Taurinius (also called Taurinus) was a
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 ...
who revolted against
Severus Alexander
Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself wa ...
in 232AD. He was declared emperor by the legions stationed in
Roman Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia was the name of a Roman province, initially a short-lived creation of the Roman emperor Trajan in 116–117 and then re-established by Emperor Septimius Severus in c. 198. Control of the province was subsequently fought over betwe ...
when they rebelled, due to the invasion of the
Sassanids
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...
in 229AD. His revolt was swiftly crushed by Alexander, in late summer of 232AD, and he drowned in the
Euphrates while attempting to flee to Sassanid territory.
History
In 229AD, during the reign of Emperor
Severus Alexander
Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself wa ...
, the
Sassanids
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...
invaded Roman Mesopotamia. This led to a rebellion, in 232AD, by the provincial garrison. During this rebellion,
Flavius Heracleo was killed, and the legion proclaimed Taurinius
emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...
. In the late summer of 232AD, Alexander arrived to crush the revolt. Taurinius fled, and drowned while attempting to cross the
Euphrates into Sassanid territory.
Historiography
The ''
Epitome de Caesaribus
The ''Epitome de Caesaribus'' is a Latin historical work written at the end of the 4th century.
It is a brief account of the reigns of the Roman emperors from Augustus to Theodosius the Great. It is attributed to Aurelius Victor, but was writte ...
'' refers to him as Taurinius, and says that he revolted against Emperor Severus Alexander, and was declared ''augustus''. He is said to have thrown himself into the Euphrates on account of fear of Severus Alexander. It is noted that this is the only mention of any event during Alexander's reign made by the ''Epitome de Caesaribus''.
Zonaras
Joannes or John Zonaras ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Ζωναρᾶς ; 1070 – 1140) was a Byzantine Greek historian, chronicler and theologian who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held th ...
makes similar mention of him, but refers to him as Taurinus. Taurinius never controlled a mint, so no
numismatic
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects.
Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...
evidence of his revolt remains. Although mentioned in the ''Epitome de Caesaribus'', Taurinius is noticeably absent from
Aurelius Victor
Sextus Aurelius Victor (c. 320 – c. 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. Victor was the author of a short history of imperial Rome, entitled ''De Caesaribus'' and covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. The work w ...
s ''
De Caesaribus'', and
Eutropiuss ''
Breviarium historiae Romanae'', and is not found in any other
literary
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to includ ...
or
epigraphic
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
evidence.
References
Primary sources
*''
Epitome de Caesaribus
The ''Epitome de Caesaribus'' is a Latin historical work written at the end of the 4th century.
It is a brief account of the reigns of the Roman emperors from Augustus to Theodosius the Great. It is attributed to Aurelius Victor, but was writte ...
'' 24.2.
Citations
Bibliography
*
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*{{cite book, last1=Pearson, first1=Paul N., title=Maximinus Thrax: From Common Soldier to Emperor of Rome, date=2017, publisher=Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., isbn=9781510708754
232 deaths
Crisis of the Third Century
3rd-century Roman usurpers
Year of birth unknown
Romans from unknown gentes
Deaths by drowning