Firmus (died 375) was a

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 (1913–196 ...

Numidian prince and

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 ...

under Valentinian I. Firmus was the son of the Berber Jubaleni prince Nubel, a powerful Roman military officer, as well as a wealthy Christian. When Nubel died, Firmus killed his half-brother Zammac, who had illegitimately appropriated Nubel's wealth, and became successor to his father. Between 372 and 375, Firmus revolted against the '' comes Africae'' Romanus, who was a supporter of Zammac. The misbehaviour of Romanus, who had neglected protection from African tribes to Roman cities that had refused the payment of bribes, had worsened the situation in

Africa Province Africa was a Roman province on the northern coast of the continent of Africa. It was established in 146 BC, following the Roman Republic's conquest of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisi ...

in the 360s. The revolt of Firmus against Romanus forced Valentinian to take action against both his officer and the African rebel. When Valentinian sent

Count Theodosius Count Theodosius (; died 376), Flavius Theodosius or Theodosius the Elder (), was a senior military officer serving Valentinian I () and the Western Roman Empire during Late Antiquity. Under his command the Roman army defeated numerous threats, ...

(father of

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

) to depose Romanus, Firmus initially professed his willingness to compromise, and appeared on the verge of reaching an honorable settlement with Valentinian's capable general, but a plot to assassinate Theodosius and carry on the revolt was discovered by the

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

Mollius Tener and Firmus was forced to flee. Firmus attempted to found an independent kingdom from

Roman Africa Roman Africa or Roman North Africa is the culture of Roman Africans that developed from 146 BC, when the Roman Republic defeated Carthage and the Punic Wars ended, with subsequent institution of Roman Empire, Roman Imperial government, through th ...

. Quickly obtaining support from the Berber tribes, including the Abanni and the Caprarienses, he presented Theodosius with the prospect of a protracted guerilla war against the elusive barbarians of the Numidian desert, such as

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

had faced against Jugurtha and Tacfarinas in preceding centuries. However, Theodosius pursued the war with rapidity and success, advancing into the desert with a mobile column of light infantry, and forcing Firmus to flee from one tribe to another as all successively surrendered to the Romans. Ultimately, Igmazen, king of the Isaflenses, was induced by fear or defeat to surrender Firmus to the Romans. However, the usurper managed to strangle himself before Theodosius could secure him, disappointing the Romans of a proper revenge. His body was transported, allegedly on the back of a camel, on Theodosius' return to Sitifi, as proof of the end of the revolt. Firmus supported the Donatists against the Nicene faith. Firmus ordered the killing of the Nicene inhabitants of Rusuccuru, and after his death, Valentinian issued laws against the Donatists. It is also possible that this Firmus was the basis on which the author of ''

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 ...

'' modeled the improbable Firmus, usurper against

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 ...

. Firmus also appears in the hagiographic 'Passio sanctae Salsae' in which, while besieging the city of Tipasa, he tries to secure the support of the local martyr St Salsa only to be rejected and eventually defeated. His brother, Gildo, led another revolt known as the Gildonic War in the year 398.

References

{{Reflist
Roberts, Walter, "Firmus (ca.372-ca.375 A.D.)"
''De Imperatoribus Romanis'' site * Piredda, A.M.G.(2015). "Passio sanctae Salsae" in Fialon, S. and Meyers, J. La Passio sanctae Salsae (BHL 7467) : Recherches sur une passion tardive d’Afrique du Nord. Ausonius (Bordeaux). pp. 234–267. 375 deaths 4th-century Berber people 4th-century Roman usurpers Suicides in Ancient Rome Kabyle people People from Thénia Year of birth unknown