Claudius II the Gothic
Marcus Aurelius Claudius (in Latin, Marcus Aurelius Claudius; May 10, 213 or 214-270), better known in Roman historiography as Claudio II the Gothic, was a Roman emperor who ruled from 268 to 270.
Of Illyrian descent, Claudius made a career in the Roman army, where he rose to command posts during the reign of the Emperor Gallienus. After the latter's assassination, he was proclaimed emperor. Claudius suppressed the Aureolian rebellion and defeated the Alemanni in 269, after which he turned his attention to fighting the large army of the Goths who had invaded Illyria and Pannonia. At the Battle of Naisso, the emperor won a convincing victory over the enemy, on whom he inflicted heavy losses, and was consequently given the nickname "Gothic". In 270, Claudius went to Sirmium to prevent the imminent invasion of the Jutungos and the Vandals; however, he fell ill with the plague and died after a short reign. In the 4th century, Emperor Constantine I the Great claimed kinship with Claudius, but the validity of these claims is questionable.
Claudio II carried the following honorary names: «Germanicus Maximus» from 268, «Gothic Maximus» from 269, and «Pártico Maximus» from 270. In addition, he received the position of tribune of the plebs three times: twice in 268, at the time of his proclamation as emperor and on December 10, and on December 10, 269.
Sources for your bio
The most significant source on Claudius II is the biography written by Trebellius Pollio as part of the collection of imperial biographies Historia Augusta, although this is riddled with fabrications and fawning praise. This is due to the fact that in the IV century Claudius was declared a relative of Constantine the Great's father, Constantius I Chlorus and, consequently, of the ruling dynasty. Therefore, this biography must be used with extreme caution and supplemented with information from other sources: the works of Aurelio Víctor, Pseudo-Aurelio Víctor, Eutropio, Paulo Orosio, Juan Zonaras and Zósimo, as well as coins and inscriptions.
Biography
Origins and family
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Marcus Aurelius Claudius was born on May 10, 213 or 214, although some researchers suggest that he was born in 219 or 220. However, most historians adhere to the first version. Furthermore, as the 6th century Byzantine historian John Malalas reports, at the time of his death, Claudius was 56 years old. He came from Dalmatia or Illyricum, although it is possible that his birthplace was the Dardania region of Upper Moesia.
There is no reliable evidence as to Claudius's family, although it is most likely that he was a pilgrim by birth, possibly from a Romanized family. Additionally, David Potter suggests that Claudius's clan belonged to the equestrian order. Trebellius Pollio reports that some believed that Claudius "descended from the ancestor of the Trojans Ilus and from Dardanus himself", but these suppositions are obviously fabricated to further ennoble Claudius and his alleged descendants: the Constantinian family. Elsewhere, he writes that little is known about Claudius' ancestors and that available information is contradictory. Trebellius Pollio also says that Claudius had two brothers: Quintillus, who succeeded him, and Crispus, whose daughter Claudia married a certain Eutropius and gave birth to Claudius. to Constantius Chlorus. In addition to these, he also had sisters; one of them is called by the biographer by name, Constantine, "who married a tribune of the nation of the Assyrians and died young". However, D. Kienast believes that all these relatives are fictitious persons. According to According to the dubious testimony of Pseudo-Aurelio Victor, Claudius was the illegitimate son of Emperor Gordian II, from an affair with a woman who "taught him how to deal with his wife". Emperor Probus' sister, Claudia. In the Historia Augusta it is mentioned several times that Claudius also used the nomen of Flavius, but there is no other confirmation of these data, and they represent another attempt to prove his connection to the Constantine's dynasty. There is no information about Claudius' wife and children.
Political career
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Before coming to power, Claudius served in the Roman army, where he made a good career and earned appointments to high office. During the reign of Decius Trajan, between 249 and 251, he served as a military tribune. In this position, Claudius was sent to defend Thermopylae against the Goths, for which the governor of Achaia was ordered to send him from Dardania two hundred soldiers, sixty horsemen, sixty Cretan archers and one thousand well-armed recruits. evidence that the Goths at the time threatened the region, as their invasion did not extend beyond the mid-Balkans, so the message of the Historia Augusta is most likely an anachronism, because the Thermopylae garrison is recorded in 254. Historian François Pashau offers a version that this passage was invented to contrast the successful pagan commander Claudius and the hapless Christian generals who allowed the Gothic leader Alaric to ruin Greece in 396. Also, Trebellius Pollio reveals that Decius rewarded Claudius after he demonstrated his strength while fighting another soldier in the Games of Mars.
Under Valerian, Claudius was a tribune of Legio V Martia, but other evidence is lacking about this legion and its alternative, Legio IV Martia, probably founded by Aurelian, stationed in Arabia Petrea at the beginning of the V century; later he became the doge of Illyria, leading of all the troops stationed in the provinces of Thrace, the two Messiahs, Dalmatia, Pannonia and Dacia.
