Laelian (; ),
[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 approximately late February to early June 269.
[Polfer, ''Laelianus'']
Origins
Little is known about Laelian. He shares the same ''
nomen'' as a prominent Hispano-Roman family, the
Ulpii, that included
Trajan
Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...
among its members, and may have been a relative.
[Polfer, ''Laelianus''] This is supported by the strong allusion to Hispania on an
aureus he struck, which featured the design of Hispania reclining with a rabbit to her side. If he indeed was a relative, this may be the reason Hispania allied itself with
Claudius II, after the death of Laelian, seemingly without a struggle.
Rule
Laelian declared himself emperor at
Moguntiacum (modern-day Mainz in Germany) in February/March 269, after repulsing a Germanic invasion. Although his exact position is unknown, he is believed to have been a senior officer under Postumus, either the ''
legatus'' of
Germania Superior
Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesont ...
or the commander of
Legio XXII ''Primigenia''.
[Polfer, ''Laelianus''] Laelian represented a strong danger to Postumus because of the two legions he commanded (''Primigenia'' in Moguntiacum and
VIII ''Augusta'' in
Argentoratum);
[Polfer, ''Laelianus''] Despite this, his rebellion lasted only about two months before he was executed, reputedly by his own soldiers, or by Postumus' troops after a siege of Laelian's capital.
[Martindale, pg. 492] The siege of Moguntiacum was also fatal for Postumus; it is said he was slain when he refused to allow his troops to plunder the city following its capture.
[Southern, pg. 118]
Laelian (under the Latin name ''Lollianus'') is listed among the
Thirty Tyrants The Thirty Tyrants (, ''hoi triákonta týrannoi'') were an oligarchy that briefly ruled Classical Athens, Athens from 404 BC, 404 BCE to 403 BC, 403 BCE. Installed into power by the Sparta, Spartans after the Athenian surrender in the Peloponnesian ...
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, Caesar (title), designated heirs and Roman usurper, usurpers from 117 to 284. S ...
''.
See also
*
Ulpia gens
*
List of Roman usurpers
References
Sources
Primary sources
*
Aurelius Victor''Liber de Caesaribus''*
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, Caesar (title), designated heirs and Roman usurper, usurpers from 117 to 284. S ...
''
The Thirty Tyrants
Secondary sources
* Southern, Pat. ''The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine'', Routledge, 2001
* Potter, David Stone, ''The Roman Empire at Bay, AD 180-395'', Routledge, 2004
* Jones, A.H.M., Martindale, J.R. ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. I: AD260-395'', Cambridge University Press, 1971
* Michel Polfer,
, ''De Imperatoribus Romanis''] (1999)
External links
*
{{Authority control
269 deaths
3rd-century monarchs in Europe
3rd-century murdered monarchs
Cornelii
Gallic emperors
Thirty Tyrants (Roman)
Ulpii
Year of birth unknown
