Marcus Piavonius Victorinus
[Some of the inscriptions record his name as M. Piavvonius Victorinus, as does the first release of coins from the Colonia mint. A mosaic from Augusta Treverorum (Trier) lists him as Piaonius.] was
emperor in the Gallic provinces from 268 to 270
[Martindale, p. 965] or 269 to 271,
[Polfer, ''Victorinus''] following the brief reign of
Marius. He was murdered by a jealous husband whose wife he had tried to seduce.
Reign
Hailing from
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
, Victorinus was born to a family of great wealth,
and was a soldier under
Postumus, the first of the so-called Gallic emperors.
He showed considerable ability, as he held the title of tribunus praetorianorum (tribune of the praetorians) in 266/267,
and rose swiftly to become co-
consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...
with Postumus in 268.
[Southern, p. 118] It is also possible that Postumus then elevated him to the post of
praetorian prefect
The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...
.
[Potter, p. 266] Shortly after putting down a rebellion by
Laelianus
Laelian (; la, Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus),Martindale, pg. 492 also incorrectly referred to as ''Lollianus'' and ''Aelianus'',Polfer, ''Laelianus'' was a usurper against Postumus, the emperor of the Gallic Empire. His revolt lasted from approxim ...
in 269, Postumus was murdered by his own troops, who appointed Marius as emperor in his place.
After engineering the death of Marius, Victorinus was declared emperor by the troops located at
Augusta Treverorum
Trier in Rhineland-Palatinate, whose history dates to the Roman Empire, is often claimed to be the oldest city in Germany. Traditionally it was known in English by its French name of Treves.
Prehistory
The first traces of human settlement in ...
(
Trier
Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...
) in the fall of 269.
His principal concern was to prevent the western provinces from submitting to the central authority of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
, a fact made clear to him from the first few weeks when only the provinces of
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
,
Germania
Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north-c ...
and
Britain recognised him.
Hispania
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hi ...
deserted the Gallic Empire and declared its loyalty to
Claudius Gothicus.
Claudius then sent his trusted general
Placidianus to south-east Gaul with instructions to bring over as many of the wavering cities as he could.
Very quickly Placidianus captured
Cularo (
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
), but did not proceed any further.
The presence of Placidianus inspired the city of
Augustodunum Haeduorum
Autun () is a subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the early Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus as Augustodunum to give a Ro ...
(
Autun) to abandon Victorinus and declare its intention to declare for
Claudius Gothicus.
This forced Victorinus to march south and besiege it, where it fell after seven months, after which Victorinus’ troops plundered and destroyed the city.
Victorinus returned to
Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium
Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium was the Roman colony in the Rhineland from which the city of Cologne, now in Germany, developed.
It was usually called ''Colonia'' (colony) and was the capital of the Roman province of Germania Inferior and ...
(
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
) in triumph.
It remains a mystery just why Claudius did not authorise Placidianus to go to the relief of Augustodunum; however, it is speculated that Claudius, who was fully engaged either in Italy against the
Alamanni
The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes
*
*
*
on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pre ...
or in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
against the
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Euro ...
, did not wish to open a second theatre of operations in Gaul, which would not only have involved a major military effort, but would also have required Claudius to assume responsibility for the defense of the
Rhine frontier had he been successful. There is evidence to suggest that Claudius was having some difficulties in the East, which also occupied his attention.
Victorinus was murdered at Colonia
in early 271 by Attitianus, one of his officers, whose wife Victorinus had supposedly seduced.
[Southern, p. 119] Since the motive was personal and not political,
Victorinus' mother,
Victoria (or Vitruvia), was able to continue to hold power after the death of Victorinus and she arranged for his deification and, after considerable payment to the troops, the appointment of
Tetricus I as his successor.
Another military commander appears to have been proclaimed as the emperor
Domitianus II, but was soon eliminated.
Victorinus is listed among the
Thirty Tyrants
The Thirty Tyrants ( grc, οἱ τριάκοντα τύραννοι, ''hoi triákonta týrannoi'') were a pro-Spartan oligarchy installed in Athens after its defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC. Upon Lysander's request, the Thirty were elec ...
in the ''
Historia Augusta
The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the si ...
''. The dubious ''Historia Augusta'' equally has a short description of
Victorinus Junior, allegedly the son of Victorinus, who was appointed emperor by his family the day his father was murdered, and would have been killed immediately afterwards by the troops. The ''Historia Augusta'' also says that both father and son were buried near Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium in marble tombs.
[Historia Augusta, ''Tyranni Triginta'', 7:1]
Notes
References
Sources
Primary sources
*
Aurelius Victor''Epitome de Caesaribus''* Aurelius Victor
*
Eutropius''Brevarium'', Book 9*
Historia Augusta
The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the si ...
''The Thirty Tyrants''
Secondary sources
*
*
*
*
* J. F. Drinkwater, ''The Gallic Empire: Separatism and Continuity in the North-western Provinces of the Roman Empire A.D. 260–274'' (Stuttgart 1987)
* Richard Abdy, "The Domitian II coin from Chalgrove: a Gallic emperor returns to history". Antiquity. 83 (321), 2009: 751–757.
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Victorinus
Gallic emperors
Deified Roman emperors
Thirty Tyrants (Roman)
Imperial Roman consuls
3rd-century monarchs in Europe
3rd-century murdered monarchs
Piavonii
Murdered Roman emperors
Year of birth unknown
270s deaths
Year of death uncertain
Gallic consuls