Gordian III - Roman Emperor: 238-244 A.D. -
Bronze 25mm (11.3 grams) from the city of Odessos, Thrace circa 238-244 A.D.
ANTΩNIOC ГOPΔIANOC AVГ KM, laureate draped bust right confronting draped bust of
Serapis left, cornucopia to right.
OΔHCCEITΩN, Hercules standing left, holding club and lionskin.
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Thracians
populated the area densely by 1200 BC.
Miletians
founded the apoikia (trading colony) of
Odessos
towards the end of the 7th century BC (the earliest Greek archaeological
material is dated 600-575 BC), or, according to
Pseudo-Scymnus, in the time of
Astyages
(here, usually 572-570 BC is suggested), within an earlier Thracian settlement.
The name Odessos, first attested by
Strabo, was
pre-Greek, perhaps of
Carian origin. A member of the Pontic
Pentapolis,
Odessos was a mixed Greco-Thracian community—contact zone between the
Ionians and the
Thracians (Getae,
Crobyzi, Terizi) of the
hinterland.
Excavations at nearby Thracian sites have shown uninterrupted occupation from
the 7th to the 4th century and close commercial relations with the colony. The
Greek alphabet has been applied to inscriptions in
Thracian since at least the 5th century BCE; the Hellenistic city worshipped
a Thracian great god whose cult survived well into the
Roman
period.
Odessos presumably was included in the assessment of the
Delian league of 425 BC. In 339 BC, it was unsuccessfully besieged by
Philip II (priests of the Getae persuaded him to conclude a treaty) but
surrendered to
Alexander the Great in 335 BC, and was later ruled by his
diadochus
Lysimachus,
against whom it rebelled in 313 BC as part of a coalition with other Pontic
cities and the Getae. The Roman city, Odessus, first included into the
Praefectura orae maritimae and then in 15 AD annexed to the province of
Moesia (later
Moesia Inferior), covered 47 hectares in present-day central Varna and
had prominent public baths,
Thermae,
erected in the late 2nd century AD, now the largest Roman remains in Bulgaria
(the building was 100 m wide, 70 m long, and 25 m high) and fourth-largest known
Roman baths in Europe. Major athletic games were held every five years, possibly
attended by
Gordian
III in 238 AD.
Odessus was an early
Christian centre, as testified by ruins of ten early basilicas,[6]
a
monophysite monastery, and indications that one of the
Seventy Disciples,
Ampliatus,
follower of
Saint
Andrew (who, according to the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church legend, preached in the city in 56 AD), served as
bishop there. In 6th-century imperial documents, it was refereed to as "holiest
city," sacratissima civitas. In 442, a peace treaty between
Theodosius II and
Attila was done at Odessus. In 536,
Justinian
I made it the seat of the
Quaestura exercitus ruled by a prefect of Scythia and including
Moesia, Scythia,
Caria, the
Aegean Islands and
Cyprus. The
Jireček
Line, or the approximate linguistic frontier between Latin and Greek
linguistic influence, ran through the Balkans from Odessus to the Adriatic.
Marcus Antonius Gordianus Pius (January
20, 225
–
February
11, 244),
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.
Very little is known on his early life before becoming Roman Emperor. Gordian
had assumed the name of his maternal grandfather in 238.
Rise to power
Following the murder of emperor
Alexander Severus in Moguntiacum (modern
Mainz), the
capital of the
Roman province
Germania Inferior,
Maximinus Thrax was acclaimed emperor, despite strong opposition of the
Roman senate and the majority of the population. In response to what was
considered in Rome as a rebellion, Gordian's grandfather and uncle, Gordian I
and II, were proclaimed joint emperors in the
Africa Province. Their revolt was suppressed within a month by Cappellianus,
governor of
Numidia and a loyal supporter of Maximinus Thrax. The elder Gordians died,
but public opinion cherished their memory as peace loving and literate men,
victims of Maximinus' oppression.
Meanwhile, Maximinus was on the verge of marching on Rome and
the Senate elected
Pupienus
and Balbinus
as joint emperors. These senators were not popular men and the population of
Rome was still shocked by the elder Gordian's fate, so that the Senate decided
to take the teenager Gordian, rename him Marcus Antonius Gordianus as his
grandfather, and raise him to the rank of
Caesar and imperial heir.
Pupienus
and Balbinus
defeated Maximinus, mainly due to the defection of several
legions,
namely the
II Parthica who assassinated Maximinus. But their joint reign was
doomed from the start with popular riots, military discontent and even an
enormous fire that consumed Rome in June 238. On
July 29,
Pupienus and Balbinus were killed by the
Praetorian guard and Gordian proclaimed sole emperor.
Rule
Due to Gordian's age, the imperial government was surrendered
to the aristocratic families, who controlled the affairs of Rome through the
senate. In 240,
Sabinianus
revolted in the African province, but the situation was dealt quickly. In 241,
Gordian was married to Furia Sabinia
Tranquillina, daughter of the newly appointed praetorian prefect,
Timesitheus. As chief of the Praetorian guard and father in law of the
emperor, Timesitheus quickly became the de facto ruler of the Roman
empire.
In the 3rd century, the Roman frontiers weakened against the
Germanic tribes across the
Rhine and
Danube, and the
Sassanid kingdom across the
Euphrates
increased its own attacks. When the Persians under
Shapur I
invaded
Mesopotamia, the young emperor opened the doors of the
Temple of Janus for the last time in Roman history, and sent a huge army to
the East. The Sassanids were driven back over the Euphrates and defeated in the
Battle of Resaena (243). The campaign was a success and Gordian, who had
joined the army, was planning an invasion of the enemy's territory, when his
father-in-law died in unclear circumstances. Without Timesitheus, the campaign,
and the emperor's security, were at risk.
Marcus Julius Philippus, also known as
Philip the Arab, stepped in at this moment as the new Praetorian Prefect and
the campaign proceeded. In the beginning of 244, the Persians counter-attacked.
Persian sources claim that a battle was fought (Battle
of Misiche) near modern
Fallujah (Iraq)
and resulted in a major Roman defeat and the death of Gordian III[1].
Roman sources do not mention this battle and suggest that Gordian died far away,
upstream of the Euphrates. Although ancient sources often described Philip, who
succeeded Gordian as emperor, as having murdered Gordian at Zaitha (Qalat es
Salihiyah), the cause of Gordian's death is unknown.
Gordian's youth and good nature, along with the deaths of his
grandfather and uncle and his own tragic fate at the hands of another usurper,
granted him the everlasting esteem of the Romans. Despite the opposition of the
new emperor, Gordian was deified by the Senate after his death, in order to
appease the population and avoid riots.
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