P. C. Regalianus (died 260/261), known in English as Regalian, was
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 ...
for a few months in 260 and/or 261, during the
Crisis of the Third Century
The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis, was a period in History of Rome, Roman history during which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressure of repeated Barbarian invasions ...
, a period of intense political instability in the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
. Regalian was acclaimed emperor by the troops along the
Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
river, a region of the empire that frequently experienced barbarian raids, probably in the hope that he might be able to secure the frontier.
Accounts by surviving literary sources concerning Regalian are brief and few in number, and are mostly considered unreliable. 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 ...
'' relates that he was of
Dacian descent, and a descendant of the Dacian king
Decebalus
Decebalus (; ), sometimes referred to as Diurpaneus, was the last Dacians, Dacian king. He is famous for fighting three wars, with varying success, against the Roman Empire under two emperors. After raiding south across the Danube, he defeated a R ...
, but this is mostly rejected in modern scholarship. Regalianus was married to
Sulpicia Dryantilla, a woman from a prestigious senatorial family, which instead points to Regalian also being of high-ranking Roman descent. Regalian's acclamation as emperor was in the wake of a previous usurpation attempt by
Ingenuus
Ingenuus was a Roman military commander, the imperial legate in Pannonia, who became a usurper to the throne of the emperor Gallienus when he led a brief and unsuccessful revolt in the year 260. Appointed by Gallienus himself, Ingenuus served ...
, also proclaimed by the Danube troops, that had been defeated by emperor
Gallienus
Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; – 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 empire. He ...
(253–268). Unlike Ingenuus, and revolutionary for an imperial claimant, Regalian founded his own mint at
Carnuntum
Carnuntum ( according to Ptolemy) was a Roman legionary fortress () and headquarters of the Roman navy, Pannonian fleet from 50 AD. After the 1st century, it was capital of the Pannonia Superior province. It also became a large city of app ...
, his seat of power. He minted coins of himself and his wife, though they were typically of poor quality.
Regalian's local usurpation of power was beneficial for Gallienus, as it allowed the emperor to focus his attention on defending Italy from an invasion by the
Alemanni
The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes
*
*
*
on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...
while Regalian was occupied fighting the barbarians in
Illyria
In classical and late antiquity, Illyria (; , ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; , ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians.
The Ancient Gree ...
. After a brief "rule" of several months at Carnuntum, Regalian was killed. How exactly he met his end is not entirely clear, but the most commonly accepted theory is that he died during a raid of Carnuntum by the
Roxolani
The Roxolani or Rhoxolāni ( , ; ) were a Sarmatian people documented between the 2nd century BC and the 4th century AD, first east of the Borysthenes (Dnieper) on the coast of Lake Maeotis (Sea of Azov), and later near the borders of Roman Daci ...
, possibly aided by a contingent of his men who had grown to oppose him.
Background

Very little of Regalian's life and career is recorded in surviving literary sources. The often unreliable ''
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 ...
'', a late Roman collection of imperial biographies, records that Regalian was of
Dacian origin, and a descendant of
Decebalus
Decebalus (; ), sometimes referred to as Diurpaneus, was the last Dacians, Dacian king. He is famous for fighting three wars, with varying success, against the Roman Empire under two emperors. After raiding south across the Danube, he defeated a R ...
, the king of Dacia who had been defeated with great effort by emperor
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 ...
in 105–107. This story is unlikely to be true, and it is more likely that Regalian was a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
of
senatorial rank, given that he was married to
Sulpicia Dryantilla, a woman of a prestigious senatorial family. The full name of Regalian, P. C. Regalianus, only appears on his coinage. Some ancient historians even got this name wrong:
Eutropius (late fourth century) called him 'Trebellianus' and
Aurelius Victor
Sextus Aurelius Victor ( 320 – 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. Victor was the author of a now-lost monumental history of imperial Rome covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. Under the emperor Julian (361 ...
(also late fourth century) called him 'Regillianus', 'Religilianus' and 'Religianus'. Aurelius Victor's misspellings might reflect deliberate distortion or the pronunciation of his name in
Vulgar Latin
Vulgar Latin, also known as Colloquial, Popular, Spoken or Vernacular Latin, is the range of non-formal Register (sociolinguistics), registers of Latin spoken from the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic onward. ''Vulgar Latin'' a ...
.
Given the scarcity of the source material, Regalian's full name cannot be ascertained beyond the abbreviated two first names. It is possible that the P stands for the ''praenomen''
Publius. The C might stand for the ''nomen'' Cassius, given that Regalian could be related to the earlier
suffect consul
The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...
C. Cassius Regallianus, Cornelius or Claudius, but it has also been suggested to stand for a second ''praenomen''
Gaius
Gaius, sometimes spelled Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen).
People
* Gaius (biblical figure) (1st century AD)
*Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist
* Gaius Acilius
* Gaius Antonius
* Gaius Antonius Hybrida
* Gaius Asinius Gal ...
(which was traditionally shorted
archaically as "C." for "Caius" as it was originally spelled).
Charles Theodore Beauvais de Preau believed based on engravings of coins by
Hendrick Goltzius
Hendrick Goltzius (, ; born Goltz; January or February 1558 – 1 January 1617) was a German-born Dutch printmaker, draftsman, and painter. He was the leading Dutch engraver of the early Baroque period, or Northern Mannerism, lauded for his ...
that his named was "Quintus Nonius Regillianus" but
Joseph Hilarius von Eckhel thought that they instead belonged to some other
Princeps
''Princeps'' (plural: ''Principes'') is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, foremost, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first person". As a title, ''Princeps'' originated in the Roman Republic wherein the ...
and that the coins were the result of ignorant moneyers who failed to make legible coins,
John Yonge Akerman noted that the standard of the cross described to be on the mint makes dates them to a later period, his opinion was that this supposed "Nonius" would have been a usurper during the reign of
Constantius II
Constantius II (; ; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civ ...
.
Career

