Romano-Gallic Empire Victorinus AD269-271 Double Denarius. NGC VF

Description: NGC certified VF. Marcus Piavonius Victorinuswasemperor in the Gallic provincesfrom 268 to 270 or 269 to 271,following the brief reign ofMarius. He was murdered by a jealous husband whose wife he had tried to seduce. Hailing fromGaul, Victorinus was born to a family of great wealth,and was a soldier underPostumus, the first of the so-called Gallic emperors.He showed considerable ability, as he held the title of tribunus praetorianorum (tribune of the praetorians) in 266/267, and rose swiftly to become co-consulwith Postumus in 268.It is also possible that Postumus then elevated him to the post ofpraetorian prefect.Shortly after putting down a rebellion byLaelianusin 269, Postumus was murdered by his own troops, who appointed Marius as emperor in his place. After engineering the death of Marius, Victorinus was declared emperor by the troops located atAugusta Treverorum(Trier) in the fall of 269.[5]His principal concern was to prevent the western provinces from submitting to the central authority of theRoman Empire, a fact made clear to him from the first few weeks when only the provinces ofGaul,GermaniaandBritainrecognised him.Hispaniadeserted the Gallic Empire and declared its loyalty toClaudius Gothicus. Claudius then sent his trusted generalPlacidianusto south-east Gaul with instructions to bring over as many of the wavering cities as he could.Very quickly Placidianus capturedCularo(Grenoble), but did not proceed any further. The presence of Placidianus inspired the city ofAugustodunum Haeduorum(Autun) to abandon Victorinus and declare its intention to declare forClaudius Gothicus.This forced Victorinus to march south and besiege it, where it fell after seven months, after which Victorinus troops plundered and destroyed the city.Victorinus returned toColonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium(Cologne) in triumph.It remains a mystery just why Claudius did not authorise Placidianus to go to the relief of Augustodunum; however, it is speculated that Claudius, who was fully engaged either in Italy against theAlamannior in theBalkansagainst theGoths, did not wish to open a second theatre of operations in Gaul, which would not only have involved a major military effort, but would also have required Claudius to assume responsibility for the defense of theRhine frontierhad he been successful. There is evidence to suggest that Claudius was having some difficulties in the East, which also occupied his attention. Victorinus was murdered at Colonia in early 271 by Attitianus, one of his officers, whose wife Victorinus had supposedly seduced.Since the motive was personal and not political, Victorinus' mother,Victoria(or Vitruvia), was able to continue to hold power after the death of Victorinus and she arranged for his deification and, after considerable payment to the troops, the appointment ofTetricus Ias his successor.[8][2]Another military commander appears to have been proclaimed as the emperorDomitianus II, but was soon eliminated. Victorinus is listed among theThirty Tyrantsin theHistoria Augusta. The dubiousHistoria Augustaequally has a short description ofVictorinus Junior, allegedly the son of Victorinus, who was appointed emperor by his family the day his father was murdered, and would have been killed immediately afterwards by the troops. TheHistoria Augustaalso says that both father and son were buried near Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium in marble tombs

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End Time: 2024-03-17T23:25:35.000Z

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