| Part of a series on Roman imperial dynasties |
| Year of the Six Emperors |
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| AD 238 |
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Antonia Gordiana (born 201) was a prominent, wealthy and noble Roman woman who lived in the troubled and unstable 3rd century. [1] She was the daughter of Roman Emperor Gordian I; sister to Roman Emperor Gordian II and mother to Roman Emperor Gordian III. [2] [3] The Augustan History names her as Maecia Faustina, however, modern historians dismiss this name as false. [4] She was most probably born in Rome. Along with her elder brother she was raised and spent her childhood in the house that Roman Republican General Pompey had built in Rome. Previous owners included Roman Triumvir Mark Antony and Roman Emperor Tiberius.
After 214, Gordiana married an unnamed Roman Senator. The Augustan History names her husband as Junius Balbus, however modern historians dismiss this name as being incorrect. She bore her husband a son, Marcus Antonius Gordianus Pius (known as Gordian III), who was born on 20 January 225. The birth name of Gordian III is unknown as is his birthplace. The name of Gordian (as we know him) was assumed by Gordiana's son when he became Roman Emperor. Gordiana's husband died before 238.
After the brief reigns of her father and brother, the Roman Senate in April appointed Balbinus and Pupienus as joint emperors. During the brief reign of Balbinus and Pupienus, her son became popular with Roman citizens and the joint emperors were forced to adopt her son as their heir. On 29 July 238, Balbinus and Pupienus were both murdered by the Praetorian Guard and later that day her son became the new Roman Emperor. There is a possibility that Gordiana might have bribed the Guards to murder the joint emperors, so that her son could become emperor.
To keep in the favour of the Roman Senate, Gordian III assumed the name of his maternal grandfather and maternal uncle. The political factions that supported Gordiana's father and brother, also supported her son. Through them, she was able to assist her son in directing affairs and together they sought to reform policies covering administration, fiscal affairs, and the Roman army. Efforts were made to limit the taxes on the Roman wealthy and notable. Attention was directed to strengthening defences along the empire's borders and Roman governors were prosecuted if they abused Roman taxes and their powers in governing the provinces.
In 241, her son appointed the able and efficient Timesitheus as prefect of the Praetorian Guard. Later, in May of that year, Gordian married Timesitheus’ daughter Tranquillina, who became Roman Empress. Timesitheus died in 243, and Gordian appointed the ambitious Philip the Arab as the new prefect. In February 244, Gordian died of unknown causes. Gordian either died in battle or was possibly murdered on the orders of Philip. Philip was then proclaimed the new emperor. Gordian III's wife and daughter survived him. The fate of Gordiana after her son's death is unknown.
| previous Maximinus Thrax Roman Emperor 235–238 | Pupienus Roman Emperor 238 |  Gordian I Roman Emperor 238 ∞ (?) Fabia Orestilla | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balbinus Roman Emperor 238 | Gordian II co-emperor 238 | Antonia Gordiana | (doubted) Junius Licinius Balbus consul suffectus | Gaius Furius Sabinius Aquila Timesitheus praetorian prefect | next Philip the Arab Roman Emperor 244–249 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gordian III Roman Emperor 238 | Furia Sabinia Tranquillina | Philip II Roman Emperor co-emperor 247–249 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Notes: Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree.
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The 230s decade ran from January 1, 230, to December 31, 239.
The 240s decade ran from January 1, 240, to December 31, 249.
Year 238 (CCXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pius and Pontianus. The denomination 238 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Gordian III was Roman emperor from 238 to 244. At the age of 13, he became the youngest sole emperor of the united Roman Empire. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and Junius Balbus, who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II. Very little is known of his early life before his acclamation. Gordian had assumed the name of his maternal grandfather in 238.
Gordian I was Roman emperor for 22 days with his son Gordian II in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors. Caught up in a rebellion against the Emperor Maximinus Thrax, he was defeated by forces loyal to Maximinus, and he committed suicide after the death of his son.
