| Laelian | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Laelian on an aureus. Caption: IMP. C. LAELIANVS P. F. AVG. | |||||
| Gallic emperor | |||||
| Reign | approximately late February to early June 269 (against Postumus) | ||||
| Predecessor | Postumus | ||||
| Successor | Marcus Aurelius Marius | ||||
| Born | Gaul | ||||
| Died | 269 | ||||
| |||||
Laelian ( /leɪliən/ ; Latin : Ulpius Cornelius Laelianus), [1] also incorrectly referred to as Lollianus and Aelianus, [2] was a usurper against Postumus, the emperor of the Gallic Empire. His revolt lasted from approximately late February to early June 269. [2]
Little is known about Laelian. He shares the same nomen as a prominent Hispano-Roman family, the Ulpii, that included Trajan among its members, and may have been a relative. [2] This is supported by the strong allusion to Hispania on an aureus he struck, which featured the design of Hispania reclining with a rabbit to her side. If he indeed was a relative, this may be the reason Hispania allied itself with Claudius II, after the death of Laelian, seemingly without a struggle.[ citation needed ]
Laelian declared himself emperor at Moguntiacum (modern-day Mainz in Germany) in February/March 269, [3] after repulsing a Germanic invasion. [4] Although his exact position is unknown, he is believed to have been a senior officer under Postumus, [5] either the legatus of Germania Superior or the commander of Legio XXII Primigenia. [2] Laelian represented a strong danger to Postumus because of the two legions he commanded (Primigenia in Moguntiacum and VIII Augusta in Argentoratum); [2] Despite this, his rebellion lasted only about two months before he was executed, [6] reputedly by his own soldiers, or by Postumus' troops after a siege of Laelian's capital. [1] The siege of Moguntiacum was also fatal for Postumus; it is said he was slain when he refused to allow his troops to plunder the city following its capture. [7]
Laelian (under the Latin name Lollianus) is listed among the Thirty Tyrants in the Historia Augusta .
Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empire. He won a number of military victories against usurpers and Germanic tribes, but was unable to prevent the secession of important provinces. His 15-year reign was the longest in half a century.
The 260s decade ran from January 1, 260, to December 31, 269.
Year 268 (CCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Paternus and Egnatius. The denomination 268 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.
Marcus Aurelius Claudius "Gothicus", also known as Claudius II, was Roman emperor from 268 to 270. During his reign he fought successfully against the Alemanni and decisively defeated the Goths at the Battle of Naissus. He died after succumbing to a "pestilence", possibly the Plague of Cyprian that had ravaged the provinces of the Empire.
Gordian II was Roman emperor with his father Gordian I in 238, 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 had the shortest reign of any Roman emperor, at 22 days.
The Gallic Empire or the Gallic Roman Empire are names used in modern historiography for a breakaway part of the Roman Empire that functioned de facto as a separate state from 260 to 274. It originated during the Crisis of the Third Century, when a series of Roman military leaders and aristocrats declared themselves emperors and took control of Gaul and adjacent provinces without attempting to conquer Italy or otherwise seize the central Roman administrative apparatus.
Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus was a Roman commander of Batavian origin who ruled as Emperor of the splinter state of the Roman Empire known in contemporary times as the Gallic Empire. The Roman army in Gaul threw off its allegiance to Gallienus around the year 260, and Postumus assumed the title and powers of Emperor in the provinces of Gaul, Germania, Britannia and Hispania, thereby founding what scholars have dubbed the Gallic Empire. He ruled for the better part of ten years before he was murdered by his own troops.
Marcus Aurelius Marius was emperor of the Gallic Empire in 269 following the assassination of Postumus.
Marcus Piavonius Victorinus was emperor in the Gallic provinces from 268 to 270 or 269 to 271, following the brief reign of Marius. He was murdered by a jealous husband whose wife he had tried to seduce.
Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus was the emperor of the Gallic Empire from 271 to 274 AD. He was originally the praeses (governor) of Gallia Aquitania and became emperor after the murder of Emperor Victorinus in 271, with the support of Victorinus's mother, Victoria. During his reign, he faced external pressure from Germanic raiders, who pillaged the eastern and northern parts of his empire, and the Roman Empire, from which the Gallic Empire had seceded. He also faced increasing internal pressure, which led him to declare his son, Tetricus II, caesar in 273 and possibly co-emperor in 274, although this is debated. The Roman emperor Aurelian invaded in 273 or 274, leading to the Battle of Châlons, at which Tetricus surrendered. Whether this capitulation was the result of a secret agreement between Tetricus and Aurelian or necessary after his defeat is debated. Aurelian spared Tetricus, and even made him a senator and corrector (governor) of Lucania et Bruttium. Tetricus died of natural causes a few years after 274.
Lollianus is a Roman personal name which may refer to many figures of classical antiquity, including:
Balista or Ballista, also known in the sources with the name of "Callistus", was one of the Thirty Tyrants of the controversial Historia Augusta, and supported the rebellion of the Macriani against Emperor Gallienus.
The Gallienus usurpers were the usurpers who claimed imperial power during the reign of Gallienus. The existence of usurpers during the Crisis of the Third Century was very common, and the high number of usurpers fought by Gallienus is due to his long rule; 15 years was a long reign by the standards of the 3rd century Roman Empire.
Licinius Valerianus Minor was the son of Roman emperor Valerian and his second wife Cornelia Gallonia, and half-brother of Gallienus.
Victoria, also known as Vitruvia, was a leader in the Roman breakaway realm known as the Gallic Empire in the late 3rd century. She was the mother of Victorinus, who ruled as Gallic Emperor until his assassination in 271. Afterwards, Victoria used her authority to stabilize the empire and select a successor.
In the Historia Augusta, Postumus the Younger figures as one of the so-called Thirty Tyrants who usurped power against the Roman Emperor Gallienus. According to the pseudo-historical list of 'Thirty Tyrants', the Emperor of the Gallic Empire Postumus had a son, also called Postumus, whom he nominated to be first caesar, and later even augustus and co-ruler. Postumus the Younger would have been killed together with his father in 268, during the rebellion of Laelianus.
Egnatius Lucillus was a Roman senator.
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.
Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus "Thrax" was Roman emperor from 235 to 238.
Quintus Hedius Rufus Lollianus Gentianus was a Roman military officer and senator who was appointed consul suffectus in around AD 186–188.
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