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Tetricus I
The obverse of a golden coin showing the face of Tetricus.
The obverse of an aureus featuring Tetricus I.
Emperor of the Gallic Empire
Reign271–274
PredecessorVictorinus
SuccessorNone (Gallic Empire reconquered by Aurelian)
BornGaul
DiedLucania, Italia
IssueTetricus II
Names
Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus
Regnal name
Imperator Caesar Esuvius Tetricus Pius Felix Invictus Augustus Pontifex Maximus

Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus was the emperor of the Gallic Empire from 271 to 274. He was originally the praeses (governor) of Gallia Aquitania, and became emperor after the murder of Emperor Victorinus in 271, having received the support of Victorinus's mother Victoria. During his reign, he faced external pressure from Germanic raiders, who pillaged the eastern and northern parts of his empire, and the Roman Empire, from which the Gallic Empire had split. He also faced increasing internal pressure, which led to him declaring his son, Tetricus II, caesar in 273 and potentially co-emperor in 274, although this is debated. The Roman Emperor Aurelian invaded in 273 or 274, culminating in the Battle of Châlons, in which Tetricus surrendered. Whether this was the result of a secret agreement between Tetricus and Aurelian or necessary after his defeat is debated. Aurelian spared Tetricus, and even made him a senator and corrector (governor) of Lucania et Bruttii. He died of natural causes a few years after 274.

Background

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A colored map of the Gallic Empire in 260, showing the core territory of the Gallic Empire (red), loosely loyal territory of the Gallic Empire (purple), and the territory of the Roman Empire (green).
A map of the Gallic Empire in 260, showing the core territory of the Gallic Empire (red), loosely loyal territory of the Gallic Empire (purple), and the territory of the Roman Empire (green)

The Gallic Empire is the historiographic name given to a state composed of the Roman provinces of Britannia, Hispania, and Gaul, which broke away from the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Gallienus. Gallienus had become emperor after his father, Emperor Valerian, was captured by the the Sassanids in 260; his rule was part of the Crisis of the Third Century (235–284), a period of intense political and military power struggles. Gallienus was overwhelmed with various issues, including several usurpers, and numerous barbarian attacks in the Balkans and along the Rhine — including an attack by the Franks which pushed so far as Tarraco (modern-day Tarragona) in Hispania. Because Gallienus was unable to prevent the raids, Postumus, a military commander on the Rhine frontier, rose up and declared himself emperor; around the same time he assassinated Saloninus, Gallenius' son and co-emperor, in Colonia (modern-day Cologne).[1][2] Postumus focused on defending the Gallic Empire, and, in the words of ancient Roman historian Eutropius:[1]

"restored the almost exhausted provinces through his enormous vigour and moderation."[1]

Gallienus attempted to invade the Gallic Empire twice, but was repulsed both times, forcing him to acquiesce with the secession; Although he was unable to conquer the Gallic Empire, Gallienus did ensure that the Roman Empire was defended, including posting Aureolus, a military commander, in northern Italy, to prevent Postumus from crossing the Alps. Postumus was killed by his own soldiers in 268 in Mogontiacum (modern-day Mainz) while putting down a revolt by the usurper Laelianus, because he refused to allow them to sack the city.[1] After the army killed Postumus, they elected Marcus Aurelius Marius, an officer, as Gallic Emperor. While some ancient sources hold that Marius reigned for only two days before being killed by Victorinus, who had served as praetorian prefect (Commander of the Praetorian Guard) under Postumus, the quantity of coins issued by Marius indicate that he must have served for a longer time, a period of roughly three months. Victorinus declared himself emperor in mid-269 in Augusta Treverorum (modern-day Trier), two days after killing Marius.[1][3][4] Victorinus' rule was recognized by the provinces of Britannia and Gaul, but not by those of Hispania.[5]

Life

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A colored map of Europe showing the Gallic Empire in green, Roman Empire in red, and Palmyrene Empire in yellow, during the rule of Tetricus I.
A map of the Gallic Empire (green), Roman Empire (red), and Palmyrene Empire (yellow), during the reign of Tetricus I
Antoninianus of Tetricus II

Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus, commonly referred to as Tetricus I, was born in Gaul, at an unknown date, to a noble family.[6][7][8] Little of his early life is known, however he had become a senator and occupied the post of praeses provinciae (governor) of Gallia Aquitania by the 271.[7] In early 271, Emperor Victorinus was murdered in the city of Colonia by Attitianus, an officer in the Gallic army, allegedly because he had seduced Attitianus' wife.[9][10][11] Because the motivation for his assassination was a personal, rather than political, Victorinus' mother, Victoria, was able to retain power within the empire; her power allowed her to appoint Tetricus as Gallic Empire, after securing the support of the army through bribes.[11] The army proclaimed Tetricus as Gallic emperor in spring of the same year at Burdigala (modern-day Bordeaux), although Tetricus was not physically present for the proclamation.[11][7]

