Philip
I the Arab Roman Emperor 244-249AD Biography Authentic Ancient Coins
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Philip I - the Arab Roman Emperor
He was a
Roman Emperor from 244 to 249.
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Marcus Julius Philippus or Philippus I
Arabs (c. 204249), known in
English as Philip the Arab or
formerly (prior to World War II) in English as Philip the Arabian,
was a
Roman Emperor from 244 to 249.
Shahba, about 55 miles southeast of
Damascus, in the
Roman province of
Syria. Philip has the nickname "the
Arab" because he had family who had originated in the
Arabian peninsula, believed to be
distant descendants of the prestigious Baleed family of
Aleppo. Philip was the son of a Julius
Marinus, a local Roman citizen, possibly of some importance. Many
historians[1][2][3]
agree that he was of Arab descent who gained
Roman citizenship 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
Azd of f
Yemen 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, a member of the
Praetorian guard under
Gordian III (238244). In 234, Philip
married
Marcia Otacilia Severa, daughter of a
Roman Governor. They had two children: a son named Marcus Julius
Philippus Severus (Philippus
II) 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 Severus, 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 III's campaign against
Shapur I of Persia, the
Praetorian prefect
Timesitheus 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
Rome in order to secure his position
with the
senate. 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
Augustus, and nominated his
young son
Caesar and heir.
Philip's rule started with yet another
Germanic incursion on the provinces of
Pannonia and the
Goths invaded
Moesia (modern-day
Serbia and
Bulgaria) in the
Danube frontier. They were finally
defeated in the year 248, but the
legions
Tiberius Claudius Pacatianus was
proclaimed emperor by the troops. The uprising was crushed and Philip
nominated
Gaius Messius Quintus Decius 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 Jotapianus led another uprising
in response to the oppressive rule of
Priscus and the excessive taxation of
the Eastern provinces. Two other usurpers,
Marcus Silbannacus and
Sponsianus, are reported to have
started rebellions without much success.
In April
A.D. 248 (April 1000
A.U.C.), Philip had the honour of
leading the celebrations of the one thousandth birthday of Rome, which
according to tradition was
founded in 753 BC by
Romulus. He combined the anniversary
with the celebration of Rome's alleged tenth
saeculum. According to contemporary
accounts, the festivities were magnificent and included spectacular
games,
ludi saeculares, 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 Quadratus's History of a
Thousand Yearss, specially prepared for the anniversary.
Despite the festive atmosphere, discontent in the
legions was growing.
Decius
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
Eusebius in his
Ecclesiastical History, held that
Philip was the first
Christian 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.
state religion. Critics ascribe
Eusebius' claim as probably due to the tolerance Philip showed towards
Christians.
Saint Quirinus of Rome was, according
to a legendary account, the son of Philip the Arab. | 
