Furia Sabinia Tranquillina (c. 225 – aft. 244) was the
Empress of Rome and wife of Emperor
Gordian III
Gordian III (; 20 January 225 – February 244) was Roman emperor from 238 to 244. At the age of 13, he became the youngest sole emperor of the united Roman Empire. Gordian was the son of Maecia Faustina and her husband Junius Balbus, who d ...
.
She was the young daughter of the
Praetorian Prefect
Timesitheus by an unknown wife.
In 241 her father was appointed the head of the Praetorian Guard by the Roman Emperor
Gordian III
Gordian III (; 20 January 225 – February 244) was Roman emperor from 238 to 244. At the age of 13, he became the youngest sole emperor of the united Roman Empire. Gordian was the son of Maecia Faustina and her husband Junius Balbus, who d ...
. Timesitheus was known to have great influence over the emperor, who was only 16 years old in 241, having become emperor at age 13 in 238, sponsored in this position by the power of the Praetorian Guard.
After becoming the head of the Praetorian Guard, Timesitheus "effectively governed the Empire for Gordian".
In May of 241, Tranquillina was married to Gordian. She became a Roman Empress and received the honorific title of ''
Augusta''.
When Gordian III and Timesitheus went on a campaign against Shapur I of Persia, Tranquillina went with them.
Her father died in 243, of unknown but potentially suspicious causes. To replace him,
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...
(Marcus Julius Philippus) became head of the Praetorian Guard, and quickly set to plotting to overthrow the young Gordian III.
Tranquillina's husband, Gordian III, died in 244 under unclear, unknown circumstances, aged only 19.
Tranquillina is believed to have outlived both her father and husband, however it is unclear what happened to her afterwards.
Family tree
Sources
* ''Prosopographia Imperii Romani'' (PIR) ² F 587
References
External links
* http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/tranquillina/i.html
* http://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=1034
* http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Tranquillina
* https://www.livius.org/to-ts/tranquillina/tranquillina.html
{{Authority control
3rd-century Roman empresses
Year of birth uncertain
220s births
240s deaths
Augustae
Furii
Gordian dynasty