Postumus
Postumus | |||||||||
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Emperor of the Gallic Empire | |||||||||
Reign | 260–269[note 1] | ||||||||
Predecessor | Gallienus (as ruler of the united Roman Empire) | ||||||||
Successor | Marcus Aurelius Marius | ||||||||
Born | Gaul | ||||||||
Died | 269 Mogontiacum | ||||||||
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Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus[2] (fl. 259 – 269) was a Roman commander of Batavian origin, who ruled as emperor of the splinter state of the Roman Empire known to modern historians as the Gallic Empire. The Roman army in Gaul threw off its allegiance to Gallienus around the year 260,[note 1] and Postumus assumed the title and powers of Emperor in the provinces of Gaul, Germania, Britannia, and Hispania. He ruled for the better part of ten years[note 2] before he was murdered by his own troops.
Life
Rise to power
Little is known about the early life of Postumus. He has been claimed as being of
By 259, Valerian was campaigning in the east against the Persians, while his son and co-emperor
The trigger was their defeat in 260
Establishment of a Gallic Empire
Postumus was immediately recognized as emperor in Gaul (except perhaps for the province of
Postumus represented himself as the restorer of Gaul (Restitutor Galliarum) and the bringer of security to the provinces (Salus Provinciarum) on some of his coins;[15] prior to 10 December 261,[note 1] he also took the title of Germanicus maximus, a title he earned after successfully defending Gaul against the Germans.[12] His principal objective in assuming the purple appeared to be the restoration and defence of the Rhine frontier and the surrounding area, a task that he approached with vigour, earning the admiration of the ancient authors, who declared that he restored the security that the provinces had enjoyed in the past.[15] So successful was he in the task of stabilizing his domain that the coins issued by Postumus were of better workmanship and higher precious metal content than coins issued by Gallienus.[22] His control of the Spanish and British mining regions was presumably crucial in this regard,[23] as was his employment of master minters who would have come into Gaul with Gallienus.[24] Postumus fought successful campaigns against the Franks and Alemanni in 262 and 263; following his victory over them in 263, his coin-types celebrated peaceful themes such as Felicitas Augusti for some time.[25] After having spent much of the last four years pushing the Franks out of Gaul, Postumus then recruited Frankish troops to fight against other Franks, probably dispersed within existing Roman army units.[26]
Scholars continue to debate whether Postumus originally intended to dislodge Gallienus from Rome or was content to rule only the western provinces.[15] From the beginning of his usurpation, Postumus had made it clear that his priority was for Gaul, and that he had no immediate intentions to make a bid for Rome.[12][14] Postumus' power base was Gaul and his main responsibility was the defense of the Rhine provinces. If he marched against Gallienus, then he would be exposing his heartland not only to the Germanic tribes but also potentially to any number of usurpers.[15] Perhaps he hoped to achieve some official recognition from Gallienus; what is clear, however, is that Postumus was not overtly separatist and did not revive the 1st-century dream of an independent Galliarum imperium.[12] (See Julius Sabinus and revolt of the Batavi.) The forms, titles, and administrative structures of Postumus' principate remained conventionally Roman.[27]
Confrontation with Gallienus
For four years Gallienus was too distracted by Germanic invasions and other usurpers in the east to address the situation to his north and west,[28] but in 265 he launched a campaign to defeat Postumus.[28][29] His first attempt failed when Postumus managed to escape from a precarious situation due to the carelessness of Gallienus' cavalry commander Aureolus.[12] Aureolus was punished with demotion, eventually leading him to turn against Gallienus in 267.[29]
A second campaign, led by Gallienus himself, also seemed to have the advantage over Postumus, but while Gallienus was besieging a city in Gaul (perhaps Augusta Treverorum[29]), he was wounded and forced to withdraw.[28][30] After this, Gallienus was occupied with crises in the rest of his empire and did not confront Postumus again.[12]
Final years
By the end of 265, Postumus' coin issues were triumphantly commemorating the victory over Gallienus, and the festivities celebrating his
Such discontent was probably due to Postumus' failure to take advantage of a golden opportunity to move against Gallienus in 268.
