Marcus Aurelius Sabinus Iulianus (also known as
Julian I or
Julian of Pannonia; d.
285-Roman Empire:*Spring – Summer—Rival Emperors Carinus and Diocletian face each other in the Battle of the Margus. The latter emerges victorious.*July 21 or 25—Diocletian appoints fellow-officer Maximian to the office of Caesar, or junior co-emperor....
-
286-Roman Empire:* April 1—Diocletian elevates Maximian to Augustus, or senior emperor.* Carausius, commander of the Classis Britannica, is accused of piracy and sentenced to death. He responds by declaring himself emperor...
) was a
Roman usurperUsurpers are individuals or groups of individuals who obtain and maintain the power or rights of another by force and without legal authority. Usurpers were a common feature of the late Roman Empire, especially from the crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the...
(283-285 or 286) against
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...
CarinusMarcus Aurelius Carinus was Roman Emperor and elder son of the Emperor Carus, on whose accession he was appointed governor of the western portion of the empire....
or
MaximianMarcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius , commonly referred to as Maximian, was Caesar from July 285 and Augustus from April 1, 286 to May 1, 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn...
. It is possible that up to four usurpers with a similar name rebelled in a time-frame of a decade, but at least one of them is known by
numismaticNumismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and...
evidence.
Iulianus was a
correctorA corrector is a person who or object that practices correction, usually by removing or rectifying errors.The word is originally a Roman title corrector, derived from the Latin verb corrigēre, meaning "an action to rectify, to make right a wrong."Apart from the general sense of anyone who corrects...
in northern Italy, in 283/284, (and not a
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...
as stated by some sources).
Marcus Aurelius Sabinus Iulianus (also known as
Julian I or
Julian of Pannonia; d.
285-Roman Empire:*Spring – Summer—Rival Emperors Carinus and Diocletian face each other in the Battle of the Margus. The latter emerges victorious.*July 21 or 25—Diocletian appoints fellow-officer Maximian to the office of Caesar, or junior co-emperor....
-
286-Roman Empire:* April 1—Diocletian elevates Maximian to Augustus, or senior emperor.* Carausius, commander of the Classis Britannica, is accused of piracy and sentenced to death. He responds by declaring himself emperor...
) was a
Roman usurperUsurpers are individuals or groups of individuals who obtain and maintain the power or rights of another by force and without legal authority. Usurpers were a common feature of the late Roman Empire, especially from the crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the...
(283-285 or 286) against
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...
CarinusMarcus Aurelius Carinus was Roman Emperor and elder son of the Emperor Carus, on whose accession he was appointed governor of the western portion of the empire....
or
MaximianMarcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius , commonly referred to as Maximian, was Caesar from July 285 and Augustus from April 1, 286 to May 1, 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn...
. It is possible that up to four usurpers with a similar name rebelled in a time-frame of a decade, but at least one of them is known by
numismaticNumismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and...
evidence.
Usurper against Carinus (283-285)
Iulianus was a
correctorA corrector is a person who or object that practices correction, usually by removing or rectifying errors.The word is originally a Roman title corrector, derived from the Latin verb corrigēre, meaning "an action to rectify, to make right a wrong."Apart from the general sense of anyone who corrects...
in northern Italy, in 283/284, (and not a
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...
as stated by some sources). Soon after the news of the death of Emperor
CarusMarcus Aurelius Carus was a Roman Emperor . During his short reign, Carus tried to follow the path of restoration of the empire strength marked by Aurelian and Probus. His sons Carinus and Numerian formed, with Carus, a short lived dynasty, which granted further stability to a resurgent empire...
(in
283-Roman Empire:* Carus conquers Ctesiphon, capital of the Persian kingdom.* Carus is a victim of a military conspiracy, and is killed near the Tigris.* Carinus succeeds his father Carus as Emperor.* December—Numerian is proclaimed Emperor by his soldiers.-Deaths:...
) or
NumerianMarcus Aurelius Numerius Numerianus , known in English as Numerian, was a Roman Emperor , together with his brother Carinus...
(in November
284-Roman Empire:* November 20—Diocletian becomes Emperor.* The Bagaudae in Gaul revolt against the Romans.-Religion:* Patriarch Rufinus I succeeds Patriarch Dometius as Patriarch of Constantinople.* Year 1 of the Coptic calendar .-Births:...
) arrived in the western provinces, Iulianus revolted in
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....
. He issued coins from Siscia, some of them bearing a legend celebrating Pannonia. Emperor
CarinusMarcus Aurelius Carinus was Roman Emperor and elder son of the Emperor Carus, on whose accession he was appointed governor of the western portion of the empire....
, brother of Numerian, who had marched from
Roman BritainRoman Britain was those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia...
to deal with the usurpation, met, defeated, and killed Iulianus early in 285, in Italy (possibly in
VeronaVerona is a city in Veneto, northern Italy, one of the seven provincial capitals in the region. It is one of the main tourist destinations in north-eastern Italy, thanks to its artistic heritage, several annual fairs, shows and operas, such as the lyrical season in the Arena, the ancient...
), or in
IllyricumIllyria was in Classical antiquity a region in the western part of today's Balkan Peninsula, inhabited by the Illyrians, a heterogeneous coalition of tribes, about whom very little is known, though a number of them are assumed to have been united by a common Illyrian language.Illyria and the...
.
According to some scholars, it is possible that two usurpers actually existed: a M. Aur. Iulianus,
corrector in Italy, rebelled after Carus' death, with the control of Pannonia, and defeated in Illyricum; a Sabinus Iulianus, praetorian prefect, usurper in Italy after Numerian's death, defeated near Verona.
Another usurper, simply named Iulianus, raised some turmoil in
Africa ProvinceThe Roman province of Africa was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day northern Tunisia, north-eastern Algeria and the Mediterranean coast of modern-day western Libya along the Syrtis Minor...
, against Carinus, with the support of the Quinquegentani tribe.
Usurper against Maximian and Diocletian
A third Iulianus is mentioned revolting between the time
MaximianMarcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius , commonly referred to as Maximian, was Caesar from July 285 and Augustus from April 1, 286 to May 1, 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn...
had been raised to the rank of
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...
(1 March
286-Roman Empire:* April 1—Diocletian elevates Maximian to Augustus, or senior emperor.* Carausius, commander of the Classis Britannica, is accused of piracy and sentenced to death. He responds by declaring himself emperor...
) and the time
Constantius ChlorusFlavius Valerius Constantius , also Constantius I, was an emperor of the Western Roman Empire . He was commonly called Chlorus an epithet given to him by Byzantine historians...
and
GaleriusGalerius Maximianus , formally Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus was Roman Emperor from 305 to 311.-Early life:...
became
CaesarCaesar , Latin: Caesar , is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
(March 1,
293-Roman Empire:* March 1—Diocletian and Maximian appoint Constantius Chlorus and Galerius as Caesars. This is considered the beginning of the Tetrarchy.* Constantius Chlorus restores the northern Rhine border after defeating the Franks...
). The revolt of this Iulianus took place in Italy, but ended when, during a siege, a breach was opened in the walls of his city, and he threw himself in the fire.
Primary sources
- Aurelius Victor
Sextus Aurelius Victor was an historian and politician of the Roman Empire.Aurelius Victor was the author of a History of Rome from Augustus to Julian , published ca. 361. Julian honoured him, and appointed Aurelius prefect of Pannonia Secunda...
, Epitome de Caesaribus, 38.6, 39.3-4
- Aurelius Victor, Liber de Caesaribus, 39.10, 39.22
- Zosimus
Zosimus was a Byzantine historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photius, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury....
, Historia Nova,
Secondary sources
External links