Maximinus Thrax - Roman Emperor: 235-238 A.D. -
Bronze Sestertius 30mm Rome mint: 236-237 A.D.
Reference: RIC 81, BMC 148, C 38
MAXIMINVSPIVSAVGGERM - Laureate, draped and
cuirassed bust right.
PAXAVGVSTI - Pax standing left, holding branch and scepter.
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Gaius Iulius Verus Maximinus (c.
173–238),
also known as Maximinus Thrax (i.e. Maximinus the
Thracian)
and Maximinus I, was
Roman Emperor from
235 to
238.
Maximinus is described by several ancient sources (none of which, except
for
Herodian's Roman History, was actually contemporary with
Maximinus) as the first
barbarian who wore the imperial purple and the first emperor never
to set foot in
Rome. He was the first of the so-called
barracks emperors of the
3rd century; his rule is often considered to mark the beginning of
the
Crisis of the Third Century.
Rise to power
According to the notoriously unreliable
Historia Augusta (Augustan History), Maximinus was born in
Thrace
or Moesia
to a Gothic
father and an
Alanic mother; however, the supposed parentage is highly unlikely,
as the presence of the Goths in the
Danubian area is first attested after the beginning of the Crisis of
the Third Century. Sir
Ronald Syme, writing that "the word 'Gothia' should have sufficed
for condemnation" of the passage in the Augustan History, felt
that the burden of evidence from Herodian,
Syncellus and elsewhere pointed to Maximinus having been born in
Moesia.[1]
Most likely he was of
Thraco-Roman origin, and the references to his "Gothic" ancestry
might refer to a
Thracian
Getae origin (the two populations were often confused by later
writers, most notably by Jordanes in his
Getica),
as suggested by the paragraphs describing how "he was singularly beloved
by the Getae, moreover, as if he were one of themselves" and how he
spoke "almost pure Thracian"[2].
A provincial of low birth, Maximinus, similarly to later Thraco-Roman
emperors of the
3rd-5th
century (Licinius,
Galerius,
Aureolus,
Leo I the Thracian, etc.), would elevate himself,
via a military career, from the condition of a
soldier
in one of the
Roman legions to the foremost positions of political power. He
joined the army during the reign of
Septimius Severus, but did not rise to a powerful position until
promoted by
Alexander Severus. Maximinus was in command of the recruits from
Pannonia, who were angered by Alexander's payments to the
Alemanni and his avoidance of war. The troops, among whom included
the
Legio XXII Primigenia, elected the stern Maximinus, killing
young Alexander and his mother at Moguntiacum, also a site where
many Christians were martyred (Mainz)
in 235. The
Praetorian Guard acclaimed him emperor, and their choice was
grudgingly confirmed by the
Senate, who were displeased to have a peasant as emperor. His son
Maximus became
caesar.
According to British historian Edward Gibbon:
[H]e was conscious that his mean and barbarian origin, his savage
appearance, and his total ignorance of the arts and institutions of
civil life, formed a very unfavourable contrast with the amiable
manners of the unhappy Alexander. He remembered that, in his humbler
fortune, he had often waited before the doors of the haughty nobles
of Rome, and had been denied admittance by the insolence of their
slaves. He recollected too the friendship of a few who had relieved
his poverty, and assisted his rising hopes. But those who had
spurned, and those who had protected, the Thracian, were guilty of
the same crime, the knowledge of his original obscurity. For this
crime many were put to death; and by the execution of several of his
benefactors Maximin published, in characters of blood, the indelible
history of his baseness and ingratitude.[3]
Rule
Consolidation of power
Maximinus hated the nobility and was ruthless towards those he
suspected of plotting against him. He began by eliminating the close
advisors of Alexander. His suspicions may have been justified; two plots
against Maximinus were foiled. The first was during a campaign across
the Rhine,
during which a group of officers, supported by influential senators,
plotted the destruction of a bridge across the river, to leave Maximinus
stranded on the other side. Afterwards they planned to elect senator
Magnus emperor; however the plot was discovered and the conspirators
executed. The second plot involved
Mesopotamian archers who were loyal to Alexander. They planned to
elevate Quartinus, but their leader Macedo changed sides and murdered
Quartinus instead, although this was not enough to save his own life.
