Marcus Julius Philippus or
Philippus I Arabs (c. 204 - 249), known in
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
as
Philip the ArabArab people or Arabs are an ethnic group whose members identify along linguistic, cultural or genealogical grounds...
or formerly (prior to World War II) in English as
Philip the Arabian, was a
Roman EmperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin titles such as imperator , augustus, caesar and princeps were all associated with it...
from 244 to 249.
Early life
Little is known about Philip's early life and political career. He was born in
ShahbaShahba , known in Late Antiquity as Philippopolis, is a city located 87 km south of Damascus in the Jabal el Druze in As-Suwayda Governorate of Syria, but formerly in the Roman province of Arabia Petraea.-Roman history:...
, about 55 miles southeast of
DamascusDamascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world and its current population is estimated at about 1,669,000...
, 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 the Italian peninsula...
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...
. Philip has the nickname "the Arab" because he had family who had originated in the
Arabian peninsulaThe Arabian Peninsula , Arabia, Arabistan, and the Arabian subcontinent is a peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia...
, believed to be distant descendants of the prestigious Baleed family of
AleppoAleppo is a city in northern Syria, the second largest Syrian city and the capital of the Aleppo Governorate; the Governorate extends around the city for over 16,000 km² and has a population of 4,393,000, making it the largest Governorate in Syria by population...
. Philip was the son of a Julius Marinus, a local Roman citizen, possibly of some importance. Many historians agree that he was of Arab descent who gained
Roman citizenshipCitizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged social status afforded to certain individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance.It is hard to offer meaningful generalities across the entire Roman period, as the nature and availability of citizenship was affected by legislation, for...
through his father, a man of considerable influence. Many citizens from the provinces took Roman names upon acquiring citizenship. This makes tracing his Arabic blood line difficult. However, it is documented that Rome used the Ghassan tribe from the
AzdThe Azd or Al Azd, are an Arabian tribe. They were a branch of the Kahlan tribe, which was one of the two branches of Qahtan the other being Himyar.In the ancient times, they inhabited Ma'rib, the capital city of the Sabaean Kingdom in modern-day Yemen...
of
YemenYemen , officially the Republic of Yemen is a country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia...
as vassals to keep the neighboring northern Arabs in check.
The name of Philip's mother is unknown, but sources refer to a brother,
Gaius Julius Priscus Gaius Julius Priscus was military man and member of the Praetorian guard in the reign of Gordian III.Priscus was born in the Roman province of Syria, possibly in Damascus, son of a Julius Marinus a local Roman citizen, possibly of some importance...
, a member of the
Praetorian guardThe Praetorian Guard was a force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. Before being appropriated for the use of the Emperors' personal guards, the title was used for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC...
under
Gordian IIIMarcus Antonius Gordianus Pius , known in English as Gordian III, was Roman Emperor from 238 to 244. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and his father was an unnamed Roman Senator who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II...
(238–244). In 234, Philip married
Marcia Otacilia SeveraMarcia Otacilia Severa or Otacilia Severa was the Empress of Rome and wife of Emperor Marcus Julius Philippus or Philip the Arab who reigned over the Roman Empire from 244 to 249....
, daughter of a Roman Governor. They had two children: a son named Marcus Julius Philippus Severus (
Philippus IIMarcus Julius Philippus Severus, also known as Philippus II, Philip II and Philip the Younger was the son and heir of the Roman Emperor Philip the Arab by his wife Roman Empress Marcia Otacilia Severa...
) in 238 and according to numismatic evidence they had a daughter called Julia Severa or Severina, whom the ancient Roman sources don't mention.
Philip became a member of the Pretorian Guard during the reign of the emperor
Alexander SeverusMarcus Aurelius Severus Alexander , commonly called Alexander Severus, was the last Roman emperor of the Severan dynasty...
, who was a Syrian. In ancient Rome the Pretorian Guard was closely associated with the emperor, serving among other things as the emperor's bodyguard.
Political career
In 243, during
Gordian IIIMarcus Antonius Gordianus Pius , known in English as Gordian III, was Roman Emperor from 238 to 244. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and his father was an unnamed Roman Senator who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II...
