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 (6^th 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 3^rd 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 3^rd 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 3^rd century
• 2^nd century wars of expansion – increased taxes, booty, territory
• 3^rd 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