Quietus
| Quietus | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usurperof theRoman Empire | |||||||||
 Quietus on a coin celebratingEternal Rome.[1] | |||||||||
| Reign | 260-1 (with Macrianus Minor) | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Gallienus | ||||||||
| Successor | Gallienus | ||||||||
| Died | 261 Emesa,Syria | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Father | Macrianus Major | ||||||||
| Mother | ?(of senatorial descent) | ||||||||
Titus Fulvius Junius Quietus(died 261) was aRoman usurperagainstRoman EmperorGallienus.
History
[edit]Quietus was the son ofFulvius Macrianus[2]and a noblewoman, possibly named Junia. According toHistoria Augusta,he was a militarytribuneunderValerian,[3]but this information is challenged by historians.[citation needed]
He gained the imperial office with his brotherMacrianus Minor,after the capture of Emperor Valerian in the Sassanid campaign of 260.[4]With the lawful heir,Gallienus,being far away in the West, the soldiers elected the two emperors. The support of his father, controller of the imperial treasure, and the influence ofBalista,Praetorian prefectof the late Emperor Valerian, proved instrumental in his promotion.[5]
Quietus and Macrianus, electedconsuls,[6]had to face the Emperor Gallienus, at the time in the West. Quietus and Balista stayed in the eastern provinces, while his brother and father marched their army to Europe to seize control of theRoman Empire.After the defeat and deaths of his brother and father inThracein 261, Quietus lost the control of the provinces in favour of SeptimusOdaenathusofPalmyra,a loyal client king of the Romans who had helped push thePersiansout of the eastern provinces and recoveredRoman Mesopotamiain 260.[citation needed]Forced to flee to the city ofEmesa,[7]he was besieged there by Odaenathus,[citation needed]during the course of which he was killed by its inhabitants, possibly instigated by Balista.[8]
Cultural depictions
[edit]Quietus appears inHarry Sidebottom's historical fiction novel series as one of the series' antagonists.
References
[edit]- ^The coinage of Quietus and of his brother and co-emperorMacrianus Minorcelebrated the army, the confidence in victory, and the foreseen arrival of happy times. All of these themes were very important in a time of emergency, when the Roman Empire had lost its Emperor in battle against theSassanid Empire.
- ^Jones, pg. 757
- ^Historia Augusta, Tyranni Triginta, 12:10
- ^Jones, pg. 758
- ^Körner, www.roman-emperors.org/galusurp.htm#Note%202
- ^Körner, www.roman-emperors.org/galusurp.htm#Note%202
- ^Jones, pg. 757
- ^(Zonarasxii.24)
Sources
[edit]- Körner, Christian, "Usurpers in the east: The Macriani and Ballista", s.v. "Usurpers under Gallienus",De Imperatoribus Romanis
- Jones, A.H.M., Martindale, J.R.The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. I: AD260-395,Cambridge University Press, 1971
External links
[edit]
Media related toQuietusat Wikimedia Commons
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