's campaign against
Shapur IShapur I was the second Sassanid King of the Second Persian Empire. The dates of his reign are commonly given as 241 - 272, but it is likely that he also reigned as co-regent prior to his father's death in 241.-Early years:...
of Persia, the
Praetorian prefectPraetorian prefect was the title of a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief aides...
TimesitheusGaius Furius Sabinius Aquila Timesitheus was a Roman knight who lived in the 3rd century and was the most important advisor to Roman Emperor Gordian III. Very little is known on his origins. Timesitheus was a Roman of equestrian rank.-Life:...
died under unclear circumstances. At the suggestion of his brother Priscus, Philip became the new Praetorian prefect, with the intention that the two brothers would control the young Emperor and rule the Roman world as unofficial regents. Following a military defeat, Gordian III died in 244 under circumstances that are still debated. While some claim that Philip conspired in his murder, other accounts (including one coming from the Persian point of view) state that Gordian died in battle. Whatever the case, Philip assumed the purple following Gordian's death. According to Edward Gibbon:
His rise from so obscure a station to the first dignities of the empire seems to prove that
he was a bold and able leader. But his boldness prompted him to aspire to the throne, and his abilities were employed to supplant, not to serve, his indulgent master.
Philip was not willing to repeat the mistakes of previous claimants, and was aware that he had to return to
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
in order to secure his position with the
senateThe Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of government...
. He thus travelled west, after concluding a peace treaty with Shapur I, and left his brother Priscus as extraordinary ruler of the Eastern provinces. In Rome he was confirmed
AugustusAugustus , Latin for "majestic," "the increaser," or "venerable", was an Ancient Roman title, which was first held by Caesar Augustus and subsequently came to be considered one of the titles of what are now known as the Roman Emperors...
, and nominated his young son
CaesarCaesar , Latin: Caesar , is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
and heir.
Philip's rule started with yet another Germanic incursion on the provinces of
PannoniaPannonia is an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
and the
GothsThe Goths were a heterogeneous East Germanic tribe. The historian Jordanes claimed that the Goths arrived from semi-legendary Scandza, believed to be somewhere in modern Götaland , and that a Gothic population had crossed the Baltic Sea before the 2nd century, lending their name to the region of...
invaded
MoesiaMoesia was an ancient region and Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River...
(modern-day
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
and
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
) in the
DanubeThe Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows...
frontier. They were finally defeated in the year 248, but the
legionsThe Roman legion is a term that can apply both as a translation of legio to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly , to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army in the period of the late Roman Republic and the...
were not satisfied with the result, probably due to a low share of the plunder, if any. Rebellion soon arose and
Tiberius Claudius PacatianusTiberius Claudius Marinus Pacatianus was an usurper in the Danube area of the Roman Empire during the time of Philip the Arab....
was proclaimed emperor by the troops. The uprising was crushed and Philip nominated
Gaius Messius Quintus DeciusGaius Messius Quintus Decius was the Emperor of Rome from 249 to 251. In the last year of his reign, he co-ruled with his son Herennius Etruscus until both of them were killed in the Battle of Abrittus.-Early life and rise to power:...
as governor of the province. Future events would prove this to be a mistake. Pacatianus' revolt was not the only threat to his rule: in the East,
Marcus JotapianusMarcus Fulvius Rufus Jotapianus or Jotapian, he was also known as Iotapianus or Iotapian. Jotapianus was an usurper in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Philip the Arab, around 249...
led another uprising in response to the oppressive rule of
Priscus Gaius Julius Priscus was military man and member of the Praetorian guard in the reign of Gordian III.Priscus was born in the Roman province of Syria, possibly in Damascus, son of a Julius Marinus a local Roman citizen, possibly of some importance...
and the excessive taxation of the Eastern provinces. Two other usurpers,
Marcus SilbannacusMar. Silbannacus is a mysterious figure believed to have been an usurper in the Roman Empire during the time of Philip the Arab , or between the fall of Aemilianus and the rise to power of Valerian....
and
SponsianusSponsianus is believed to have been an usurper in the Roman Empire during the time of Philip the Arab. He is known from aurei found in Transylvania in 1713, but there is evidence that the coins are modern forgeries, so even Sponsianus' existence remains doubtful....
