The Roman Imperial Succession by John D. Grainger

Author:John D. Grainger
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: History / Military / Ancient
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books
Published: 2020-06-29T00:00:00+00:00

The Licinian Near-Dynasty

Trebonianus Gallus (251–253). (Sailko via Wikimedia Commons)

Gallienus (253–268).

Aemilianus (253).

Valerian (253–260).

The Gallic Empire

Postumus (260–269).

Victorinus (269–271).

Tetricus II (271–274). (CNG via Wikimedia Commons)

Chapter Ten

The Consequences of Gordian (1): Successful Emperors

One of the results of the events of 238 was to emphasize once again the possibility that a man might, by rebellion, make himself emperor. The events of 68–69 and 193 had already done so, and more recently in Syria Elagabalus had successfully seized power by rebellion.

A distinction must be made between the rebellions of Elagabalus and Gordian against the actions of other emperors in killing or acting against an emperor and taking his place, as Maximinus and Macrinus had done most recently by coup d’état. A rebellion was mounted away from the court and required an army to march on the capital. The most successful recent example was Septimius, but Gordian clearly intended to do the same; ironically, one result of his rebellion was that the Emperor Maximinus ended up in the posture of a rebel marching on the city.

The events of 238 were so widespread, involved so many groups and were so widely broadcast that the possibilities became much more appreciated. This was clearly one of the reasons why the next half-century saw a great number of pretenders and rebels to add to the confusion generated by the rapid turnover of 238, the ‘year of seven emperors’. Yet this was a time when the Empire went through an agonizing and extended period of foreign invasion and monetary inflation, and the rebels and pretenders were all part of that overall problem; at once cause, consequence and solution. The confusion was such that it is not too much to say that the Empire had collapsed.

The rebels are often pushed aside or out of consideration, so that the main story of the ‘legitimate’ emperors is usually that which is told, and it must be said that story is certainly complex enough even without the rebels. Here, however, rebellion is central to the concerns of this study, and so we shall consider the rebels as a separate group in the next chapter. Previously (in Chapters 6 and 8) they have been included in the main account, but they are so numerous in the mid-third century that they deserve a more detailed discussion. This chapter, therefore, will look at the ‘legitimate’ emperors – those generally supposed to be so, that is – and their modes of succession.

From 238 to 284 a superficial consideration of Roman politics might suggest that it was the Roman army that determined who should occupy the imperial throne. The emperors were certainly usually proclaimed by their soldiers, who had often murdered their imperial predecessors, hence the term ‘military emperors’ or ‘military monarchy’ which is sometimes used for this period, but such a description is not necessarily accurate. After all, the basis of Augustus’ power, and hence of every later emperor, was control of the army.

Also, the revival of senatorial influence during 238 cannot be ignored. After all, influence was the only power ever wielded by the Senate once the imperial system had been installed.

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