The biography of Claudius in the Historia Augusta also undoubtedly includes forged or fabricated letters, attributed to the emperors Decius, Valerian, and Gallienus, in which they present Claudius in an extremely favorable light, although it is possible that they contain some truth. D. Kinast unequivocally considers that all the events of Claudius's career in the Historia Augusta have been fabricated and it can only be assumed that Claudius he served in the army for some time, at least under Gallienus and possibly also under his predecessors. Furthermore, attempts to identify him with the procurator Marcus Aurelius Claudius, mentioned in one of the inscriptions, are controversial.
Apparently, Claudius was wounded during the suppression of the uprising by the usurper Naive, and later, together with Aureolo, participated in the campaign against the Gallic emperor Posthumus.
Rise to power
In 268, the situation in the Roman Empire worsened when the Goths invaded Moesia and Thrace, and besieged Thessalonica. In 267, the Heruli made a naval invasion of the Black Sea settlements and subsequently conquered Byzantium, but they failed in a raid on the Bithynian coast. This failure forced them to move west and cross the Aegean to attack the rich but poorly defended lands of Greece, plundering the islands of Lemnos and Scyros along the way, landing at Attica, where they devastated Athens. Later they crossed the Isthmus of Corinth, whose unfinished fortifications could not stop them, and after this, they completely devastated Corinth, Sparta and Argos, and headed towards Boeotia, where they faced a large Roman army under the command of Marciano. However, this force was not effective enough to completely stop the enemy, although in winter they managed to push them north to Epirus and Macedonia, where Gallienus, who came from northern Italy, was located. Finally, in the spring of 268, in the valley of Nesos (or Nesta), on the border between Macedonia and Thrace, Gallienus managed to defeat the barbarians. The emperor reached an agreement with the chieftain of the Heruli Navlobato, granting him the right to withdraw outside the empire. At that moment, Gallienus received the news that his commander Aureolo had caused a mutiny in northern Italy, so he immediately recognized the seriousness of the situation: if he lost control of this region, his situation would become desperate, for leaving Marciano to defend the Danube frontier, he gathered a large army and went to Italy to fight the new threat.
Instead of proclaiming himself emperor, Aureolo supported Postumus, organizing the minting of coins in the name of this Gallic emperor at the Mediolano mint. This may have been the result of negotiations begun between the two warlords during an unsuccessful campaign a few years earlier, but it is more likely that Aureolo acted on his own, hoping to enlist the support of the Rhine legions in the fight against Gallienus. In any case, he was wrong in his calculations, and Postumus refused to participate in the rebel commander's risky plan. In early summer 268, Gallienus arrived in northern Italy with his army and immediately engaged Aureolus' troops in battle. a place later known as the Bridge of Aureolo (the modern Italian city of Pontirolo Nuovo), where the rebel forces were defeated and their leader withdrew to Mediolano, a city immediately besieged by Gallienus.
During the siege of Mediolano, a conspiracy arose among Gallienus's generals, involving people who reached the pinnacle of their careers precisely during his reign. According to Zosimus and Trebellius Pollio, the praetorian prefect Aurelius Heraclianus He was the organizer of the conspiracy and the inspirer of the assassination of Gallienus. Having reached an agreement with Marciano, as Trebellio Pollio indicates, or with Claudius, as Zosimus points out, he began to implement his plan. In addition, Heraclian also lured the Dalmatian commander Cecropius into the conspiracy, who murdered Gallienus with his own hand. Martian began a discussion about which of them would become his successor, but at this point in the text of the Historia Augusta there is a gap, after which the choice of Claudius is immediately spoken of. Although the information contained in this omission is unknown, it is very possible that Heraclian and Martian's refusal to accept imperial power was discussed, and that the reasons for Claudius' appointment were revealed.
The historian of the century V Paulo Orosio indicates that Claudius took power at the request of the Senate, but this fact only appears in his work. In turn, Eutropius speaks of the election of Emperor Claudius by the troops and the approval of his election by the Senate. From this it follows that the Senate merely confirmed the election of the army by its resolution. According to Zosimus, Claudius became sovereign as a result of universal suffrage, which, it seems, should be understood as the decision of the Senate. Therefore, the messages of Eutropius and Zosimus coincide as a whole, however, it is worth considering the testimony of Paulo Orosio and as a whole it follows that the Senate (or part of it) knew of the existence of a conspiracy and, for some For unknown reason, the senators preferred Claudius to Heraclian or Martian.
