Aemilianus

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Aemilianus
Spoletium, Italy (aged approximately 43)
SpouseCornelia Supera
Names
Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus[1]
Regnal name
Imperator Caesar Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus Augustus[1]

Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus (c. 210 – September 253), also known as Aemilian, was Roman emperor for three months in 253.

Commander of the Moesian troops, he obtained an important victory against the invading Goths and was, for this reason, acclaimed emperor by his army. He then moved quickly to Roman Italy, where he defeated Emperor Trebonianus Gallus at the Battle of Interamna Nahars in August 253, only to be killed by his own men a month later when another general, Valerian, proclaimed himself emperor and moved against Aemilian with a larger army.

Origins

Cornelia Supera (or Supra), was the wife of Aemilianus. Legend: CORNEL. SVPERA AVG. / VESTA

Aemilian was born in the

Moor;[2] a reference in the same source hints that he was born around 207.[3] The 12th-century historian Joannes Zonaras, who calls him a Libyan rather than a Moor,[4] and another chronicle of the 13th century hold that he was forty at the time of his death in 253.[5]

Regarding his lineage, there are two versions, both exaggerated: while

John of Antioch may refer to Aemilian's propaganda when he says that the usurper used his ancestry to take power.[7] His praenomen and nomen, reinforced by his cognomen, suggest a descent from a native African who obtained Roman citizenship during the Second Triumvirate, in which his land was ruled by Lepidus
.

Aemilian married Cornelia Supera, a woman of African origin; the year of their marriage is unknown, but since both were from the same place, it is possible they married before Aemilian left Africa.[8]

Military career

During the reign of Trebonianus Gallus and his son Volusianus (251–253), Aemilian was sent to the Balkans to command an army.[9] His primary responsibility was to assure peace along the Danube frontier, which had been subject to several attacks by the Goths led by king Cniva.

Gallus secured the throne after the death of Emperor

Syria. According to John of Antioch, upon his appointment to the Moesian command, Aemilian was already envious of Gallus and plotted treachery against him. He was also an opponent of the Roman Senate,[8] and his seditious plans are confirmed by Jerome and Jordanes.[10]

Rise

In 253, the

Zonaras). The Romans took the Goths by surprise, killing most of them, followed by an invasion of Goth territory resulting in booty and the liberation of prisoners. The Roman soldiers, gathered by Aemilian, acclaimed him emperor.[4][11] Jordanes claims, however, that Aemilian's troops plundered Roman territory, rather than keep the tribute of the Goths.[12]

Flaminian Way, here in purple, divided into two branches next to modern Terni; Aemilian, who was descending from north upon Rome, defeated Trebonianus Gallus
on the eastern branch.

With his few men, Aemilian left his province unguarded and moved quickly towards Rome to meet the legitimate emperor, Gallus, before the latter could receive reinforcements. While Aemilian descended upon Rome along the

Flaminian Way, Gallus and Volusianus had him proclaimed "enemy of the State" by the Roman senate,[13] then exited Rome to meet the usurper. This strategy suggests that Aemilian's army was smaller than theirs, as they probably did not expect reinforcements to come in time but trusted their larger army to win the clash.[8] The two armies met at the Battle of Interamna Nahars near modern Terni, at the southern end of the eastern branch of the Flaminia, and Aemilian won the battle;[14] Gallus and Volusianus fled to the north with a few followers, probably as a delay tactic before the arrival of reinforcements, but, in August 253, at Forum Flaminii (modern San Giovanni Profiamma), on the western branch of the Flaminia, they were killed by some of their own guards,[7] who thought that their betrayal could earn them a reward.[15]

Mars
, a reference to the military virtues of the emperor. Legend: IMP. CAES. AEMILIANVS AVG. P. F. AVG. / MARTI PACIF.

