Aureolus
Aureolus | |
---|---|
Usurper of the Roman Empire | |
Reign | 268 (against Gallienus) |
Born | 220–230(?) Dacia |
Died | 268 Mediolanum, Italy |
Aureolus was a Roman military commander during the reign of Emperor Gallienus before he attempted to usurp the Roman Empire. After turning against Gallienus, Aureolus was killed during the political turmoil that surrounded the Emperor's assassination in a conspiracy orchestrated by his senior officers. Aureolus is known as one of the Thirty Tyrants and is referenced in ancient sources including the Historia Augusta,[1] Zonaras' epitome[2] and Zosimus' Historia Nova.[3][4]
Biography
Early life
Aurelous was born in the
It is unclear whether Aurelous came to the attention of the Emperor Gallienus after enlisting in the army, or during his service as a groom. Gallienus was known to promote talent from outside the establishment, and Aureolus was one of the New Men who replaced senators in positions of high command in the army in the course of his reign.
Career
As a former Imperial Horsemaster, Aureolus developed a self-contained cavalry force to increase the effectiveness of the comitatus as a highly mobile field army under the Emperor's direct control. Aureolus was the first commander of this force under the Emperor, and was based at Mediolanum (Milan).[10]
Aureolus' cavalry was principally responsible for the defeat of the usurper
The success of Aureolus in suppressing the Macriani is thought by some historians to have undermined the achievements of Gallienus. Other historians suggest that at this time Gallienus was attempting to crush the Gallic usurper Postumus, who murdered Gallienus's son Caesar Saloninus, and clear the Juthungi out of the Alpine province of Raetia where they posed a direct threat to Italy and Rome.
Rebellion
After the Macriani were defeated and the Danubian garrison forces who had supported them were pacified, Aureolus and the Emperor united to defeat Postumus and his Gallic Empire. It may have been as a result of this campaign that the province of Raetia was recovered from the Gallic Empire and Postumus's inscription on the Augsburg Altar was erased.[11] However, Postumus managed to evade complete defeat, which some historians blame on the alleged 'carelessness' of Aureolus. Other historians have suggested that Aureolus deliberately allowed the Gallic usurper to evade destruction to see Gallienus displaced as Emperor.
Zosimus
Losing command of the elite cavalry is thought to have been a humiliating demotion for Aureolus, who deserted his Alpine command and invaded Italy and took his old base at Mediolanum. This
From Mediolanum, Aureolus invited Postumus to challenge Gallienus for the Empire with his support. Using the Imperial mint in Mediolanum, Aureolus had coins struck bearing Postumus's image as Emperor with appeals to the faith of his former comrades of the cavalry on the reverse. Postumus ignored his invitation and Aureolus, unsupported by the Gallic usurper, was defeated by Gallienus in a battle on the river Adda east of Milan at a place known for centuries as Pontirolo (from Latin Pons Aureoli i.e. 'The Bridge of Aureolus'). He was then besieged in Mediolanum by Gallienus' military comitatus, including the cavalry which Aureolus had created.
Death
Following the conspiracy by the Praetorian Prefect, together with
Aureolus surrendered to Claudius Gothicus, who succeeded Gallienus as Emperor. Before Claudius could decide his sentence, Aureolus was murdered by Claudius' Praetorian Guard as revenge for his rebellion against Gallienus.
References
- ^ Magie, D., ed. (1953). Scriptores Historiae Augustae (Historia Augusta), 3 vols. London: Heinemann.
- ^ a b Dindorf, L., ed. (1870). Zonaras, 'Epitome Historiarum'. Leipzig: Teubner.
- ^ a b Mendelssohn, ed. (1967). Zozimus, 'Historia Nova'. Translated by Buchanan, J.; Davis, H.T. San Antonio, Texas: Trinity University Press.
- ^ Bray, John (1997). Gallienus: A study in reformist and sexual politics. Adelaide: Wakefield Press.
- ^ Zonaras, Op. Cit. xii, 24.
- ISBN 9781579583163.
- ^ Platts, John (1825). A New Universal Biography, Containing Interesting Accounts. Vol. 2. Sherwood, Jones, and Company. p. 184.
- ^ A'Beckett, William (1836). A Universal Biography: Including Scriptural, Classical and Mytological Memoirs, Together with Accounts of Many Eminent Living Characters: the Whole Newly Compiled and Composed from the Most Recent and Authentic Sources; in Three Volumes. Vol. 1. Isaac, Tuckey, and Company. p. 295.
- ISBN 9780268002398.
- ISBN 978-0-470-99657-7, retrieved 2021-12-10
- ^ RJB (2003). "Gallic Consuls". Forum Ancient Coins.