Regalian ( lat. Regalianus ) - Roman emperor-usurper in 260 . Sources about him contain fragmentary information. It is known that he raised a revolt against Gallien, leading the troops in Pannonia, but was defeated and died.
Regalian | |||||||
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lat Regalianus | |||||||
Portrait of Regalian on Antoninians . | |||||||
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Predecessor | Gallien | ||||||
Successor | Gallien | ||||||
Birth | |||||||
Death | |||||||
Spouse | Sulpice driantilla | ||||||
Content
Biography
Life before coming to power
About the origin and career of Regalian is practically unknown. Trebelli Pollio, the author of the biography of Regalian in the History of Augustus , says that he came from Dacia and was related to the last Dacian king of Decebal [1] . Although such information looks attractive in some ways, it is hardly true [2] . Nevertheless, it is safe to speak about the belonging of Regalian to the senatorial class [2] . This version is confirmed by his marriage to Sulpice Dryantla , a woman of noble birth [2] . Apparently, Regalian moved forward under Valerian [3] .
The name of this usurper in narrative sources sounds differently: Regilian ( lat. Regilianus ) [1] , Regillian ( lat. Regillianus ) [4] , Trebellian ( lat. Trebellianus ) [5] [К 1] . In the legends of the coins, he appears as PC Regalianus [3] . The historian Dietmar Kynast decrypts his generic name as "Cornelius" [6] .
Usurpation and death
In the biography of Regalian in the History of Augustus , it is reported that he "became emperor after the initiative of the Mezians , who had been defeated together with Ingenue , and against whose relatives Gallien heavily raged" [7] .
It is impossible to establish the exact date of the speech of Regalian, it is clear only that it happened some time after the suppression of the Ingenui uprising [8] . The version that it was a direct continuation of the rebellion Ingenua recognized by scientists as untenable. It is believed that there was a break between the two uprisings [2] . Gallien did not long remain in the Danube provinces and soon, in connection with the proclamation of Postum as emperor and a major attack of the Franks and Alemanni on Italy, he was forced to go to the west of the state [8] . Before leaving, the sovereign left Regalian to head the Danube forces [8] . The position he held is certain, but not known - in the “History of Augustus” he is called “ lat. Illyrici dux ”- Illyric Duks [8] , but in the third century such a post did not exist yet, it appeared only in the fourth. Reckoning, apparently, that Gallienus would not be able to resolve all the problems that appeared before him, Regalian rebelled and declared himself emperor [8] . In addition, in this way he filled the power vacuum resulting from the departure of Gallien from the Danube provinces, who needed a strong leader because of the threat of an invasion from outside [2] . In the biography of Regalian, the circumstances of his coming to power are set out in this way:
He earned a kingdom thanks to a great joke. Once, when the warriors had lunch with him, there was one deputy tribune who said: “Where do you think the name of Regilian comes from?” And the other one immediately: “In our opinion, from the word“ kingdom ”(regnum) ". Then the school teacher who was present at the same time began, as if in grammar, to incline: "King, king, king, Regilian." Warriors: and people of this kind tend to quickly accomplish what they think - “So he can be a king?” Also another: "So he can rule us?" Also the third: “God laid upon you the royal name” [9] .
However, this story, as well as the letter of Claudius Gothsky , given in the same place, in which the latter highly praises Regalian, is an obvious invention of the author of the biography and does not have any historical value. On the question of what forces were available to Regalian, the researchers expressed different opinions. As suggested by A. Dobot, under his administration were both Mezii and both Pannonians , but, perhaps, the army of Lower Pannonii remained loyal to Gallienus [8] . Yu. K. Kolosovskaya believed that under the rule of Regalian there were legions of both Pannonius, Upper Mosque and, presumably, Dacia [8] . A. Alfoldi based on the analysis of numismatic sources put forward a hypothesis that Regalian controlled two legions of Upper Pannonia ( X Doubles legion , XIV Doubles legion ), XIII Doubles legion from Dacia and XI Claudium legion from Lower Mesia [8] .
The usurpation of Regalian, apparently, lasted for a longer time than the Ingenua uprising [8] . He managed to release his coins - extremely rare antoninians with the image of Regalian and his spouse (or, in another opinion, mother) Sulpcius Driantilla came to our time. All of them were found exclusively on the territory of Upper Pannonia and were minted, most likely, in Carnunte [2] . The coins found are the countermarks of the coins of Caracalla , Alexander Sever , Julia Domna and Julia Meza [10] . Based on the legends of these coins, which mention Augustus (and not just Augustus), Joseph Fitz made the assumption that Regalian promoted the idea of an alliance with another usurper, Postum [11] .