The ''Historia Augusta'' states that Regalian was a military commander, ''
dux'', in
Illyricum, promoted to this post by emperor
Valerian (253–260) but also that he was proclaimed emperor by his troops in
Moesia
Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballi ...
, a neighbouring region. This information cannot be regarded as reliable, especially given that it is anachronistic: the position of ''dux Illyrici'' did not yet exist at the time of Regalian. Given his wife's high rank, it is more likely that Regalian was a provincial governor, perhaps of
Pannonia Superior
Pannonia Superior () was a Roman province created from the division of Pannonia in 103 AD, its capital in Carnuntum. It overlapped in territory with modern-day Hungary, Croatia, Austria, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
History
It was as governor of the ...
. These provinces along the
Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
suffered from frequent barbarian raids, which often left them at odds with the central imperial government. Shortly prior to Regalianus' own claim to imperial power, the usurper
Ingenuus
Ingenuus was a Roman military commander, the imperial legate in Pannonia, who became a usurper to the throne of the emperor Gallienus when he led a brief and unsuccessful revolt in the year 260. Appointed by Gallienus himself, Ingenuus served ...
had been proclaimed in the region in 260, but he had quickly been defeated by the reigning emperor,
Gallienus
Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; – 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 empire. He ...
(253–268). It is not clear how much time transpired between the revolt of Ingenuus and Regalian's own acclamation, or if Regalian was involved in the preceding revolt, though most scholars agree that there was an extended hiatus between them. This makes it unclear when exactly Regalian was acclaimed emperor and also, given that he held out for several months, when he died. He was proclaimed emperor either late in 260 or in 261, and his claim to imperial power ended with his defeat and death after several months, either in 260 or 261.

After defeating Ingenuus, Gallienus had spent some time reorganising the defenses along the Danube, but had to return to Italy to deal with an invasion by the
Alemanni
The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes
*
*
*
on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...
, a
Germanic tribe. Shortly after he departed, the
Roxolani
The Roxolani or Rhoxolāni ( , ; ) were a Sarmatian people documented between the 2nd century BC and the 4th century AD, first east of the Borysthenes (Dnieper) on the coast of Lake Maeotis (Sea of Azov), and later near the borders of Roman Daci ...
, a
Sarmatian
The Sarmatians (; ; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples who dominated the Pontic–Caspian steppe, Pontic steppe from about the 5th century BCE to the 4t ...
tribe that Gallienus had re-settled within the imperial borders in the Danube region, rebelled and attacked Regalian's forces, whereafter Regalian retreated to the city of
Carnuntum
Carnuntum ( according to Ptolemy) was a Roman legionary fortress () and headquarters of the Roman navy, Pannonian fleet from 50 AD. After the 1st century, it was capital of the Pannonia Superior province. It also became a large city of app ...
. It was only after these events that Regalian was acclaimed emperor by his troops. It is likely that the legionaries of
Legio XIV Gemina, which was stationed at Carnuntum, supported the accession of Regalian as they hoped he could help secure the Danube border.
Unlike Ingenuus before him, Regalian minted his own coins at a mint he himself established at Carnuntum, a revolutionary move for an imperial claimant. In addition to his own portrait, Regalian's coins also depict his wife, whom he raised to the rank of ''
Augusta'' to bolster his position. Most, but not all, of Regalian's coins have the formula ''AUGG''. (implying two rulers, rather than ''AUG''., which implies one) as part of their reverse legend. The plural ''AUGG''. was likely intentional, but the intended meaning is not clear. It is more likely that it refers to the partnership between Regalian and his wife Dryantilla, rather than to some partnership between Regalianus and Gallienus. Paul Pearson has speculated instead that the two might have had a son whom they promoted to co-Augustus. Regalian's acclamation as emperor and later governance in the Danube region was actually beneficial to Gallienus, as it provided the invading Roxolani with a new focus for opposition and allowed Gallienus time to deal with the immediate threat presented by the Alemanni invasion in Italy. All of Regalian's coins were minted at Carnuntum, and they are all overstruck issues, struck on coins minted by earlier emperors of the third century, such as
Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...
and
Maximinus Thrax
Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus "Thrax" () was a Roman emperor from 235 to 238. Born of Thracian origin – given the nickname ''Thrax'' ("the Thracian") – he rose up through the military ranks, ultimately holding high command in the army of th ...
. Stylistically, Regalian's coins imitate the coins of the Licinian emperors (Valerian and Gallienus), though they are of lower quality, often in a very rough style and with spelling errors. Some of the coins were so hastily made that the legends of the prior emperor who originally minted the coin is still partially visible, or that the new minting failed to give the coin a visible legend at all. Owing to his brief rule, only a small number of coins (just over 130) minted by Regalian have been found. Most of them are today in private coin collections.
How Regalian was defeated and died is unclear, given that different sources give different answers. The generally accepted theory concerning Regalian's demise, forwarded by the Hungarian archaeologist Jenő Fitz in 1966, is that Regalian was killed in a raid by the Roxolani, perhaps working together with some of his own men, after bravely having fought the rebelling tribe for some time. Other accounts include that Regalian was murdered exclusively by his own troops as the Illyrian provincial population were afraid of retribution from Gallienus (''Historia Augusta'') or that he was defeated and killed by Gallienus (Eutropius).
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Authority control
215 births
260s deaths
Thirty Tyrants (Roman)
Gallienus usurpers
Cassii