.
↑ Epitome de Caesaribus 24.2; Polemius Silvius, Laterculus 1.31, ed. by Theodor Mommsen : Polemii Silvii laterculus a. ProzXLIX . In: Monumenta Germaniae Historica , Auctores antiqussimi Vol. 9, Berlin 1892, p. 521.
^ Julia Sünskes Thompson: Uprising and protest actions in the Imperium Romanum , Bonn 1990, p. 86f .; Markus Handy: The Severers and the Army , Berlin 2009, p. 164f.
^ Hans Roland Baldus : Uranius Antoninus , Bonn 1971, pp. 85, 166, 169f., 172; Felix Hartmann: Change of rulers and imperial crisis , Bern 1982, p. 140 note 4.
↑ Julia Sünskes Thompson: Uprisings and protest actions in the Imperium Romanum , Bonn 1990, p. 42f., 86.
^ David S. Potter: Prophecy and History in the Crisis of the Roman Empire , Oxford 1990, pp. 20f. Note 55 (with a compilation of the relevant source texts).

personal data
SURNAME	Taurinus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Roman counter-emperor
DATE OF BIRTH	2nd century or 3rd century
DATE OF DEATH	at 231

[1] Epitome de Caesaribus 24.2.

[2] Epitome de Caesaribus 24.2; Polemius Silvius, Laterculus 1.31, ed. by Theodor Mommsen : Polemii Silvii laterculus a. ProzXLIX . In: Monumenta Germaniae Historica , Auctores antiqussimi Vol. 9, Berlin 1892, p. 521.

[3] Julia Sünskes Thompson: Uprising and protest actions in the Imperium Romanum , Bonn 1990, p. 86f .; Markus Handy: The Severers and the Army , Berlin 2009, p. 164f.

[4] Hans Roland Baldus : Uranius Antoninus , Bonn 1971, pp. 85, 166, 169f., 172; Felix Hartmann: Change of rulers and imperial crisis , Bern 1982, p. 140 note 4.

[5] Julia Sünskes Thompson: Uprisings and protest actions in the Imperium Romanum , Bonn 1990, p. 42f., 86.

[6] David S. Potter: Prophecy and History in the Crisis of the Roman Empire , Oxford 1990, pp. 20f. Note 55 (with a compilation of the relevant source texts).