The Gallic Empire mirrored the Roman imperial administrative traditions, and as such Gallic emperors would adopt Roman regnal titles upon their accession; after becoming emperor, Tetricus' name was changed to Imperator Caesar Esuvius Tetricus Pius Felix Invictus Augustus Pontifex Maximus.[1][12] The Gallic Empire also followed the Roman tradition of Emperors appointing themselves as consul, with Tetricus appointing himself as consul in 271, 272, and 273; the names of the other consul for these years are not known.[1][13] Tetricus elevated his son, Tetricus II, as caesar in 273 to increase the legitimacy of his reign;[14] he may have also elevated his son to co-emperor during the last days of his reign, but this is disputed.[15] Tetricus also moved the capital of the Gallic Empire from Colonia to Augusta Treverorum in late 271.[14]

During Tetricus' reign, the main threats to the Gallic Empire came from the Roman Empire and Germanic tribes, however Tetricus also had to contend with dissent within the army and government.[15] Tetricus was recognized as emperor by all of Gaul — except Gallia Narbonensis, which had been partially reconquered by the commander Placidianus under Roman Emperor Claudius Gothicus — and Brittania. He was not recognized by the province of Hispania, including Hispania Baetica, Lusitania and Hispania Tarraconensis, — which had earlier refused to recognize Victorinus as emperor — along with the city of Argentoratum (modern-day Strasbourg) in Germania; the provinces which did not recognize Tetricus chose instead to recognize Roman Emperor Aurelian, who had been proclaimed emperor in September 270 at Sirmium in Pannonia.[7][5][14] By the time of Tetricus' rule, the Germanic tribes had become increasingly aggressive, launching raids across the Rhine and along the coast. Tetricus attacked them with some success, mainly during the early days of his reign, even celebrating a triumph for one of his victories, but largely was forced to withdraw troops and abandon forts, allowing the border territories to be pillaged; in the later days of his reign, Germanic raids were met with almost no opposition — one penetrated so far into Gallic territory that it reached the Loire.[1][14] While Aurelian was concentrated upon attacking the Palmyrene Empire, which had broken away from the Roman Empire in 270, under Empress Zenobia, Tetricus was able to recover Gallia Narbonensis and south-eastern parts of Gallia Aquitania.[7] During 273/274, Faustinus rebelled against Tetricus, however his revolt was swiftly crushed.[16]

After Aurelian had succeeded in his reconquest of the Palmyrene Empire, he turned his attention to the Gallic Empire, beginning preparations for an invasion in either early or late 273. In early 274, Aurelian began to march into Northern Gaul, while Tetricus led his troops southward from Augusta Treverorum to meet him. The armies of Aurelian and Tetricus met in February or March 274 at the Battle of Châlons, near modern-day Châlons.[7][14] The army of Tetricus was soundly defeated in the battle, and Tetricus surrendered either directly after his defeat or later, with last possible date for his surrender being in March 274, when the Gallic mints switched from minting coins of Tetricus I and II to those of Aurelian.[7][17][18] Ancient sources such as Aurelius Victor and Eutropius report that Tetricus had already made a deal with Aurelian, offering to surrender in exchange for an honorable defeat and no punishment, quoting Virgil: "eripe me his invicte malis" (rescue me undefeated from these troubles), however this is believed to be a product of Roman imperial propaganda;[7][17][18] Aurelian, who was attempting to stabilize a fragile empire, benefited from the rumor that Tetricus had planned to betray his army, as his troops would be less likely to rise up again.[7]

Upon Tetricus' surrender, the Gallic Empire rejoined the Roman Empire, once more whole, and Aurelian held a triumph in Rome. The leaders of the two secessionist states, Tetricus of the Gallic Empire and Zenobia of the Palmyrene Empire were both paraded during this triumph.[17][18] Aurelian pardoned both of them, and made Tetricus a senator and corrector (a governor of a minor province) of Lucania et Bruttii, a province in Southern Italy.[17][15][19] Tetricus died of natural causes several years later in Italy.[7]

