Victorinus

Victorinus
Victorinus
Victoria

Marcus Piavonius Victorinus^{[note 1]} was emperor in the Gallic provinces from 268 to 270^[1] or 269 to 271,^[2] following the brief reign of Marius. He was murdered by a jealous husband whose wife he had tried to seduce.

Reign

Hailing from

Laelianus in 269, Postumus was murdered by his own troops, who appointed Marius as emperor in his place.^[5]

After engineering the death of Marius, Victorinus was declared emperor by the troops located at

Placidianus to south-east Gaul with instructions to bring over as many of the wavering cities as he could.^[4] Very quickly Placidianus captured Cularo (Grenoble), but did not proceed any further.^[5]

The presence of Placidianus inspired the city of

Alamanni or in the Balkans against the Goths, did not wish to open a second theatre of operations in Gaul, which would not only have involved a major military effort, but would also have required Claudius to assume responsibility for the defense of the Rhine frontier had he been successful.^[6] There is evidence to suggest that Claudius was having some difficulties in the East, which also occupied his attention.^[5]

Victorinus was murdered at Colonia

Domitianus II, but was soon eliminated.^[9]

Victorinus is listed among the Thirty Tyrants in the Historia Augusta. The dubious Historia Augusta equally has a short description of Victorinus Junior, allegedly the son of Victorinus, who was appointed emperor by his family the day his father was murdered, and would have been killed immediately afterwards by the troops. The Historia Augusta also says that both father and son were buried near Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium in marble tombs.^[10]

Notes

^ Some of the inscriptions record his name as M. Piavvonius Victorinus, as does the first release of coins from the Colonia mint. A mosaic from Augusta Treverorum (Trier) lists him as Piaonius.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Martindale, p. 965
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Polfer, Victorinus
^ Potter, p. 261
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Southern, p. 118
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Potter, p. 266
^ Watson, Alaric (1999). Aurelian and the Third Century. London: Routledge. p. 90.
^ Potter, p. 272
^ ^a ^b ^c Southern, p. 119
^ Abdy
^ Historia Augusta, Tyranni Triginta, 7:1

Sources

Primary sources

Aurelius Victor, Epitome de Caesaribus
Aurelius Victor, Liber de Caesaribus
Eutropius, Brevarium, Book 9
Historia Augusta, The Thirty Tyrants

Secondary sources

Southern, Pat (2001). The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine. Routledge.
Potter, David Stone (2004). The Roman Empire at Bay, AD 180-395. Routledge.
Jones, A.H.M.; Martindale, J.R. (1971). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. I: AD260-395. Cambridge University Press.
Polfer, Michel (1999). "Victorinus (A.D. 269-271)". De Imperatoribus Romanis.
J. F. Drinkwater, The Gallic Empire: Separatism and Continuity in the North-western Provinces of the Roman Empire A.D. 260–274 (Stuttgart 1987)
Richard Abdy, "The Domitian II coin from Chalgrove: a Gallic emperor returns to history". Antiquity. 83 (321), 2009: 751–757.

External links

Media related to Victorinus at Wikimedia Commons
Works by Victorinus at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)

Regnal titles
Preceded by Marcus Aurelius Marius	Emperor of the Gallic Empire 269-271	Succeeded by Domitianus and/or Tetricus I
Political offices
Preceded by Gallienus, Sabinillus	Consul of the Roman Empire 268 with Postumus, Ovinius Paternus, Arcesilaus	Succeeded by Publius Licinius Egnatius Marinianus, Postumus
Preceded by Publius Licinius Egnatius Marinianus, Postumus	Claudius II, Paternus	Succeeded by Pomponius Bassus, Tetricus I

[3] Some of the inscriptions record his name as M. Piavvonius Victorinus, as does the first release of coins from the Colonia mint. A mosaic from Augusta Treverorum (Trier) lists him as Piaonius.

[Martindale965-1] Martindale, p. 965

[Polfer-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Polfer, Victorinus

[4] Potter, p. 261

[Southern118-5] Southern, p. 118

[Potter266-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Potter, p. 266

[7] Watson, Alaric (1999). Aurelian and the Third Century. London: Routledge. p. 90.

[8] Potter, p. 272

[Southern119-9] Southern, p. 119

[10] Abdy

[11] Historia Augusta, Tyranni Triginta, 7:1

[note 1]

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[2]

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Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Germany
Artists	Te Papa (New Zealand)