Information about the participation of Claudius himself in the conspiracy against Gallienus is contradictory. The Greek sources, Zósimo and Juan Zonaras, directly state that he was involved in it. The first relates that the mastermind of the conspiracy was Aurelio Heracliano, but this in itself became feasible only when the Praetorian prefect lured Claudio to it, an opinion generally shared by Juan Zonaras. However, there is a tendency among Latin authors that it consists of eliminating Claudius's guilt in the conspiracy, possibly due to an attempt to link him as a relative of the Constantine dynasty. Aurelius Victor and the anonymous author of De Vita et Moribus Imperatorum Romanorum attribute the plan for the assassination of Gallienus to the beleaguered Aureolus, who, realizing that the hope of raising the siege was in vain, tore on the wall a list of commanders allegedly sentenced to death by Gallienus and thereby motivated them to assassinate the emperor. Also, according to his story, Claudius at that time was not in Mediolano, but was at the head of the detachment at Ticinius, and Gallienus, on his deathbed, named him his successor and sent him imperial regalia. Claudius does not deny his involvement in the conspiracy, but at the same time emphasizes that he was not the organizer. Historians trying to reconcile both versions suggest that Gallienus declared Claudius his successor before his death, unaware of his involvement in the conspiracy..
Although Pseudo-Aurelius Victor mentions the name of a certain Gallonius Basilius, who presented Claudius with the imperial regalia, the story of Gallienus' choice of his successor is dubious and most likely an attempt to shift the blame away from Claudius. Claudio to participate in the conspiracy. In the sources there are no indications of the reasons for the election of Gallienus, specifically Claudius, who at that time had the rank of tribune and defended Titinus from the alleged attack by Posthumus. Since Mediolano was entrusted to Aureolo, who commanded all the cavalry, Claudio's position could be close to or equal to his. However, his standings were not yet high enough for the emperor to make a decision in his favor. In addition, Gallienus had relatives, a brother named Licinius Valerian, and a consul in 268, Marinian. Therefore, the story of Pseudo-Aurelius Victor can be considered a propaganda fiction. Claudius's proclamation as emperor was made in the summer, in July-August, or in the autumn, in September-October, 268. Furthermore, the date of March 24 provided by Trebellio Pollio is, in the opinion of D. Kinast, false.
Government
Unrest in the army and in Rome
After the assassination of Gallienus and the proclamation of Claudius as emperor, riots began in Rome, which caused the death of relatives and supporters of the deceased emperor. The fate of Gallienus was shared by Licinius Valerian, who, according to one version, was with him in the Mediolano camp, and according to another, in the capital. In addition to the latter, Marinian and the Emperor's wife Cornelia Salonina were also assassinated. According to Aurelio Victor, after the news of Gallienus' assassination reached the capital, the Senate "decided to dispose of all his associates and relatives down the stairs." Gemonias". Claudius had to issue an order on behalf of the soldiers to stop the atrocities. Apparently, the initiator of the riots was the Senate, which hated Gallienus for his prohibition of senators from entering military service, and people who had reasons for dissatisfaction also actively participated: incessant civil wars, barbarian invasions, depreciation of money and, as a consequence, rising inflation.
Without repeating the mistakes of Maximinus the Thracian, who remained on the borders with the army, and carefully observing the formalities, Claudius went to Rome, probably in the winter of 268/269, where he persuaded the senate to deify Gallienus, although most senators were inclined to condemn him with the damnatio memoriae. With this action, Claudius wanted to emphasize the injustice of his ancestor's murder. Ultimately, Gallienus was deified, buried in a family tomb on the Appian Way, and coins minted in Rome were dedicated to him in memory. having pressured the senators for this deification and indeed securing divine status for the predecessor used to be seen as a show of piety, following the example of Antoninus Pius with the deification of Hadrian, and could help legitimize the new emperor's power and win the support of those still loyal to Gallienus.
In addition to the events that took place in the capital, the assassination of Gallienus caused a furore among the soldiers who were in Mediolano. Trebellius Pollio points out that the rebellion was widespread, and it may be that the indignation seized the entire army, claiming "that they had been taken from an emperor who had been useful and indispensable to them, brave and competent". As a result, in order to calm the rioters, the conspirators had to resort to calming them down by the ordinary means: by promising them twenty gold pieces. to each one.
Military Movements
After Claudius ascended the throne, he continued with the siege of Mediolano, but Aureolo, upon learning of the change in the emperor, tried to reach an agreement with him, but Claudius, according to Trebellio Pollio, responded as follows: "to Gallienus, whose customs agreed with yours, you should direct those tortures". Apparently, Aureolus's supporters opposed the treaty with Gallienus's successor and the rebel general was soon assassinated by his own soldiers, possibly due to the fact that he did not abandon his attempts to surrender to Claudius, and consequently, his army sided with the new emperor.