Numismatics

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See also: Numismatics

The gold aurei issued during the reign of Tetricus fell into several types. Seven featured his bust on the obverse, with the reverses showing him riding a horse, a standing Aequitas, a standing Jupiter, a standing Laetitia, a standing Pax, him holding an olive branch and a sceptre, or a standing Spes. One featured his face on the obverse and a standing Hilaritas on the reverse. Another displayed his head on the obverse and a depiction of the Roman Goddess Victoria walking to the right on the reverse. There were two aureus types which depicted Tetricus I and Tetricus II together; both featured Jugate busts of them on the obverse, with one having a standing Aeternitas on the reverse and the other having a standing Felicitas. A rare quinarius (a silver coin) issued during his reign held a three-quarter facing bust of Tetricus on the obverse and Victoria standing with her foot on a globe on the reverse.[20] The coinage of the Gallic Empire does not give any evidence of public games or festivals, as was common in the Roman Empire, although it is believed that they held similar games and festivals. There are a number of issues in which the emperor's head faces left, rather than the usual right, which are believed to have been used for donatives granted to soldiers upon the emperor's accession or consulship.[1]

Historiography

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The ancient sources for the Gallic Empire are poor, made up largely of brief notes from late 4th-century Latin authors who depended heavily on the now lost Enmannsche Kaisergeschichte, scattered references from the first book of the ancient Roman historian Zosimus, and from information taken from the coinage minted by the Gallic emperors. While the lives of the Gallic emperors are covered within the Historia Augusta, this information is unreliable due to the interweaving of facts and invention within the Historia Augusta.[1] Tetricus is listed one of the "Thirty Tyrants" in the Historia Augusta.[21]

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tetricus I.

Primary sources

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These sources were written by early chronicles and have been drawn upon by modern scholars.

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Nicholson 2018.
  2. ^ Southern 2015, p. 140.
  3. ^ PolferA 1999.
  4. ^ Southern 2015, p. 118.
  5. ^ a b PolferA 2000.
  6. ^ Potter 2004, p. 257.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Polfer 2000.
  8. ^ Jones, Martindale & Morris 1971, p. 885.
  9. ^ Jones, Martindale & Morris 1971, p. 965.
  10. ^ Potter 2004, p. 272.
  11. ^ a b c Southern 2015, p. 119.
  12. ^ Drinkwater 1987, p. 125.
  13. ^ Jones, Martindale & Morris 1971, p. 1041.
  14. ^ a b c d e Southern 2015, p. 175.
  15. ^ a b c Sayles 2007, p. 138.
  16. ^ Polfer 1999.
  17. ^ a b c d Southern 2015, p. 176.
  18. ^ a b c Vagi 2000, p. 386.
  19. ^ Matyszak 2014, p. 134.
  20. ^ Friedberg, Friedberg & Friedberg 2017, p. 50.
  21. ^ Gwynn 2018, p. 1496.

Bibliography

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  • Drinkwater, J.F. (1987). The Gallic Empire: Separatism and Continuity in the North-Western Provinces of the Roman Empire, A.D. 260-274. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden. ISBN 9783515048064.
  • Friedberg, Arthur L.; Friedberg, Ira S.; Friedberg, Robert (2017). Gold Coins of the World: From Ancient Times to the Present. An Illustrated Standard Catalog with Valuations. Clifton: Coin & Currency Institute. ISBN 9780871840097.
  • Gwynn, David (2018). "Thirty Tyrants (Tyranni Triginta)". In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 639, 934, 1206, & 1496. ISBN 978-0-192-56246-3.
  • Matyszak, Philip (2014). The Roman Empire (9th ed.). London: Oneworld Publications. ISBN 9781780744254.
  • Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin; Martindale, John Robert; Morris, John (1971). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Cambridge University Press. p. 222. ISBN 0-521-07233-6.
  • Nicholson, Oliver (2018). "Gallic Empire - Oxford Reference". doi:10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001. ISBN 9780198662778. OCLC 1030905378. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  • Potter, David S. (2004). The Roman Empire at Bay, AD 180–395. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 9781134694778.
  • Sayles, Wayne G. (2007). Ancient Coin Collecting III: The Roman World – Politics and Propaganda. Iola: KP. ISBN 9780896894785.
  • Southern, Patricia (2015). The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781317496946.
  • Vagi, David L. (2000). Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, c. 82 B.C.– A.D. 480. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN 9781579583163.
[edit]
Regnal titles
Preceded by Emperor of the Gallic Empire
271–274 AD
with Tetricus II (273–274) 		Succeeded by
None
Political offices
Preceded by Consul of the Gallic Empire
271–273 		Succeeded by
None
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