, are reported to have started rebellions without much success.
In April A.D. 248 (April 1000
A.U.C.Ab urbe condita is Latin for "from the founding of the City ", traditionally set in 753 BC. It was used to identify the Roman year by a few Roman historians...
), Philip had the honour of leading the celebrations of the one thousandth birthday of Rome, which according to tradition was
foundedThe founding of Rome is reported by many legends, which in recent times are beginning to be supplemented by more scientific reconstructions.Virgil's Aeneid is an important source for information about those early times or, at least, the myth-historical events current in the Augustan period.The...
in 753 BC by
RomulusRomulus and Remus are considered to be the traditional founders of Rome, appearing in Roman mythology as the twin sons of the Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia, fathered by the god of war, Mars...
.
He combined the anniversary with the celebration of Rome's alleged tenth
saeculumA saeculum is a length of time roughly equal to the potential lifetime of a person or the equivalent of the complete renewal of a human population. The term was first used by the Etruscans. Originally it meant the period of time from the moment that something happened until the point in time that...
. According to contemporary accounts, the festivities were magnificent and included spectacular games,
ludi saecularesThe Secular Games were a religious celebration, involving sacrifices and theatrical performances, held in ancient Rome for three days and nights to mark the end of a saeculum and the beginning of the next...
, and theatrical presentations throughout the city. In the coliseum, more than 1,000 gladiators were killed along with hundreds of exotic animals including hippos, leopards, lions, giraffes, and one rhinoceros. The events were also celebrated in literature, with several publications, including
Asinius QuadratusGaius Asinius Quadratus was a Greek historian of Rome and Parthia in the third century. Felix Jacoby in the Fragmente der griechischen Historiker provides the thirty remaining fragments of his work. Most derive from the dictionary of Stephanus of Byzantium...
's
History of a Thousand Years, specially prepared for the anniversary.
Despite the festive atmosphere, discontent in the legions was growing.
DeciusGaius Messius Quintus Decius was the Emperor of Rome from 249 to 251. In the last year of his reign, he co-ruled with his son Herennius Etruscus until both of them were killed in the Battle of Abrittus.-Early life and rise to power:...
(249–251) was proclaimed Emperor by the Danubian armies in the spring of 249 and immediately marched to Rome. Philip's army met the usurper near modern Verona that summer. Decius won the battle and Philip was killed sometime in September 249, either in the fighting or assassinated by his own soldiers who were eager to please the new ruler. Philip's eleven-year-old son and heir may have been killed with his father and Priscus disappeared without a trace.
Religious beliefs
Some later traditions, first mentioned in the historian
EusebiusEusebius of Caesarea became the bishop of Caesarea Palaestina, the capital of Iudaea province, c 314...
in his
Ecclesiastical HistoryThe Church History of Eusebius of Caesarea was a fourth-century pioneer work giving a chronological account of the development of Early Christianity from the first century. It was written in Koine Greek, and survives also in Latin, Syriac and Armenian manuscripts...
, held that Philip was the first
ChristianChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
Roman emperor. This tradition seems to be based on reports in Eusebius that Philip allegedly had once entered a Christian service on Easter, after having been required by a bishop to confess his sins. Later versions located this event in Antioch.
However, historians generally identify the later Emperor Constantine, baptised on his deathbed, as the first Christian emperor, and generally describe Philip's adherence to Christianity as dubious, because non-Christian writers do not mention the fact, and because throughout his reign, Philip to all appearances (coinage, etc.) continued to follow the
state religionThe term Roman religion may refer to:*Ancient Roman religion*religions of the Roman Empire period **Imperial cult *** Sol Invictus**Mithraism**Early Christianity**Gnosticism*Roman Catholicism*Roman neopaganism...
. Critics ascribe Eusebius' claim as probably due to the tolerance Philip showed towards Christians.
Saint Quirinus of RomeSaint Quirinus of Rome, or Quirinus of Tegernsee, is venerated as a martyr and saint of the third century.According to one tradition, he was beheaded during the reign of Claudius Gothicus . His corpse was thrown into the Tiber and later found at Tiber Island. Quirinus was, according to another...
was, according to a legendary account, the son of Philip the Arab.
External links