Although the danger from Aureolus had been removed, Claudius was forced to remain in northern Italy by the threat of Alemania invasion. As a result of the weakening of the Danube border defences, since significant forces from the limes had been involved in the fighting at Mediolano, or at the instigation of Aureolo, together with the Jutungi, they crossed the Danube and later the Alps, and began to plunder northern Italy. According to the VIII century historian Paul the Deacon, the number of the Aleman army reached three hundred At first, it seems, the Roman army was defeated, forcing Claudius to replace part of the military leadership and appoint Aurelian as head of cavalry. Finally, in early 269, the emperor inflicted a crushing defeat the enemy at the Battle of Lake Benaco. In honor of this victory, Claudius took the victorious title of "Germanicus Maximus" and several batches of coins were minted with the inscriptions VICTORIA AUGUSTI and GERMAN VICTORY.
In 269, the emperor became consul along with Aspasius Paterno and had to face the largest Gothic invasion of that year. Although Gallienus defeated them at Naisso in 268, it was not final, and Martian continued military operations against the barbarians. Meanwhile, knowing that the Roman defenses in the Balkans were greatly weakened after the events of the past year, the Herulians decided to break the truce with Rome and resume the war. It was not difficult for them to convince the western and eastern tribes to join the invasion along with the Gepids and Peucines, and the Historia Augusta gives the following list: "Peucines, Greutungs, Ostrogoths, Thervingians, Vesi, Gepids, as well as Celts and Heruli", but it is certainly an anachronism intended to highlight the scale of the invasion. Furthermore, Trebellius Pollio states that the Gothic army numbered 320,000 soldiers and 2,000 ships, and according to Zosimus three hundred and twelve thousand in six thousand ships, although these figures are undoubtedly exaggerated, but the scale of the invasion was unprecedented, comparable to the invasion of the Goths which led to the catastrophic defeat of the Roman army at Adrianople. in 378. Claudius' biography says that the soldiers were also accompanied by their families, slaves, and baggage, which is more in keeping with the realities of the IV.
Assembling their army at the mouth of the Dniester, the Goths and their allies devastated the Black Sea coast of Moesia and Thrace, attacked Tomis, and plundered the lands as far as Marcianopolis. From there they sailed to the Bosporus and, caught in a storm, unsuccessfully attempted to sack Byzantium and Cyzicus on their way across the Sea of Marmara. After passing through the Dardanelles, they sailed along the northern Aegean coast to Chalcidice, where they landed on Athos and subsequently attacked Kassandra and then besieged Thessaloniki. Claudio found out about the invasions that the Goths were carrying out shortly after the battle of Lake Benaco while he was in northern Italy, however, he was still busy with the enemies in the area, so he chose to send Aureliano, one of his most trusted commanders, to Macedonia to protect Illyria from attack, who immediately set out at the head of a sizeable army, including Dalmatian cavalry.
Soon, leaving his younger brother Quintillus in command of the troops in Italy, Claudius marched into the theater of operations with the main forces to join Aureliano and Marciano. When the Goths learned of the approach of the imperial army, they lifted the siege of Thessalonica and withdrew inland, ravaging north-east Macedonia along the way. There Aurelian managed to catch up with them and, with great success using the Dalmatian cavalry, managed to kill as many as three thousand people in several skirmishes in Pelagonia. Using constantly the cavalry to attack the Goths' flanks, he managed to push the enemy north as far as the Upper Moesia, where Claudius concentrated the main Roman forces. The final battle took place at Naisso and was bloody and indecisive, but it managed to stop the enemy's advance to the north. The Roman losses were too heavy to repeat with another decisive battle, so Claudius opted to ambush the enemy; he managed to carry out his plan and killed many enemy soldiers, but a significant part of the Goths fled and maintained their fighting ability. This tactic proved successful in weakening their offensive potential, but the invaders were still a force to be reckoned with. According to Zosimus, as many as fifty thousand Goths died at the Battle of Naisso, but the reality of this number cannot be verified. This success was marked by the issuance of coins inscribed GOTHIC VICTORY, plus the emperor himself was given the nickname "Gothic". Although fighting continued both on land and at sea, the The Romans essentially won the Gothic war. However, the danger from the Goths continued to linger under Claudius' successors, such as Aurelian, Probus, and Tacitus, who continued to fight them. The situation on the Danube border was also volatile, but the importance of Naisso's victory, which turned the tide of the campaign in favor of the Romans, cannot be underestimated.
The Gothic army began a slow and agonizing retreat south along the same path they came from. Throughout the rest of the summer and into the fall of 269, the invaders were constantly harassed by Aurelian's Dalmatian cavalry. At that time, the Goths, very short of provisions, began to suffer from hunger. Seeing the weakened state of the enemy, Aurelian attacked him with all the might of his cavalry, and consequently slew many and drove the remainder west into Thrace. In the Balkan Mountains, the Goths were trapped and surrounded. Furthermore, with the onset of winter, cold and disease increased the death toll. At the same time, new detachments of Goths crossed the Danube to help their fellow tribesmen, but made little progress; another part of them, transported by Heruli ships, tried to break through to the cities on the Aegean coast, but also met resistance and was defeated by the Roman fleet led by the prefect of Egypt Tenaginus Probus. Many Germans who were captured during In the war they enlisted in the Roman army, settled in the northern Balkans as colonus, or were enslaved. Furthermore, surviving milestones evidence the intensive construction of roads in this area. The victory of the Roman army was achieved primarily through the use of Claudius II's cavalry and military talents, as well as the lack of a single leadership among the Goths.
