Browse Items (299 total)

Carinus and Numerian were the sons of Carus. Carus and his younger son, Numerian, were to the rule the Eastern provinces and Carinus, the older son, was the rule the western. Carinus was successful militarily, but soon faced usurpation of the throne…

Most of Gordian’s reign was spent in the East campaigning against the Persians. He married the daughter of his Praetorian Praefect, Furia Sabina Tranquillina, which by this time was a prudent political move. The Praefect, Timestheus, though very…

From a noble Roman family, Valerian held many important positions in the city of Rome, including Censor and Princeps Senatus, before he was declared Emperor in 253 CE. His son, Gallienus, was declared co-emperor and sent to the west to look after…

Julia Maesa was the Severan matriarch after the death of Caracalla. Trying to restore the Severan dynasty, she secured the murder of Emperor Macrinus, Caracalla’s former Praetorian Praefect and murderer, in 218 CE. Elagabalus, her grandson, was then…

Postumus was declared Emperor by his troops in 259 CE when Valerian I was taken captive by the Persians. He secured the borders of Gaul and Britain, and to ensure that he would stay in power, he executed Saloninus, the legitimate emperor. His reign…

Maximinus, also known as Maximinus Thrax, was hailed as the Emperor by his troops upon the death of Severus Alexander in 235 CE. The Praetorian Guard accepted him and then, begrudgingly, so did the senate.

A physically very large man of great…

Gallienus’ reign was plagued with almost every calamity that could befall an empire. There were revolts, invasions and disease. Though faced with these problems, he still successfully ruled the empire for 15 years, when he was finally killed by a…

Salonina was the wife of Gallienus. Sadly, we do not know too much about her life. Juno Regina was an appropriate figure to grace the reverse of coins featuring the wives of emperors. The wife of Jupiter, she is heralded as the queen of the gods. The…

Probus was much like any new emperor in this time period; he rose to power within the military and was declared emperor by his troops in 276 CE after the death of Tacitus. He spent much of his time on campaign and rarely visited the city of Rome.…

Tacitus claimed to be the descendent of the famous historian, but whether this claim is true remains to be seen. There is much disagreement about his reign, from the way he came to power to the way he died. He may have been one of the only emperors…