Taurinius (also called Taurinus) was a

Roman usurper Roman usurpers were individuals or groups of individuals who obtained or tried to obtain power by force and without legitimate legal authority. Usurpation was endemic during the Roman imperial era, especially from the crisis of the third centu ...

who revolted against

Severus Alexander Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – March 235), also known as Alexander Severus, was Roman emperor from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. Alexander took power in 222, when he succeeded his slain c ...

in 232AD. He was declared emperor by the legions stationed in

Roman Mesopotamia Mesopotamia was the name of a Roman province, initially a short-lived creation of the Roman emperor Trajan in 116–117 and then re-established by Emperor Septimius Severus in c. 198. Control of the province was subsequently fought over betwe ...

when they rebelled, due to the invasion of the

Sassanids The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

in 229AD. His revolt was swiftly crushed by Alexander, in late summer of 232AD, and he drowned in the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

while attempting to flee to Sassanid territory.

History

In 229AD, during the reign of Emperor

, the

invaded Roman Mesopotamia. This led to a rebellion, in 232AD, by the provincial garrison. During this rebellion, Flavius Heracleo was killed, and the legion proclaimed Taurinius

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

. In the late summer of 232AD, Alexander arrived to crush the revolt. Taurinius fled, and drowned while attempting to cross the

into Sassanid territory.

Historiography

The ''

Epitome de Caesaribus The ''Epitome de Caesaribus'' is a 5th-century Latin historical work based on the '' Liber de Caesaribus'' (also known as ''Historiae abbreviatae'') by Aurelius Victor. It is a brief account of the reigns of the Roman emperors from Augustus ...

'' refers to him as Taurinius, and says that he revolted against Emperor Severus Alexander, and was declared ''augustus''. He is said to have thrown himself into the Euphrates on account of fear of Severus Alexander. It is noted that this is the only mention of any event during Alexander's reign made by the ''Epitome de Caesaribus''.

Zonaras Joannes or John Zonaras ( ; 1070 – 1140) was a Byzantine Roman historian, chronicler and theologian who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held the offices of head justice and private se ...

makes similar mention of him, but refers to him as Taurinus. Taurinius never controlled a mint, so no

numismatic Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...

evidence of his revolt remains. Although mentioned in the ''Epitome de Caesaribus'', Taurinius is noticeably absent from

Aurelius Victor Sextus Aurelius Victor ( 320 – 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. Victor was the author of a now-lost monumental history of imperial Rome covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. Under the emperor Julian (361 ...

s '' De Caesaribus'', and Eutropiuss '' Breviarium historiae Romanae'', and is not found in any other

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

epigraphic Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

evidence.

References

Primary sources

*''

'' 24.2.

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * *{{cite book, last1=Pearson, first1=Paul N., title=Maximinus Thrax: From Common Soldier to Emperor of Rome, date=2017, publisher=Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., isbn=9781510708754 232 deaths Crisis of the Third Century 3rd-century Roman usurpers Year of birth unknown Ancient Romans from unknown gentes Deaths by drowning