Gallien, engaged in the war in Gaul, did not immediately react to the new insurgency on the Danube, however, Regalian could not, obviously, take any active steps to expand his zone of influence, as he was forced to immediately repel the invasions of Sarmatians and quads or Roxolans [12 ] . Perhaps, initially, he even won some victories (at least there are “VICTORIA” inscriptions on the coins), but soon, as the “History of Augustus” reports, “was killed by the instigation of the Roksolans, with the consent of the soldiers, under the influence of fear provincials, as if Gallien did not use even more brutal measures again ” [13] . On this basis, some researchers conclude that, in fact, Regalian was not defeated by Gallien, who later only punished his supporters [2] . This version was adopted by J. Fitz and other historians. But, anyway, this is just a reconstruction of the events. Fitz, in confirmation of her, points to the significant devastation caused by the Pannonian cities at this time [2] . According to Yu. K. Kolosovskaya, German legions and Moorish cavalry under the leadership of Aureolus [11] used German legions and Moorish cavalry to fight Regalian's supporters.
Outcome of Rebellion
Regalian's speech is assessed differently in the research literature - some historians consider its usurpation, as well as the earlier Injuring usurpation as a manifestation of separatism of the provinces of the Roman Empire and an attempt to create a separate Danube empire (by analogy with the Gallic ) [14] . According to another, more widespread view at the moment, these speeches were not attempts to separate some territories from Rome and Regalian did not move with the troops to Rome only because of lack of strength and external threat [15] .
Consciously or unconsciously, but Regalian did a valuable service to Gallien. He won precious time for Gallien, allowing him to draw attention to the higher-priority threat of the Alemannic invasion of Italy, fighting himself against local enemies. However, this did not inspire confidence in the central government among the locals. The following year, when another pair of usurpers ( Makriana ) arrived from the east, they gained many supporters in the Pannonian provinces who wanted to help them to overthrow Gallienus [2] .
Comments
- ↑ In the History of Augustus there is also a biography of a certain usurper of Trebellian . However, the researchers consider this usurper to be the fiction of the author of the biographies of “ thirty tyrants ”, and his name, according to various scholars, occurred either on behalf of the author himself (Trebelli Pollio), or was borrowed by him from Eutropius, who made a mistake in writing. See: Eutropius. Breviary from the founding of the City. SPb., 2001. D.V. Kareev. Note 42 to book IX. P. 253.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Trebelli Pollio . "History of Augustus". Thirty tyrants. X. 8.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Leadbetter, 1998 .
- ↑ 1 2 PLRE, 1971 .
- ↑ Pseudo-Aurelius Victor . Extracts about the life and customs of the Roman emperors. Xxxx. 2
- ↑ Eutropius . Breviary from the founding of the city. Ix. 8. 1.
- ↑ Kienast, D. Römische Kaisertabelle. Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie. - Darmstadt, 1996. - p. 224.
- ↑ Trebellius Pollion . "History of Augustus". Thirty tyrants. X. 8. 1.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sergeev, 1999 , p. 115
- ↑ Trebellius Pollion . "History of Augustus". Thirty tyrants. X. 3-6.
- ↑ Sergeev, 1999 , pp. 115-116.
- ↑ 1 2 Sergeev, 1999 , p. 116.
- ↑ Canduci, 2010 , p. 85.
- ↑ Trebellius Pollion . "History of Augustus". Thirty tyrants. X. 8. 2.
- ↑ Sergeev, 1999 , pp. 116-117.
- ↑ Sergeev, 1999 , p. 117.
Literature
Sources
- Aurelius Victor. Licinius Gallien with Salonin // On Caesars .
- Trebelli Pollio. Thirty Tyrants // History of Augustus . - M .: Science, 1992.
Literature
- Jones AHM PC Regalianus // Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire / AHM Jones , JR Martindale, J. Morris. - Cambridge University Press , 1971. - Vol. I: AD 260-395. - P. 762. - ISBN 0-521-07233-6 [2001 reprint].
- Leadbetter, William. Regalianus (260 AD) (English) . An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors . 1998
- I. Sergeev. The Roman Empire in the III century of our era: Problems of social and political history. - Kharkov, 1999.
- Canduci, A. Triumph & Tragedy: Immortal Emperors. - PIER 9, 2010.
Links
- Roman Imperial Coins of Regalianus (English) . Wildwinds. - Coins Regaliana. The appeal date is October 22, 2016.