Vaballathus
Vaballathus 𐡥𐡤𐡡𐡠𐡫𐡶 | |||||
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Aegyptus | |||||
King of Kings of Palmyra | |||||
Reign | 267–272 AD | ||||
Predecessor | Odaenathus and Hairan I | ||||
Regent | Zenobia | ||||
Emperor of Palmyra | |||||
Reign | 272 | ||||
Successor | Septimius Antiochus (from 273 AD) | ||||
Co-ruler | Zenobia | ||||
Born | Septimius Vaballathus c. 259 Palmyra, Syria | ||||
Died | After 274 Rome, Roman Empire | ||||
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House | House of Odaenathus | ||||
Father | Odaenathus | ||||
Mother | Zenobia | ||||
Religion | Palmyrene paganism |
Septimius Vaballathus (
Early life
Lucius Julius Aurelius Septimius Vaballathus was born and raised in the city of
As king
Succession to the throne
In 267, his father Odaenathus and half-brother Hairan I were murdered by a relative, perhaps a cousin of Odaenathus', named Maeonius. The unreliable Historia Augusta lists Maeonius as one of the "Thirty Tyrants" that claimed imperial power during Gallienus' reign. However, this is most likely an invention; according to the chronicler Joannes Zonaras, Maeonius was executed immediately after the murder.[5] With Odaenathus and his oldest son dead, the succession came to his younger son, Vaballathus. The young Vaballathus was made king (rex clarissimus imperator dux Romanorum, "illustrious King of Kings" and corrector totius orientis) of the Palmyrene Empire at eight years old. Being too young to rule, his mother Zenobia ruled as queen regent and was the de facto ruler of Palmyra.
Reign
Initially the Roman emperor Aurelian recognized Vaballathus' rule, perhaps because Aurelian was engaged in a major conflict with the Gallic Empire in the west and hesitated to incite open warfare with the Palmyrene Empire. This mutual recognition is testified by early coins issued by Zenobia under Vaballathus's name, but also acknowledging Aurelian as emperor. In the coins, Aurelian is shown wearing a radiate crown that signifies his supremacy as emperor, while Vaballathus is crowned with a laurel wreath.[6] The Alexandrian minted coins showed Aurelian in his first year and Vaballathus in his fourth year[7] with Vaballathus adopting honorary titles possibly inherited from his father Odaenathus. Although the Palmyrene Empire was centred in Palmyra, Vaballathus and Zenobia probably spent most of their reign in Antioch,[8] Syria's administrative capital.[9] The relationship between the Roman Empire and the newly established Palmyrene empire deteriorated, and a series of Palmyrene conquests, carried out under the protective show of subordination to Rome,[10] began around 270.
In October of 270,
Aurelian disappeared from Palmyrene coinage, while Zenobia and Vaballathus adopted the titles of Augusta and Augustus, respectively. Vaballathus was named in coins "King, Emperor, Dux Romanum leader of the Romans"[19] and an open rebellion against Rome started.
Defeat
In 272, Emperor Aurelian crossed the
Passing through
The end of Vaballathus's nominal rule came after losing the siege of Palmyra. Vaballathus, his mother and her council were taken to Emesa and put on trial. Most of the high-ranking Palmyrene officials were executed,[26] while Zenobia and Vaballathus's fates remain uncertain. Although Aurelian had most of his prisoners executed, he most likely spared the queen and her son to parade them in his planned triumph.[27]
According to Zosimus, Vaballathus died on the way to Rome, but this theory has been neither confirmed nor disproved. Other sources have implied that after shipping the defeated Zenobia and Vaballathus to Rome, Aurelian allowed both of the rebels to live, but only after they had been marched through the streets of the imperial city in accordance with Roman traditions of celebrating military victories with a triumphal procession. This would have been humiliating, but better than death. This theory is supported by Aurelian's similar treatment of the Tetrici, Tetricus I and Tetricus II of the Gallic Empire, long-time enemies of Rome whom the emperor allowed to retire following their defeat at the Battle of Châlons in 274.
The fate of Palmyra, however took a turn for the worse. In 273, a revolution was started by Septimius Apsaios[28] who declared a relative of Zenobia, Septimius Antiochus, as Augustus.[29] Aurelian marched to Palmyra, razing it. Buildings were smashed, citizens clubbed and massacred and Palmyra's holiest temples pillaged.[30] The city was reduced and disappeared from historical records from that time,[31] thus ending the ascendancy of Palmyra over Roman Asia Minor.
Ancestors
Ancestors of Vaballathus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References
- ^ a b Cussini 2005, pp. 202–212.
- ^ Butcher 2003, p. 284.
- ^ Southern 2008, p. 10.
- ^ Watson 1999, p. 58.
- ^ Historia Augusta, "Thirty Tyrants" 17, note 59.
- ^ Southern 2015, p. 168.
- ^ Southern 2015, p. 167.
- ^ Teixidor 2005, p. 205.
- ^ Nakamura 1993, p. 141.
- ^ Watson 1999, p. 79.
- ^ Watson 1999, p. 62.
- ^ Southern 2008, p. 133.
- ^ a b Bryce 2014, p. 303.
- ^ Bryce 2014, p. 304.
- ^ Watson 1999, p. 63.
- ^ Watson 1999, p. 64.
- ^ Watson 1999, p. 64.
- ^ Watson 1999, p. 80.
- ^ Ando 2012, p. 210.
- ^ Watson 1999, p. 71.
- ^ Bryce 2014, p. 309.
- ^ Watson 1999, p. 74.
- ^ Bryce 2014, p. 310.
- ^ Stoneman 1994, p. 175.
- ^ Watson 1999, p. 77.
- ^ Ware 1838, p. 24.
- ^ Watson 1999, p. 79, 84.
- ^ Smith II 2013, p. 180.
- ^ Smith II 2013, p. 181.
- ^ Ball 2002, p. 81.
- ^ Pollard 2000, p. 299.
Works cited
- Butcher, Kevin (2003). Roman Syria and the Near East. Getty Publications. ISBN 978-0-89236-715-3.
- Cussini, Eleonora, ed. (2005). A Journey to Palmyra: Collected Essays to Remember Delbert R. Hillers. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-12418-9.
- Southern, Pat (2008). Empress Zenobia: Palmyra's Rebel Queen. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4411-7351-5.
- Sommer, Michael (2017). Palmyra: A History. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-34715-0.
- Smith II, Andrew M. (2013). Roman Palmyra: Identity, Community, and State Formation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-986110-1.
- Watson, Alaric (1999). Aurelian and the Third Century (PDF). Vol. 94. London: Routledge. p. 284. S2CID 153920517. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-02-18.)
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External links
- Coinage of Vabalathus
- Long, Jacqueline F. "Vaballathus and Zenobia (270-272 A.D.)". De Imperatoribus Romanis.