Tacitus (emperor)
Tacitus | |||||||||
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Roman emperor | |||||||||
Reign | c. December 275 – c. June 276 | ||||||||
Predecessor | Aurelian | ||||||||
Successor | Florianus | ||||||||
Died | June 276 Antoniana Colonia Tyana, Cappadocia | ||||||||
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Marcus Claudius Tacitus (/ˈtæsɪtəs/ TAS-it-əs; died June 276) was Roman emperor from 275 to 276. During his short reign he campaigned against the Goths and the Heruli, for which he received the title Gothicus Maximus.
Early life
His early life is largely unknown. An origin story which claimed Tacitus to be the heir of an old
In the course of his long life he held various civil offices, including the
Emperor
After the assassination of Aurelian, the army, apparently showing remorse towards its role in the death of the beloved emperor, relinquished the right of choosing his successor to the Senate.[6] After a few weeks, the throne was offered to the aged Princeps Senatus, Tacitus.
According to the
In older historiography, it was generally accepted that Aurelian's wife, Ulpia Severina, ruled in her own right before the election of Tacitus which could indicate an interregnum which lasted as long as six months.[11][12] Contemporary bibliography considers that no interregnum may have existed between Aurelian's death and the coronation of the new Emperor. Tacitus had been living in Campania before his election, and returned only reluctantly to the assembly of the Senate in Rome, where he was elected. He immediately asked the Senators to deify Aurelian, before arresting and executing Aurelian's murderers.[13] In ancient sources, he was described as very old at that time, but in reality he was possibly in his fifties.[4]
Amongst the highest concerns of the new reign was the restoration of the ancient Senatorial powers. He granted substantial prerogatives to the Senate, securing to them by law the appointment of the emperor, of the consuls, and the provincial governors, as well as supreme right of appeal from every court in the empire in its judicial function, and the direction of certain branches of the revenue in its long-abeyant administrative capacity.[14] Probus respected these changes, but after the reforms of Diocletian in the succeeding decades not a vestige would be left of them.
Fighting barbarians
Next he moved against the barbarian mercenaries that had been gathered by Aurelian to supplement Roman forces for his Eastern campaign.[
Death
On his way back to the west to deal with a
References
- ^ a b Jones, pg. 873
- ^ McMahon, Note 3 and accompanying text
- ^ Leadbetter 2010, p. 86.
- ^ a b Hagi 2016, p. 336
- ^ Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, (The Modern Library, 1932), ch. XII., p. 276
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 274–278
- ^ Historia Augusta, Vita Taciti, 3.2.
- ISBN 978-1-3500-2351-2.
- ISBN 0-684-18388-9.
- ISBN 0-415-07248-4.
- ISBN 0-415-07248-4.
- ^ Körner, Christian (23 December 2008). "Aurelian (A.D. 270–275)". De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and Their Families. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
- ^ a b Southern, p. 127
- ^ Gibbon, p. 279
- ^ Gibbon, p. 280
- ^ Aurelius Victor, 36:1
- ^ Historia Augusta, Vita Taciti, 13:5
- ^ Zosimus, I:63:2
Sources
Ancient sources
- Historia Augusta, Vita Taciti, English translation
- Eutropius, Breviarium ab urbe condita, ix. 16, English translation
- Aurelius Victor, "Epitome de Caesaribus", English translation
- Zosimus, "Historia Nova", English translation
- Joannes Zonaras, Compendium of History extract: Zonaras: Alexander Severus to Diocletian: 222–284
Secondary sources
- McMahon, Robin, "Tacitus (275–276 A.D)", De Imperatoribus Romanis
- ISBN 0-521-07233-6.
- Leadbetter, Bill (2010). Galerius and the Will of Diocletian. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-40488-4.
- Hagi, David, ed. (2016). Coinage and History of the Roman Empire. Routledge. ISBN 978-1135971250.
- Southern, Pat. The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine, Routledge, 2001
- Gibbon. Edward Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire (1888)
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Further reading
- Constantine P. Cavafy, The Complete Poems, Harcourt, Brace & World (1961), p. 201
- Alan Dugan, Poems 2, Yale University Press (1963), p. 33