Vetranio

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Solidus Vetranios from the SIS mint ( Siscia )

Vetranio († 356 ) was from March 1 to December 25, 350 co-ruler of the Roman emperor Constantius II and counter-emperor to the usurper Magnentius .

Contemporary history background

The Roman Empire went through a profound change at the beginning of the 4th century. Constantine the Great prevailed in the succession battles in which the tetrarchy founded by Emperor Diocletian came to an end, and thus established the Constantinian dynasty . Constantine promoted Christianity and thus initiated the Christianization of the empire ( Constantinian turn ). His successors were his sons Constantine II , Constantius II and Constans . Constantine II died in 340 when he tried to attack his younger brother Constans. Thus from 340 there were only two Roman emperors: Constans as Emperor of the West and Constantius II as Emperor of the East.

After a few years of relative calm, from 350 onwards the usurpation of Magnentius again caused internal problems. Constans, whose bad relationship with the military is now taking revenge, was slain while fleeing by a squad of light cavalry commissioned by Magnentius near the Pyrenees. Magnentius quickly garnered the support of the provinces in Britain , Gaul, and the rest of the west of the empire, in part because he showed greater tolerance for religions, Christianity on the one hand and the ancient Roman religion on the other. Resistance, however, formed in the Illyricum , where the aged General Vetranio proclaimed himself Augustus , and in Italy, where the Senate supported the anti-emperor Nepotianus . Vetranio and Nepotianus were usurpers, whose rebellion was directed against a usurper.

Life

Vetranio's origin is unclear. He was the magister militum of the Illyrian and Pannonian units and, after the usurper Magnentius seized power and the emperor Constans was assassinated in Sirmium in 350, he was proclaimed emperor as an elderly general. Constantina , the sister of Constantius II , was probably working in the background . As time was pressing, she believed that this step was preventing Magnentius from gaining access to the battle-tested Danube Army. Constantina also assured her brother that Vetranio was easy to manipulate and that there was no danger from him, which she should prove to be right. Vetranio appears as emperor on coins minted during this period. He was logically on the side of Constantius II in the east against the usurper Magnentius in the west.

However, Nepotianus , who had meanwhile also declared himself emperor, was quickly defeated by Magnentius. Constantius II officially named Vetranio Augustus. Vetranio and Constantius met in Naissus (Niš). He greeted the Emperor of the East with all honors and handed over his troops to him. In December 350 Vetranio had to give up the imperial title again on Constantius's orders and was able to spend the remaining six years of his life as a wealthy man on a country estate in Prusa .

Constantius II was thus the way to undisputed sole rule. He was victorious over the usurper Magnentius nine months later on September 28, 351 in the bloody battle of Mursa (near today's Osijek ). A total of 54,000 soldiers are said to have died in this bloody civil war. Taking into account that the Roman Empire was surrounded by external enemies, the loss of so many well-trained soldiers in a civil war resulted in a significant weakening of the empire.

literature

Web links

Commons : Vetranio  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ See Joseph Bidez , Kaiser Julian , Hamburg 1956, p. 45.
personal data
SURNAME Vetranio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Co-emperor of the Roman Empire
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd century or 4th century
DATE OF DEATH 356