Claudio and the Gallic Empire
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In the first year of his reign, Claudius was greatly helped by the weakening of the Gallic Empire. Discontent against Posthumus spread among the troops stationed on the Rhine frontier, and in the spring of 269 a high-ranking military chief, Ulpius Cornelius Lelian, proclaimed himself emperor in the capital of Germania Superior, Mainz, probably counting on the support of Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix, camped in Castra Vetera. Posthumus defeated the rebel, but at the same time refused to let his soldiers sack Mainz, which turned out to be the reason for his downfall, because his enraged legionaries mutinied, killed him, and elected Marcus Aurelius Marius as the new emperor. from Gaul. His reign did not last long, however, and he was soon overthrown by the Praetorian prefect Victorinus, though his own position soon became precarious.
The Spanish provinces and the eastern part of Gallia Narbonensis separated from the Gallic Empire and returned to the Roman Empire after the prefect of the vigiles, Julio Placidiano, established a small detachment near Grenoble and establish contact with them. Fortunately for the Gallic emperor, it was there that Placidian stopped and Victorinus's position stabilized. A year later, Augustodunum revolted and voluntarily sided with Rome, after which Victorinus besieged it. This city was strategically important, because it was located on the road that linked Lugdunum with central and northern Gaul. The uprising was apparently far-reaching, and not confined to a single city, representing a civil uprising against the power of the Gallic emperor. However, Claudius did nothing to support the city, so it fell after several weeks of siege and was sacked. Why Claudius did nothing to help Augustodunum is still unknown, although it is possible that this was because the emperor was busy with the war with the Goths and was unable to send reinforcements, and Placidian, left in Gaul, had little power to intervene. Judging by individual inscriptions, Claudius's authority was recognized by one of the legions stationed in Britain until Victorinus restored his authority there.
Claudio and the Kingdom of Palmyra
Sources report that relations between the Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Palmyra gradually deteriorated during the reign of Claudius II. After the failures of the Persian wars, Palmyra became a kind of buffer that separated the Roman Empire from the Sasanian state and served as protection for the former against possible attacks by the latter. Gallienus recognized this position and conferred on the Palmyrene ruler Odenatus the title of "ruler of all the East" and may even have proclaimed him his co-ruler. In the year 267, Odenato was assassinated by his cousin or nephew Meonius, but behind him was the hand of Zenobia, the former's wife, dissatisfied with the declaration of her stepson Herod as co-ruler and heir of her father. Meonius attempted to seize power in Palmyra, but was assassinated and Zenobia's son Vabalato became king, while Zenobia herself was the de facto head of state. The Historia Augusta reports that Gallienus, upon learning of Odenatus's death, sent an army under Aurelius Heraclianus to the east, but was defeated by Zenobia's troops and consequently lost many soldiers. However, since Heraclian was not actually in the East in 268, as he was in Mediolanus at the time involved in a conspiracy against Gallienus, it is obvious that this message is not chronologically correct. It is possible that, wanting to blame Gallienus for all troubles, the ancient historian deliberately transferred the events of Claudius' reign to Gallienus's biography, or got confused in their sequence. It is likely that Zenobia originally recognized Claudius as emperor, a conclusion drawn from an analysis of the coins of Palmyra. However, the absence of any mention of the victory over the Goths and the deification of Claudius on the coins minted at Antioch indicates that Antioch and Syria came under Palmyrian rule around the time the Goths were defeated near Naisso. Arabia was soon left behind. also under Palmyrene control and, along with Syria, both provinces became a springboard for the Palmyrene invasion of Roman Egypt.
According to Zosimus, during the reign of Claudius, Zenobia, upon learning that an Egyptian named Timagenes wanted to recognize his authority, sent a large army of Palmyrenes to Egypt under the command of Septimius Zabdas, who emerged victorious and took over the region., and accordingly left there a garrison of five thousand men. The Egyptian governor Tenaginus Probus, who at that time was fighting the Goths at sea, landed in Egypt and drove out the Palmyrenes at the end of the summer of 269. However, Timagenus raised a new army and again invaded Egypt, whereupon in In response, Probus raised an army of Africans and Egyptians, but was defeated at the Battle of Mount Babylon in the summer of 270. Tenaginus was consequently taken prisoner, but soon committed suicide. Trebellius Pollio tells of the Palmyrenes under the command of Zabdas and Timagenes were at first defeated by one Probatus, but due to Timagenes' intrigues, he was killed and the Egyptians swore allegiance to Palmyra. The biography of the emperor Probus also states that he fought with the Palmyrenes, but the ancient historian probably confused with Tenaginus Probus. It is possible that Zosimus was also wrong in attributing the loss of Egypt to the reign of Claudius II. Coins minted in Alexandria indicate Egyptian support for both Claudius and his successor Quintillus.
