Gaius Julius Priscus was military man and member of the
Praetorian guardThe Praetorian Guard was a force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. The title was already used during the Roman Republic for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC...
in the reign of
Gordian IIIGordian III , was Roman Emperor from 238 to 244. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and an unnamed Roman Senator who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II. Very little is known on his early life before his acclamation...
.
Life
Priscus was born in the
Roman provinceIn Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
of
SyriaSyria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War. It remained under Roman, and subsequently Byzantine, rule for seven centuries, until 637 when it fell to the Islamic conquests.- Principate :The...
, possibly in
DamascusDamascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, son of a Julius Marinus a local Roman citizen, possibly of some importance. The name of his mother is unknown, but his brother was
Marcus Julius PhilippusPhilip the Arab , also known as Philip or Philippus Arabs, was Roman Emperor from 244 to 249. He came from Syria, and rose to become a major figure in the Roman Empire. He achieved power after the death of Gordian III, quickly negotiating peace with the Sassanid Empire...
, later the
Roman EmperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
known as Philip the Arab. Priscus was probably older than Philip, since the latter's political career was pushed by his own influence. According to several inscriptions, Priscus was prefect of the province of
MesopotamiaMesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
,
procurator of
MacedoniaThe Roman province of Macedonia was officially established in 146 BC, after the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus defeated Andriscus of Macedon, the last Ancient King of Macedon in 148 BC, and after the four client republics established by Rome in the region were dissolved...
, second in command to
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
's governor and held judicial responsibilities in
AlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. Priscus became a member of the Praetorian guard around 242 during Gordian III Persian campaign, and, when Timesitheus – the praetorian prefect – died in 243, he convinced the young emperor to substitute him with his own brother Philip. For a year, Priscus and Philip served as
de facto regents of Gordian III.
When Gordian was killed by mutinous soldiers in 244, Philippus became the new emperor. As his brother and trusted ally, Priscus remained in the East, while Philip travelled to Rome. Priscus held supreme power in the Eastern provinces and his referred in inscriptions as
rector Orientis. His rule was severe and oppressive. Following his brother's directives, Priscus collected heavy taxes that eventually led to rebellion and the uprising of Iotapianus, one of the four usurpers reported for Philip's reign. Apparently, Priscus managed to control this rebellion.
Nothing is known of the emperor's brother Priscus after the outbreak of Iotapianus' revolt: and it seems likely that he died either naturally or as a result of the uprising.