Gordian II was Roman emperor with his father Gordian I in 238 AD, the Year of the Six Emperors. Seeking to overthrow Maximinus Thrax, he died in battle outside Carthage. Since he died before his father, Gordian II likely had the shortest reign of any Roman emperor, at 22 days, possibly second only to Quintillus, who ruled for no less than 17 days.
Philip the Arab was Roman emperor from 244 to 249. He was born in Aurantis, Arabia, in a city situated in modern-day Syria. After the death of Gordian III in February 244, Philip, who had been Praetorian prefect, achieved power. He quickly negotiated peace with the Persian Sassanid Empire and returned to Rome to be confirmed by the Senate. During his reign, the city of Rome celebrated its millennium.
The Praetorian Guard was an elite unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors.
Decimus Caelius Calvinus Balbinus was Roman emperor with Pupienus for three months in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors.
Marcus Clodius Pupienus Maximus was Roman emperor with Balbinus for 99 days in 238, during the Year of the Six Emperors. The sources for this period are scant, and thus knowledge of the emperor is limited. In most contemporary texts he is referred to by his cognomen "Maximus" rather than by his second nomen Pupienus.
Gaius Julius Priscus was a Roman soldier and member of the Praetorian Guard in the reign of Gordian III.
The Year of the Six Emperors was the year AD 238, during which six men made claims to be emperors of Rome. This was an early symptom of what historians now call the Crisis of the Third Century, also known as Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis, a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressures of foreign invasions and migrations into the Roman territory, civil wars, peasant rebellions, political instability, Roman reliance on foreign mercenaries known as foederati and commanders nominally working for Rome, the devastating social and economic effects of the plague, debasement of currency, and economic depression. The crisis ended with the ascension of Diocletian and his implementation of reforms in 284.
Furia Sabinia Tranquillina was the Empress of Rome and wife of Emperor Gordian III. She was the young daughter of the Praetorian Prefect Timesitheus by an unknown wife.
Gaius Furius Sabinius Aquila Timesitheus was an officer of the Roman Imperial government in the first half of the 3rd century. Most likely of Oriental-Greek origins, he was a Roman citizen, probably of equestrian rank.
The gens Ulpia was a Roman family that rose to prominence during the first century AD. The gens is best known from the emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajanus, who reigned from AD 98 to 117. The Thirtieth Legion took its name, Ulpia, in his honor. The city of Serdica, modern day Sofia, was renamed as Ulpia Serdica.
Maximinus Thrax was a Roman emperor from 235 to 238. Born of Thracian origin – giving the nickname "Thrax" – he rose up through the military ranks, ultimately holding high command in the army of the Rhine under Emperor Severus Alexander. After Severus was murdered in 235, he was proclaimed emperor by the army, beginning the Crisis of the Third Century.
Tullus Menophilus was a Roman Senator and General who led the defense at the Siege of Aquileia along with Rutilius Pudens Crispinus.
Pinarius Valens was a Roman nobleman mentioned in the Historia Augusta as an older relative of Pupienus, whom the Senate elected co-emperor with Balbinus in March 238. After Pupienus ascended to the throne, he appointed Valens as praetorian prefect. His fate after the murder of the two emperors in June is unknown.
The Gordian dynasty, sometimes known as the Gordianic dynasty, was short-lived, ruling the Roman Empire from 238 to 244 AD. The dynasty achieved the throne in 238 AD, after Gordian I and his son Gordian II rose up against Emperor Maximinus Thrax and were proclaimed co-emperors by the Roman Senate. Gordian II was killed by the governor of Numidia, Capillianus and Gordian I killed himself shortly after, only 22 days after he was declared emperor. In 238, Pupienus and Balbinus, who were not of the Gordian dynasty, were declared co-emperors but the Senate was forced to make Gordian III a third co-emperor in 238, due to the demands of the Roman people. Maximinus attempted to invade Italy but he was killed by his own soldiers when his army became frustrated. After this, the Praetorian Guard killed Pupienus and Balbinus, leaving Gordian III as the sole emperor. Gordian III ruled until AD 244 when he was either killed after his betrayal by Philip the Arab, or killed at the Battle of Misiche; with his death, the dynasty was ended and Philip the Arab became emperor.