From the confused accounts of ancient historians, it can be concluded that there was a pro-Palmyrene party in Egypt, led by Timagenes, who raised an army of his own during Zabdas's invasion. This Timagenes is probably to be identified with Aurelius Timagenes, the Archbishop of Egypt and Alexandria, who was in charge of the provincial cult system, which enabled him to attract supporters during the attack on Palmyra. Discoveries in Egypt of papyri bearing the name of Vabalato point to the temporary establishment of Palmyrene's power in the region, although there is no information about the fate of Timagenes. Claudius appointed a new prefect of Egypt, Julius Marcellinus, who had previously served under Tenaginus Probus, and was later succeeded by Statilius Ammianus, who probably defeated Timagenes and regained Roman authority over Egypt. After Claudius died, the Palmyrenes, taking advantage of the power vacuum, reconquered Egypt. From then on, the grain supply to Rome stopped until Aurelian reconquered the Kingdom of Palmyra.
Relations with the Senate and domestic policy
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After assuming the throne, Claudius began to pursue a policy of cooperation with the Senate, due, among other things, to the fact that senators may have participated in his nomination and enthronement. In 269 coins were minted with the inscription GENIVS SENATVS (in Spanish: genius of the Senate), which, according to Andreas Alföldy, indicates an improvement in relations between the emperor and the Senate, as well as an increase of the authority of this state body. If the message of Juan Zonaras is considered reliable, Claudius even gave the Senate the right to declare war on both the Goths and Posthumus, although the emperor still had the last word. Despite the cooperation shown with the Senate, Claudius did not annul Gallienus's reforms, which prohibited senators from entering the military service.
Under Claudius, the influence of statesmen and military commanders of Balkan origin increased. Before Claudius, only two emperors came from the Balkans, but after him, and until 378, all the Caesars were from the Balkan provinces, with the exception of Caro, whose home province was Gallia Narbonensis. This ended when a Spaniard, Theodosius I the Great, ascended the throne.
Four inscriptions allow us to understand the structure of the government of Claudius the Gothic. One of these is the dedication of Trajan Mucianus to the Praetorian prefect Aurelius Heraclianus, who played a central role in the conspiracy against Gallienus, in his hometown of Augusta Trajana (present-day Stara Zagora, Bulgaria). The second consecration located in the same place was made in honor of the governor of Thrace, Marco Aurelio Apolinar, brother of Heraclian. The fact that all these people bore the name of Marcus Aurelius, assigned to the new citizens of the empire in accordance with the edict of Caracalla, suggests that they came from families that did not belong to the imperial elite. The third inscription shows the career of Marciano, another influential general at the time of Gallienus's death. The fourth inscription, located in Grenoble, is made in honor of the prefect of the vigiles, Julio Placidiano.
Although it cannot be stated unequivocally that Heraclianus, his brother Placidianus, or Marcianus came from the Danube provinces, it is obvious that none of them were members of the aristocracy of the Severan dynasty. Furthermore, all of them, apparently, owe their promotion to military service. To these must also be added Aurelian and Probus, Claudius's successors, who came from the Balkans from families who received citizenship by Caracalla's edict. However, the government continued to count on representatives of the Roman nobility, such as the proconsul of Africa Aspasio Paterno, the prefects of the City Flavio Antioquiano and Virio Orfito, the princeps of the Senate Pomponio Baso and the consul Junio Veldumnian.
The brief reign of Claudius II was marked not only by attacks from an external enemy, but also by internal problems. Perhaps in the years 269 and 270 there was an uprising led by Censorinus, although the date of the rebellion and even its existence are doubtful. The Historia Augusta mentions him as the last of the "Thirty Tyrants" and lists various posts he held before the uprising, including two consulates, but his career is not confirmed by other sources. The Historia Augusta says that the soldiers proclaimed him emperor, but soon after they killed him due to his severity. Furthermore, it is mentioned that Censorino's tomb was in Bononia, which may give an idea of the place of the uprising. Henry Cohen dates the rebellion to early 270, but suggests that the coins attributed to Censorinus in earlier works are forgeries.
Religious politics
The brief reign of Claudius the Gothic and the parsimony of the sources do not allow a complete characterization of his religious politics. Although Eusebius of Caesarea and Sulpicius Severus represent the period between the reign of Valerian and Diocletian with a lull in the persecution of Christians, according to the Acts of the Martyrs, several Christians were martyred during the reign of Claudius II, among whom, apparently, Valentine of Rome is also included. The work by Santiago de la Vorágine Golden Legend, written around 1260, recounts that Valentine refused to deny Christ before the emperor, for which he was beheaded. Furthermore, the legend mentions that this emperor was called Claudius. Interpreters of this story believed that since he clearly cannot be identified with the representative of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius, since he did not persecute Christians, he was most likely Claudius the Gothic.
