Sources - Herodian, Roman History 7-8 (up to start of Gordian III)
- Historia Augusta – but Marius Maximus finishes with Elagabalus – should be used as secondary source with Herodian
- Thirteenth Sibylline Oracle (Gordian c.263)
- Byzantine sources:
- Zosimus, New History (6th c)
- Jon Zonaras, Epitome of the Histories
- George, Selection of Chronology
- John Malalas, Chronicle of Antioch
- All of them using earlier Athenian Historian, Publius
- Rhetorical set pieces
- Pro-Aurelian
- Res Gesta Divi Saporis
I. MAXIMINUS THRAX
1. A barbarian emperor? - Slowly changing artistic style in 3rd century
- Maximinus revolts in 235 – Alexander and mother killed
- Voted normal honour and coopted priestly colleges within month
- Senate don’t put up much conflict against this
- Second equestrian emperor… worse than Macrinus?
- Thrax – reference to Thracian
- Thrace takes a key role in his identity because it is seen as being barbarian
- Fighting constant Gothic invasions on northern frontier – where most battle=hardened troops are made and thus emperors originate
- Constant usurpation continuously happening through 3rd century
- Fabric of what it means to be emperor is constantly changing
- Unclear how many usurpations are actual threats to empire or fabricated tales to create tension
- In his 50s (based on coinage)
- If so, entered under Septimius
- Son named Caesar in early 236
2. Universally unpopular - Distant from Rome - stays on German frontier through winter 235/6
- Sends images of himself ot senate – cf. Elagabalus
- Evolving/changing question: to what extent is the capital still important, to what extent does the emperor have to be there?
- If emperor constanly on campaign does it make sense for them to return to the capital?
- Reign marked by military and financial woes
- Ardashir attacks again… but Maximinus fights on northern frontier in 236/7
- Warfare unremunerative
- Necessary of type of warfare Rome has participated in during 3rd century
- 2nd century wars of expansion – increased taxes, booty, territory
- 3rd century wars are reactive, dealing with incursions, threats, invasions
- Even if this warfare goes well, best hoping for is staying the same
- Not changing nature of income
- BUT still have to pay army – constantly in the red
- Wars often go badly for Rome - losing tax revenue
- Constantly trying to find money in the budget: budget cuts or increased taxes
- Rhetoric of defending frontier can justify tax increases and budget cuts, but if the war is being lost then this will not slide
- As military situation gets worse, becomes increasingly difficult for emperors to get away with financial burdens that wars inevitably create
- Disliked on all fronts:
- Plebs:reduces grain supplies, cash gifts and festival funds
- Senate: cuts subsidy to cult deified emperors
- Senate has few powers left – controlling cult of deified powers one of them – i.e. hamstringing minimal power that the senate has left
- Too much of a soldier…but gets that wrong too
- Army: fails to pay donative he promised when made emperor
- Favouritism: Maximiniana only to rhine and danube frontiers
- Own troops 2x revolts
II. YEAR OF THE SIX (238)
1. Gordian I & II - Chronology for 238 very confused
- Begins with revolt in Agrica Proconsularis
- Wealthy landowners arm rural client and resist procurator… accidentally kill procurator
- Panic and acclaim the elderly governor Gordians emperor
- Even more bizarrely, Gordianus accepts
- Sets up extraordinary seties of events
- Moves to Carthage and appoints son co-ruler
- Sends messenger to Rome (named Valerian (future emperor))
- Promises donative and seeks support of senate
- Privately urges assassination of Maximinus Thrax’s praetorian prefect Vitalianus
- Senate does so!
- Assassinates praetorian prefect
- Declares maximinus Thrax and his son hostes publices
- Appoints board of 20 in defense vs tyrant
- Writes to all governors provinces
- BUT revolt crushed by Capelianus, governor of Numidia
- Gordianus has no military
- Gordianus commits suicide
- Gordianus III combined reign of 3 weeks
2. Return of the senate? - Senate now has a big problem! Extraordinary response
- Appoints 2 of their own as emperors – Balbinus and Pupienus – as if they were consuls in the res publica
- Elderly senators – 60-70?
- Numismatics go back to traditional images – bound hands, identical issues for both emperors
- No apparent hierarchy between the two
- First 2 people to share the roel of pontifex maximus
- Genuine shared imperial rule
- People riot (supposedly orchestrates by friends of Gordianus)
- To appease the mob, son of Gordian declared Caesar – aged 13
- Maximinus invades Italy – senate raises own army
- Maximinus had huge military disadvantage – not well resourced
- Decides to besiege Aquileia on the way – bogged down in siege
- Murdered by his own troops and they assassinated him
- But Papienus and Balbinus killed by praetorian guard
- Feared a repeat of Septimius Severus’ action of trucking the praetorian guard into assembling, taking their weapons, and then dismissing them all
- Upset that they were emperors chosen not by the army but by the senate
- 238: 5 months; 6 claimants to emperorship are dead.
- Case study for where imperial power lies
- Unhappiness visible when one factions acts against another
- Erasure of Pupienus and Balbinus on inscriptions
- When dust settles, Gordian III only person left and remains emperor
III.GORDIAN III
1. Child emperor - Gordian III rules for 6 years
- Rule by committee? Did not become emperor of his own accord
- Continued rise of equestrians
- E,g, Timesitheus. Manage emperor’s property
- Increase number of inscirptions to senior equestrians
- Key players not so much the emperors but the Sassanid emperors
- Sapor I, new king of kings, main driver - 240-272
- Son of Ardashir
- Stability gives Sapor legitimacy and agency to be key player in this period
- Res Gestae Divi Saporis
- Rome only one of many issues Sapor dealing with
- Not even the most important – one territory out of many
- Transition away from Rome-centric ideology
2. War with Persia - Ongoing trouble with Persia and Sapor I – main concern
- Worry Persia want their old empire back
- War declared in 241… troops only sent in 242
- Takes 3 years to properly response to eastern threat
- Gordianus weakness?
- Dificulty in assuring power and control in this period?
- Initial success in either 242 or 243; if 242, victory actually Timesthitheus, 243 Gordianus
- Then goes very badly – 243; Gordianus defeated at Meshike
- Then in early 244, Gordianus killed
- Sapor suggests he killed Gordianus
- Relief image of Sapor trampling Gordianus
- Res Gestae Divi Saporis:
- Suggestions his own army killed him – at the instruction of Philip the Arab?
- Campaign remembered as success
- Narrative conferred to senate is that after initial successes in battle, Gordian killed by Sapor
- If army and Philip killed, good representation of memory vs reality
- Nature of campaign dictated as the individual in the east sees fit
- Sapor views it as defeat for Rome; but senate records it as a success
- Cf. Alexander Severus’ ealier triumph
- Limited mechanisms for recording history
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