Defence of frontiers
The
Crisis of the Third Century (also known as the "Military
Anarchy" or the "Imperial Crisis") is a commonly applied name for the
crumbling and near collapse of the Roman Empire between 235 and 284
caused by three simultaneous crises: external invasion, internal civil
war, and economic collapse.
Maximinus' first campaign was against the
Alamanni, whom Maximinus defeated despite heavy Roman casualties in
a swamp near what is today
Baden-Württemberg. After the victory, Maximinus took the title
Germanicus Maximus, raised his son Maximus to the rank of
Caesar and Prince of Youths, and deified his late wife Paulina.
Securing the German frontier, at least for a while, Maximinus then set
up a winter encampment at
Sirmium
in
Pannonia, and from that supply base fought the
Dacians
and the
Sarmatians during the winter of
235–236.
Gordian I and Gordian II
Early in 238,
in the province of
Africa, a treasury official's extortions through false judgments in
corrupt courts against some local landowners ignited a full-scale revolt
in the province. The landowners armed their clients and their
agricultural workers and entered Thysdrus (modern
El Djem),
where they murdered the offending official and his bodyguards and
proclaimed the aged governor of the province, Marcus Antonius Gordianus
Sempronianus (Gordian
I), and his son,
Gordian II, as co-emperors. The senate in Rome switched allegiance,
gave both Gordian and Gordian II the title of
Augustus, and set about rousing the provinces in support of the
pair. Maximinus immediately assembled his army and advanced on Rome, the
Pannonian legions leading the way.
Meanwhile, in Africa, the revolt had not gone as planned. The
province of Africa was bordered on the west by the province of
Numidia,
whose governor,
Capellianus, nursed a long-standing grudge against the Gordians and
controlled the only legionary unit (III
Augusta) in the area. He marched on Carthage and easily
overwhelmed the local militias defending the city. Gordian II was killed
in the fighting and, on hearing this, Gordian I hanged himself with his
belt.
Pupienus, Balbinus, and Gordian III
When the African revolt collapsed, the senate found itself in great
jeopardy. Having shown clear support for the Gordians, they could expect
no clemency from Maximinus when he reached Rome. In this predicament,
they determined to defy Maximinus and elected two of their number,
Pupienus and Balbinus, as co-emperors. When the Roman mob heard that
the Senate had selected two men from the
Patrician class, men whom the ordinary people held in no great
regard, they protested, showering the imperial cortège with sticks and
stones. A faction in Rome preferred Gordian's grandson (Gordian
III), and there was severe street fighting. The emperors had no
option but to compromise, and, sending for the grandson of the elder
Gordian they appointed him Caesar.
Defeat and death
Maximinus marched on Rome, but at
Aquileia Maximinus's troops, suffering from famine and disease,
bogged down in an unexpected siege of the city, which had closed its
gates when they approached, became disaffected. In April 238 Praetorian
guards in his camp assassinated him, his son and his chief ministers.
Their heads were cut off, placed on poles, and carried to Rome by
cavalrymen.
The Senate elected the thirteen year-old Gordian III emperor.
Politics
Maximinus doubled the pay of soldiers; this act, along with virtually
continuous warfare, required higher taxes. Tax-collectors began to
resort to violent methods and illegal confiscations, further alienating
the governing class.
Maximinus reversed Alexander's policy of clemency towards the
Christians, who were viewed as unsupportive enemies of the state. He
persecuted Christians ruthlessly, and the bishop of Rome,
Pontian, as well as his successor,
Anterus, are said to have been
martyred.
Appearance
Maximinus is noted in the
Historia Augusta as being significantly taller than his
contemporaries; "He was of such size, so Cordus reports, that men said
he was eight foot, six inches in height"[4].
It is likely however that this is one of the many 'tall tales' in the
Historia Augusta, and is immediately suspect due to its citation of
'Cordus', one of the several fictitious authorities the work cites. Some
historians interpret this (as well as other information on his
appearance, like excessive sweating and superhuman strength) as popular
stereotyped attributes which do no more than intentionally turn him into
a stylized embodiment of the barbarian bandit[5]
or emphasize the admiration and aversion that the image of the soldier
invoked to the civilian population.[6]
However, due to his consistent portrayal as a man with a prominent
brow, nose, and jaw, some researchers suspect he may have suffered from
overgrowth to some extent in form of
acromegaly.[7] |