A partial idea of Claudius's religious policy can be gleaned from the images on the coins, where, alongside the emperor's portrait, various deities from the traditional Roman pantheon appear. Claudius is one of the few emperors who issued coins with the image of Vulcan, who is represented with a hammer and tongs, and the inscription REGI ARTIS (in Spanish: king of the arts). Another version with a similar image contains the inscription DEO CABIRO (Spanish: to the god Cabiro) and apparently symbolizes one of Vulcan's sons. Although the reason for honoring Vulcan and his sons is not clear, this can be explained by the fact that the Cabirs were the patron gods of Thessalonica, who "protected" this city from attack by the Goths. Claudius II issued an unusual and rare series of coins, the reverse of which depicts pairs of deities, of which the first type shows Apollo and Diana, the second, Serapis and Isis, and the third, Heracles and Minerva, whose common meaning was that these deities protected the future of the empire and the emperor.
The image of Sol Invictus appears on other Claudian coins, indicating a certain interest in this deity, which began to occupy dominant positions years later, under Aurelian. Numerous goddesses were also represented, such as Ceres, Diana Lucifer and Diana the Victorious, Minerva, Venus and Juno Regina. In addition, Claudius became the first emperor under whom coins depicting the exotic Egyptian goddess Isis Faria were minted.
Death
In 270, the emperor was given the honorific of "Particus Maximus", but the fact that during Claudius' brief reign there was hardly any conflict with the Persians makes this event difficult to justify. P. Damerau suggests that, in fact, the Palmyrenes defeated the Persians and the princeps appropriated their victory. In the Historia Augusta it is mentioned that Claudius practically convinced the Isaurians to moved to the plains of Cilicia and transferred their lands to the ownership of one of their closest friends, in order to avoid the possibility of revolt. However, this event should most likely be attributed to the time of the reign of Probus.
Although the Goths were defeated the year before, some groups continued to fight in the Balkans, where, in the mountains, some skirmishes even ended in defeat for the Romans. However, in general, the implementation of the plan to destroy the separate Gothic bands came to an end. The conditions in which the siege of the Goths in the Balkan mountains took place were not easy for the Roman army, since discipline began to wane in some units. It is possible that the Romans dismissed the Goths too early, for their fighting spirit was far from broken, and they took advantage of the circumstances to make a desperate attempt to escape their camp. Claudius clearly underestimated the situation, and ignoring Aureliano's advice, restrained his cavalry and sent only the infantry into battle. The Goths fought fiercely, causing heavy damage to the Roman army, and the catastrophe was only averted with the intervention of Aurelian's cavalry, although it was too late to prevent the enemy from breaking out of the encirclement.
During the spring, the surviving Goths crossed Thrace, pursued by the Roman army; Without food and weakened by starvation, many fell to the devastating plague that swept the Balkans in the spring and summer of 270, which also spread through the Roman army. In fact, the emperor himself fell ill and returned to Sirmium, leaving Aurelian to lead the cleansing of Thrace and Inferior Moesia of the Gothic marauders. In addition, Claudius received news that the Vandals and Jutungos were preparing to invade Retia and Pannonia. Aurelian managed to break the enemy into smaller groups that were easier to deal with, and eventually the campaign lasted into the summer. Meanwhile, Claudio himself accepted the nickname "Gothic Maximus" and highlighted his achievements on coins. However, the emperor soon died from the plague.
Alaric Watson indicates that Claudius died in mid-August 270 based on coins bearing the image of Claudius of Egypt, struck at the Alexandria mint and dated in the third year of his reign, theoretically between August 29, 270 and 28 August 271. In Oxyrhynchus, five days' journey south, the papyrus mentions Claudius as emperor at the end of September 270. News of the sovereign's death reached Memphis only in early October. Michael Grant dates Claudius's death to January, while D. Kienast to September. The first papyrus mentioning Aurelian is dated 25 May 270, suggesting that Claudius must have died before then.
There is a more dramatic version of Claudio's death. According to Aurelio Víctor and the anonymous author of the Epítome, a prediction was read in the Sibylline books that in order to defeat the enemy, the first of the senatorial order should be sacrificed. At the time, Pomponius Basus was, but Claudius said that "no one in the senatorial order has any advantage over the emperor himself", and he himself sacrificed his life for the sake of victory. From this it can be concluded that he died in battle, but it is not indicated directly. It is likely that this version is just a rhetorical device inserted into the account of Claudius' exploits to present his death from the plague, which he contracted during the campaign, as a heroic self-sacrifice. It is surprising that Trebellius Pollio ignores this completely. version, and that in his biography Claudius simply died of plague. The historian Tadeusz Kotula believes that the myth of Claudius's self-sacrifice originated around Caesar Julian around 355 and entered historical tradition through the work of Julian's supporter Aurelius Victor De Caesaribus. In the late IV century, this legend was developed by the anonymous author of the Epitome, who probably he saw parallels between Claudius's self-sacrifice in the war with the Goths and Julian's death during the Persian campaign.
