Titus Fulvius Junius Quietus (died 261) was a Roman usurper against Roman Emperor

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; c. 218 – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empi ...

History

Quietus was the son of Fulvius Macrianus and a noblewoman, possibly named Junia. According to ''

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 ...

'', he was a military

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...

under Valerian, but this information is challenged by historians. He gained the imperial office with his brother

Macrianus Minor Titus Fulvius Iunius Macrianus (died 261), also known as Macrianus Minor, was a Roman usurper. He was the son of Fulvius Macrianus, also known as Macrianus Major.Jones, pg. 528 Career Although his father was from an equestrian family, Macria ...

, after the capture of Emperor Valerian in the Sassanid campaign of 260. With the lawful heir,

, being far away in the West, the soldiers elected the two emperors. The support of his father, controller of the imperial treasure, and the influence of

Balista Balista or Ballista (died ''c.'' 261), also known in the sources with the name of "Callistus", was one of the Thirty Tyrants of the controversial ''Historia Augusta'', and supported the rebellion of the Macriani against Emperor Gallienus. His ...

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 ...

of the late Emperor Valerian, proved instrumental in his promotion. Quietus and Macrianus, elected

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 ...

s, had to face the Emperor Gallienus, at the time in the West. Quietus and Balista stayed in the eastern provinces, while his brother and father marched their army to Europe to seize control 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 ...

. After the defeat and deaths of his brother and father in

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

in 261, Quietus lost the control of the provinces in favour of Septimus Odaenathus of Palmyra, a loyal client king of the Romans who had helped push the

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

out of the eastern provinces and recovered Roman Mesopotamia in 260. Forced to flee to the city of Emesa, he was besieged there by Odaenathus, during the course of which he was killed by its inhabitants, possibly instigated by Balista.( Zonaras xii.24)

Cultural depictions

Quietus appears in Harry Sidebottom's historical fiction novel series as one of the series' antagonists.

References

Sources

Körner, Christian, "Usurpers in the east: The Macriani and Ballista", s.v. "Usurpers under Gallienus", ''De Imperatoribus Romanis''
* Jones, A.H.M., Martindale, J.R. ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. I: AD260-395'', Cambridge University Press, 1971

External links

{{Authority control 261 deaths Gallienus usurpers Thirty Tyrants (Roman) Imperial Roman consuls Year of birth unknown Quietus, Titus Junius Quietus, Titus Fulvius People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars Generals of Valerian Roman pharaohs