Aemilian continued towards Rome. The Roman senate, after a short opposition,[16] decided to recognize him as emperor. According to some sources, Aemilian then wrote to the Senate, promising to fight for the Empire in Thrace and against Persia, and to relinquish his power to the Senate, of which he considered himself a general.[5][17] Aemilian received the titles of Pius, Felix and Pater Patriae, the tribunicia potestas, and was elevated to the rank of pontifex maximus; he was not, however, elevated to consulate (possibly a hint of his non-senatorial birth).[18] His coinage shows that his propaganda focused on his capability as a military commander—he defeated the Goths when nobody thought this possible, and thus he was the right man for the job of restoring the power of the Roman Empire.[18]

Fall

Spoletium[21] or at the Sanguinarium bridge, between Oriculum and Narnia (halfway between Spoletium and Rome), and recognized Valerian as the new emperor.[22] After Aemilian's death, which happened between late July and mid-September, a damnatio memoriae against him was declared.[8][13][21]

It is possible that the usurper Silbannacus was an officer left by Aemilian in Rome before moving against Valerian, who later tried to become emperor but then was killed.[23]

The life and troubled administration of emperor Aemilian was summarized by the Roman historian Eutropius stating that:

Aemilianus came from an extremely insignificant family, his reign was even more insignificant, and he was slain in the third month.[24]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Cooley 2012, p. 499.
  2. ^ Epitome de Caesaribus, 31.1–2.
  3. ^ Epitome de Caesaribus, 31.3.
  4. ^ a b Joannes Zonaras, Epitome Historiarum, 12.21.
  5. ^ a b Joannes Zonaras, Epitome Historiarum, 12.22.
  6. ^ Eutropius, Breviariun ab Urbe condita, 9.6; Paeanius, 9.6.
  7. ^
    John of Antioch
    , fr. 150.
  8. ^ a b c d e Banchich, Thomas, "Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus (ca. July – ca. September, 253)"
  9. ^ John of Antioch says he was archon of Moesia (fr. 150), Zosimus puts him at the head of the Pannonian units (New History, i.28), while Joannes Zonaras claims he was commander of the Moesian legions (12.21).
  10. ^ Jerome, Chronicon, Ol. 258; Jordanes, Romana, 285.
  11. ^ Zosimus, New History, i.28.1–2.
  12. ^ Jordanes, Getica, 105.
  13. ^ a b Varner 2004, p. 209.
  14. ^ Eutropius, 9.5; Paeanius 9.5, p. 153; Aurelius Victor 31.1
  15. ^ Aurelius Victor, 31.1
  16. ^ Aurelius Victor, 31.3.
  17. ^ Anonymous Continuator of Cassius Dio, fr. 2.
  18. ^ a b Richard Beale, "Roman Imperial Coins of 249–253 A.D." Archived 2008-07-20 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Zosimus, i.28.3.
  20. ^ Potter, David S., Prophecy and History in the Crisis of the Roman Empire. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990, p. 322.
  21. ^ a b Potter 2004, p. 252.
  22. ^ Zonaras, 12.22; Epitome de Caesaribus, 31.2; Zosimus, i.29.1; Chronographer of 354. Only Aurelius Victor reports Aemilianus' death by illness (31.3).
  23. ^ Estiot, Sylviane, "L'empereur Silbannacus. Un second antoninien", in Revue numismatique, 151, 1996, pp. 105–117.
  24. ^ Eutropius, Brevarium ab Urbe condita, 9.6

References

  • Banchich, Thomas, "Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus (ca. July – ca. September, 253)", De Imperatoribus Romanis
  • ISBN 978-0-521-84026-2
    .
  • Potter, David S. (2004). The Roman Empire at Bay: AD 180–395. New York: Routledge.
    ISBN 0-415-10057-7
    .
  • Varner, Eric R. (2004). Mutilation and Transformation: Damnatio Memoriae and Roman Imperial Portraiture. Brill.
    ISBN 90-04-13577-4
    .

External links

Media related to Aemilianus at Wikimedia Commons

Regnal titles
Preceded by Roman emperor
253 		Succeeded by
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