Fall
Postumus assumed his fifth consulship on 1 January 269,
The mutineers set up Marius, a common soldier, as emperor. Marius held sway for a short while before being overthrown by Victorinus, Postumus' erstwhile colleague in the consulship and tribune of the praetorian guard.[40] In the meantime, the Gallic Empire lost Hispania.[41]
Legacy
Postumus' coinage has been of particular interest to numismatists, in light of the high quality and relative abundance of his coin issues. His ‘Labours of Hercules’ series is particularly renowned,[4] as are several aurei which carry full-face portraits of Postumus instead of the usual profile view.[42]
Historical sources
Most of the ancient literary references to Postumus come from the works thought to be based on the
Notes
- ^ a b c d The year of Postumus' accession was either 259 or 260. While the year 259 has sometimes been favoured, the consensus now favours mid-/late 260 as the date that he was hailed emperor, according to Polfer (2000) and Drinkwater (1987), p. 97 The terminus ante quem is an inscription from September 260 naming Postumus as emperor: Bakker (1993), pp. 369–386. Other dates cited in this article must be pushed back one year for those who take 259 as the year of Postumus' accession. See Drinkwater (1987), pp. 95–106.
- ^ Based on numismatic evidence, Postumus' rule extended over ten periods of tribunician power, each conventionally lasting for one year beginning on December 10. Regardless of which year Postumus assumed the purple (259 or 260), his rule must have stretched across ten such years. See Drinkwater (1987), pp. 93–95.
References
- ^ a b c Potter (2004), p. 260.
- ^ a b PLRE, Vol 1, p. 720.
- ^ State, Paul F., A Brief History of the Netherlands, Infobase Publishing, 2008, p. 8
- ^ a b Drinkwater (1987), pp. 162–163.
- ISBN 1841769738, p. 45-46
- ^ "Regionaal Archief Tilburg - II. Romeinen in Deusone" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 25 December 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013..
- ^ The phrase is Zosimus', quoted in Drinkwater (1987), p. 59.
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), p. 25.
- ^ a b c d e Potter (2004), p. 257.
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), p. 67.
- ^ a b Southern (2001), p. 79.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Polfer (2000)
- ^ a b Potter (2004), p. 256.
- ^ a b c d Drinkwater (1987), p. 89.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Southern (2001), p. 98.
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), p. 168.
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), pp. 146, 167.
- ^ a b Southern (2001), p. 97.
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), p. 29.
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), p. 130.
- ^ Potter (2004), p. 261.
- ^ Southern (2001), p. 118
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), p. 27.
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), p. 136.
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), pp. 30, 170.
- ^ Southern (2001), p. 217.
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), p. 28.
- ^ a b c d Potter (2004), p. 263.
- ^ a b c Southern (2001), p. 100.
- Zonaras(12.24.13-18) as the ancient authority for these events.
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), p. 231.
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), p. 174.
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), pp. 32, 174.
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), p. 210.
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), p. 32.
- ^ Southern (2001), p. 106.
- ^ Potter (2004), p. 264.
- ^ Potter (2004), p. 265.
- ^ Aurelius Victor 33.8; Historian 9.9.1
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), p. 35.
- ^ Potter (2004), p. 266.
- ISBN 0500232733.
- ^ Drinkwater (1987), p. 45.
- Primary sources
- Aurelius Victor, Liber de Caesaribus
- Epitome de Caesaribus (sometimes attributed to Aurelius Victor)
- Eutropius, Brevarium, Book 9
- Historia Augusta, Tyranni_XXX*.html The Thirty Tyrants
- Joannes Zonaras, Compendium of History extract: Zonaras: Alexander Severus to Diocletian: 222–284
- Zosimus, Historia Nova
- Secondary sources
- Bakker, Lothar. (1993), "Raetien unter Postumus. Das Siegesdenkmal einer Juthungenschlacht im Jahre 260 n. Chr. aus Augsburg." Germania 71, pp. 369–386.
- Drinkwater, J. F. (1987), The Gallic Empire: Separatism and continuity in the north-western provinces of the Roman Empire, A.D. 260–274, Franz Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden GMBH, Stuttgart, ISBN 3-515-04806-5
- König, Ingemar (1981), Die gallischen Usurpatoren von Postumus bis Tetricus [The Gaulish usurpers from Postumus to Tetricus] (in German), C.H. Beck, ISBN 3-406-04801-3
- ISBN 0-521-07233-6.
- Polfer, Michel (2000). "Postumus (A.D. 260-269)". De Imperatoribus Romanis. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2003.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)() - Potter, David Stone (2004), The Roman Empire at Bay, AD 180-395, Routledge
- Southern, Pat (2001), The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine, Routledge