Capelianus was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

governor of the province of

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...

in the 3rd century, and commander of the army that defeated and killed

Gordian II Gordian II ( la, Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus; 192 – April 238) was Roman emperor with his father Gordian I in 238 AD, the Year of the Six Emperors. Seeking to overthrow Maximinus Thrax, he died in battle outside Carthage ...

in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors.

Herodian Herodian or Herodianus ( el, Ἡρωδιανός) of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death o ...

relates that he had an existing animosity towards Gordian, on account of an unspecified lawsuit. Gordian, on his acclamation as co-emperor with his father

Gordian I Gordian I ( la, Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus; 158 – April 238 AD) was Roman emperor for 22 days with his son Gordian II in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors. Caught up in a rebellion against the Emperor Maximinus Thrax, ...

(governor of the neighbouring province of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

), ordered the replacement of Capelianus. The latter refused to go quietly, however, and took an army to

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

, where his numerically superior and well-trained forces (Numidia, in contrast to Africa, was well-garrisoned against

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–19 ...

raids) easily defeated those of Gordian. He then allowed his soldiers free rein to pillage Africa, hoping to maintain their favour in the event of an opportunity to make a bid for emperor himself. Such an opportunity presumably never arose, as he disappears from the historical record from that point.Herodian, History of the Roman Empire 7.9

References

{{Reflist Ancient Roman generals Crisis of the Third Century 3rd-century Romans Ancient Roman governors