Titus Fulvius Junius Quietus (died 261) was a
Roman usurper against
Roman Emperor Gallienus.
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 sim ...
'', he was a military
tribune under
Valerian, but this information is challenged by historians.
He gained the imperial office with his brother
Macrianus Minor, after the capture of Emperor Valerian in the Sassanid campaign of 260. With the lawful heir,
Gallienus, 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
consuls, 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. After the defeat and deaths of his brother and father in
Thrace 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 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