Personality Characteristics and Governance
The most complete description of Claudio's appearance and character was left by the author of his biography in the Historia Augusta:
Claudio was distinguished by the purity of his customs, by his exemplary life and singular chastity. He drank little wine and ate a lot. He was very tall and had his eyes penetrating, and so much force in his hands that he was often seen to break his teeth from a punch to a horse or a mule.
In addition, the Byzantine historian of the VI century John Malalas describes Claudius as follows:
It was medium stature, clear skin, large belly, lacquered and blond hair, wide face, slightly slipped nose, gray eyes, twisted mouth and small lips.
Eutropius emphasizes that Claudius is "a humble, meek and just man". Aurelius Victor characterizes the emperor as a very just and active person, completely dedicated to the interests of the state. Trebellius Pollio writes that Claudius combined "the of Trajan, the piety of Antoninus, and the moderation of Augustus." The coins depict the emperor as a typical warlord of the time: short-haired, bearded, and with a wrinkled forehead.
Although Claudius II's reign lasted just under two years, all his subjects sincerely mourned his death. The deceased monarch's deification occurred immediately after news of his death was received. I am sure that neither Trajan, nor any of the Antonines, nor any other sovereign was so loved". In addition, in his honor, a gold shield was placed in the Roman Curia in whose center his image was carved, while the people The Roman had a ten-foot-high gold statue of him erected on the Capitol at his expense. Also raised near the rostra was a column surmounted by a silver statue of Claudius adorned with palms. After Claudius restored Cyrene, the city was renamed Claudiopolis.
Deceased Claudio, his brother Quintillus, who led the troops stationed in northern Italy to protect the peninsula and the capital from the supposed invasion of the barbarians, proclaimed himself emperor. Apparently, he had the support of the Senate, which sided with him out of respect for Claudius. However, the Danube troops expressed no enthusiasm for his rise to power, and Aurelian, spreading rumors that Claudius had named him his successor on his deathbed, claimed the purple for himself. Finding out about him, Quintillus tried to fight for power, but his soldiers abandoned him and he committed suicide.
Claudius was an outstanding military leader, a prime example of military knowledge and courage, to whom the Roman Empire owed its survival and the beginning of the end of a protracted crisis. Ancient authors left positive comments about Claudius and his reign, which is due, firstly, to hatred of the predecessor of Claudius Gallienus, and secondly, to the legend of his death. In general, Claudius the Gothic gave a strong impetus to the restoration of the Roman Empire. During his short reign, the emperor did not have the opportunity to deal with the difficult economic problems of the empire: the resources of the state were at the limit, in connection with which the silver content in the Antoninian was reduced to 2-3%, which accelerated the already rapid rise in prices.
In the IV century, the claim about the relationship of Constantine I the Great and Claudius the Gothic was widely disseminated. This link is probably not true; however, it contributed to Claudio's life becoming a panegyric. The author of the biography of Claudius in the Historia Augusta narrates that "he wrote it with due care, out of respect for Constantius Caesar" (that is, Constantius I Chlorus). In addition, coins were minted with the inscriptions DIVO CLAVDIO OPT [IMO] IMP [ERATORI], MEMORIAE AETERNAE (in Spanish: divine Claudio, the best emperor, eternal memory) and REQVIES OPT [IMORVM] ME [RITORVM] (in Spanish: peace to the best and most worthy). The idea of the relationship between Claudius and Constantine dates back to the year 310, when it was first mentioned in a eulogy delivered by an anonymous speaker at Augusta Treverorum., which was undoubtedly due to the need to strengthen Constantine's political position after the death of his father-in-law Maximian Herculeo.
Claudio's unanimous positive assessments can be explained by the fact that in ancient historiography, especially in Latin, the prosenatorial assessment of events prevailed. It is therefore not surprising that Claudius was in fact opposed to Gallienus, whose activities the Senate expressed obvious discontent with. The sorry state of the sources, the almost complete loss of the contemporary historiographical tradition of Claudius II, with With the exception of some fragments of Dexipo's works, it only contributed to the spread of the legend about him, starting with the speeches of the Latin panegyrists of the tetrarchic era and ending with the biography in the Historia Augusta, probably written in the late IV century. Subsequently, Byzantine historians continued to support the legend of Claudius, the conqueror of the barbarians and the savior of Greece.
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