Gordian III
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Gordian III (Template:Langx; 20 January 225 – Template:Circa February 244) was Roman emperor from 238 to 244. At the age of 13, he became the youngest sole emperor of the united Roman Empire.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Efn Gordian was the son of Maecia FaustinaTemplate:Sfn and her husband Junius Balbus, who died before 238.Template:Sfn Their names are mentioned in the unreliable Historia Augusta. Maecia was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and sister of Emperor Gordian II.Template:Sfn Very little is known of his early life before his acclamation.
Rise to powerEdit
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In 235, following the murder of Emperor Alexander Severus in Moguntiacum (modern Mainz),Template:Sfn the capital of the Roman province Germania Superior, Maximinus Thrax was acclaimed emperor.Template:Sfn In the following years, there was a growing opposition against Maximinus in the Roman Senate and amongst the majority of the population of Rome. In 238, a rebellion broke out in the Africa Province, where Gordian's grandfather and uncle, Gordian I and II, were proclaimed joint emperors.Template:Sfn This revolt was suppressed within a month by Cappellianus, governor of Numidia and a loyal supporter of Maximinus Thrax.Template:Sfn
The Senate, showing its hostility towards Maximinus by supporting the Gordiani, elected Pupienus and Balbinus as joint emperors.Template:Sfn These senators were not popular men, so the Senate decided to raise Marcus Antonius Gordianus to the rank of Caesar (heir).Template:Sfn Maximinus, moving quickly to attack the Senate's newly elected emperors, encountered difficulties marching his army through an Alpine winter.Template:Sfn Arriving at Aquileia and short on supplies, Maximinus besieged the city.Template:Sfn After four weeks, Maximinus' demoralized army mutinied and the Legio II Parthica murdered him.Template:Sfn
The situation for Pupienus and Balbinus, despite Maximinus' death, was doomed from the start with popular riots, military discontent and an enormous fire that consumed Rome. Soon after, Pupienus and Balbinus were killed by the Praetorian Guard and Gordian proclaimed sole emperor.Template:Sfn The exact chronology of events is disputed, but it was probably around August.Template:Efn
ReignEdit
Due to Gordian's age, the imperial government was surrendered to the aristocratic families, who controlled the affairs of Rome through the Senate.Template:Sfn In 240, Sabinianus revolted in the African province, but he was quickly defeated.Template:Sfn In 241, Gordian was married to Furia Sabinia Tranquillina,Template:Sfn daughter of the newly appointed praetorian prefect, Timesitheus. As chief of the Praetorian Guard and father-in-law of the Emperor, Timesitheus quickly became the de facto ruler of the Roman Empire.Template:Sfn
During Gordian's reign there were severe earthquakes, so severe that cities fell into the ground along with their inhabitants.Template:Sfn In response to these earthquakes Gordian consulted the Sibylline Books.Template:Sfn
By the 3rd century, the Roman frontiers weakened against the Germanic tribes across the Rhine and Danube, and the Sassanid Empire across the Euphrates increased its own attacks. When the Sasanians under Shapur I invaded Mesopotamia, the young emperor opened the doors of the Temple of Janus for the last time in Roman history, and sent a large army to the East. The Sassanids were driven back over the Euphrates and defeated in the Battle of Resaena (243).Template:Sfn The campaign was a success and Gordian, who had joined the army, was planning an invasion of the enemy's territory, when his father-in-law died in unclear circumstances.Template:Sfn Without Timesitheus, the campaign, and the Emperor's security, were at risk. Due to the campaign's success, Gordian boasted about his achievements to the Senate.Template:Sfn Template:Year of Six Emperors Gaius Julius Priscus and, later on, his own brother Marcus Julius Philippus, also known as Philip the Arab, stepped in at this moment as the new Praetorian Prefects.Template:Sfn Gordian would then start a second campaign. Around February 244,Template:Efn the Sasanians fought back fiercely to halt the Roman advance to Ctesiphon.
The exact fate of Gordian is unclear, but he was most likely killed at the Battle of Misiche. An inscription erected by Shapur claims that a battle near modern Fallujah (Iraq) resulted in a major Roman defeat and the death of Gordian III,Template:Sfn after which Philip bought peace for 500,000 dinars.Template:Sfn Roman sources claim that the soldiers proclaimed Philip emperor, that he made peace with Shapur on "shameful" terms, and that Gordian died as the Roman forces departed for the west.Template:Sfn Zonaras says that Gordian died after falling from his horse during a battle.Template:Sfn One view holds that Gordian died at Zaitha, murdered by his frustrated army, while the role of Philip is unknown.Template:Sfn Scholarly analyses suggest the Sasanian version, "while defective[,] is superior" to the Roman one, which provides no explanation for why the victorious Roman army had to make peace on disadvantageous terms.Template:Sfn
The deposition of Gordian's body is also a matter of controversy. According to David S. Potter, Philip transferred the body of the deceased emperor to Rome and arranged for his deification.Template:Sfn Edwell, Dodgeon, and Lieu state that Philip had Gordian buried at Zaitha after the campaign against the Sasanians had ended in failure.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Family treeEdit
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NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
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- Meckler, Michael (2001). "Gordian III (238–244 A.D.)", De Imperatoribus Romanis
- Ammianus Marcellinus, The Later Roman Empire (AD354-378), 23.5.7
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