According to 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, Caesar (title), designated heirs and Roman usurper, usurpers from 117 to 284. S ...

'', Firmus (died 273) was a

usurper A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it a ...

of Syrian origin during the reign of

Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...

. The apparently contradictory accounts of his life and the man himself are considered by some historians to be a complete fabrication, perhaps based on the later Firmus.

Historia Augusta account

According to the ''

'' ("Firmus"), Firmus was a man of great wealth. He had his house fitted with square panels of glass, and owned a huge library. His commercial relationships involved Blemmyes,

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

, and India. He had two elephant tusks, which later Aurelian projected to use as a basis for a statue to

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

and which were actually given as a present by

Carinus Marcus Aurelius Carinus (died 285) was Roman Emperor from 283 to 285. The eldest son of the Emperor Carus, he was first appointed '' Caesar'' in late 282, then given the title of ''Augustus'' in early 283, and made co-emperor of the western p ...

. Physically, Firmus was noteworthy, being huge and very strong. Firmus was notably also a heavy drinker and could eat quite a bit. The ''Historia Augusta'' states that he once consumed an entire ostrich in one day, and even beat one of Aurelian's standard bearers and notorious drinkers in a drinking contest, draining two buckets of wine while remaining completely sober. The importance and threat of Firmus' revolt is related to the interruption of the Egyptian grain supply to Rome.

Notes

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References

Primary sources

"Firmus Saturninus Proclus et Bonosus" 3-6
''

''
"Aurelianus" xxxii.2‑3
''

'' * Zosimus i.61.1

Secondary sources

* "Firmus", s.v
"Aurelian"
''De Imperatoribus Romanis'' site 273 deaths 3rd-century Roman usurpers Asian people whose existence is disputed Year of birth unknown