Valerian
| Valerian | |
|---|---|
| Roman Emperor | |
 Aureus bearing the likeness of Valerian. | |
| Reign | |
| First usurper and legitimate August 253 - 260 (~ 7 years) | |
| Period | The "Thirty Tyrants" |
| Predecessor (s) | Emilian |
| Co-emperor (s) | Gallien |
| Usurper (s) | Cyriads ( 259 - 260 ) |
| Successor (s) | Gallien only |
| Biography | |
| Birth | c. 193 |
| Original Name | Publius Licinius Valerianus |
| Deaths | ap. 260 (67 + years) - Persian |
| Spouse (s) | Mariniane (av. 218 - av. 253 ?) |
| Descent | (1) Gallien (2) Minor Valerianus |
| List of Roman Emperors | |
Valerian was Roman emperor from 253 to 260. He shares power with his son Gallienus (Publius Licinius Gallienus Egnatius; 218 - 268 ) who succeeded him as the sole Roman Emperor from 260 to 268.
Summary |
Valerian is a Senator , with the illustrious name of Licinius (a name that dates back to the Republic ). He was married to Mariniane (already died in 253 ) and has a son, Galen.
Military training, Valerian is known first as lieutenant Decius. In 253 , while stationed in Germany , he was commissioned by the emperor Trebonianus Galle to punish the usurpation of the General Emilien. Governor of Moesia , it was acclaimed Imperator by his troops after a victory against the Goths, however symbolic Abrittus disaster. Valerian arrived too late, however: even before reaching Italy, he learned that the Emperor Trebonianus and son Volusien were murdered by their men, and Emilien has surrounded the imperial purple. Proclaimed emperor by his troops, Valerian march on the city of Spoleto , where the army had assembled Emilien. Even before the outbreak of battle, the Emperor Aemilianus is in turn seized and executed by his own soldiers, who then rallied to Valerian. The old senator (he was then nearly sixty years) and becomes the undisputed master of the Empire.
The struggle against the enemies of the Empire
Valerian partnership with his son Gallienus : it does recognize the Senate as Augustus and co-emperor, and shares with him the difficult task of defending the borders of the Empire. Gallien is in charge of the government of the West, Valerian that of the East. However, this is not a division of Empire: Valerian and Gallienus remain in constant contact and political decisions, religious or economic measures taken by one apply to the entire Empire. This measure anticipates, however, the political organization of tetrarchy.
Gallien, charged with protecting the borders of the West and especially in Gaul must fight against barbarians, but also against two successive usurpers and poorly understood, Ingenuus and Regalianus. Civil wars with oblige Gallien depleted the river Rhine, leaving the barbarians opportunity to loot again Gaul, and even Spain. The Franks and the Alemanni finally defeated in the outskirts of Milan.
For its part, moved from Valerian 254 with his army at Antioch , which was taken and destroyed one or two years earlier by the Persians of Shapur I.. It aims to raise the city and rebuilding military defenses of the East. From 254 to 259 , he makes war, perhaps annually, against Shapur I. with varying success. It builds on Syrian notables, including Palmyren Odnath he calls probably governor of Syria-Phoenicia.
The second general persecution against Christians (257-259)
After 4 years of reign, Valerian suddenly enacts several edicts of persecution in 257. It would have caved in to pressure from his finance minister Macrianus, Pagan fanatic who frequents the Magi but also eager to enrich the treasure he administers the confiscation of assets of wealthy Christians.
- A first edition dates from 257 for the first time banned the worship and meetings of the Christians and ordered the clergy to sacrifice to pagan gods and emperor worship on pain of exile or hard labor.
- A second edict dated 258 more severely condemns to death the clergy and the higher clergy who refuse to sacrifice, confiscates property of wealthy Christians and puts government officials in the position of slaves.
The Christian hierarchy is shaken, the faithful of their private elites and the tax largely profitable. The victims are more numerous than during the persecution of Decius , especially in Egypt, Carthage (death of Cyprian ), Rome (death of Pope Sixtus II ) and Spain (death of the Bishop of Tarragona).
Gallien ended the persecution once he exercises the sole power: it publishes the 260 an edict of tolerance inaugurating a period of forty years of peace, the "small peace of the Church" by making lawful and Christian worship making church property, including cemeteries. This' peace of the Church "ends with the persecutions of Diocletian and Galerius.
A capture humiliating a tragic end
In 259 , he gave battle to the Persians in Mesopotamia between Carrhae ( Harran ) and Edessa ( anlurfa ). Caught in a routine skirmish, he was captured by Shapur I. , who took him captive in Persia. His praetorian prefect Macrian refuses to negotiate with the Persians and no ransom is paid. His son, Galen , is the only legitimate emperor, and it seems it does nothing for his release. We can, however, that Macrian , which put her son on the throne Quietus , has no interest in the return of Valerian, and Gallienus had more control of the East is not able to intervene or to contact the Persians. Moreover, the difficult economic situation that has not really saved the currency devaluation of 256 , it may not pay any ransom importance.
Valerian died in captivity in Persia. Different versions run on his fate. Iranian traditions say he is well treated by his conqueror, but the Christian polemicist Lactantius , under Constantine I , on the contrary it says is humiliated, forced to serve as a footstool when Shapur rides, and after his death Shapur was dyed red and tan skin to dress a mannequin that was exhibited in a large temple in the Persian symbol of shame in Rome . Aurelius Victor says he is captured and skinned alive . Finally, the Augustan History claims that the Eastern kings neighboring Persians write to Shapur to induce the release Valerian, which modern historians like Andrew Chastagnol consider pure imagination of writers of the Historia Augusta . More likely, Shapur do would probably never have risked so much to devalue the royal authority and dignity, even through a foreign prince and defeated.
Names successive
- 193 , was born Publius Licinius Valerianus
- 253 , accesses the Empire: Imperator Caesar Publius Licinius Pius Felix Invictus Augustus Valerianus
- 260 , Titulature to his death: Imperator Caesar Publius Licinius Pius Felix Invictus Augustus Valerianus Germanicus Maximus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribuniciae potestatis VII Imperator I, Consul IV, Pater Patriae.
See also
References
- Lactantius , Of the death of the persecutors, Book V, 5. Version recovery from Hoefer and many historians of the nineteenth century : Jean-Baptiste Louis Crevier , Victor Duruy , etc..
- Eusebius of Caesarea , Ecclesiastical History, Book VII, 10 and 13
- Aurelius Victor , De Caesaribus, XXXII
- The letters of the three kings are mentioned in the Historia Augusta Trebellius attributed to Pollio. See also Historia Augusta , Life of both Valerian, translated by Andr Chastagnol , Editions Robert Laffont , 1994 , ( ISBN 2-221-05734-1 )
Loading ...