Victorinus: Encyclopedia - Victorinus

Victorinus

Marcus Piav(v)onius Victorinus was emperor of the successionist Gallic Empire from 268 to 270 or 271, following the brief reign of Marius.

Victorinus, born to a family of great wealth, was a soldier under Postumus, the first of the so-called Gallic emperors. Victorinus held the title of tribunus praetorianorum in 266/267, and was co-consul with Postumus in 267 or 268. Following the death of Marius, Victorinus was declared emperor by the troops located at Augusta Treverorum (Trier, Germany), and he was recognized by the provinces of Gaul and Britain, but not Spain, which reunited with the Roman Empire.

During his reign, Victorinus successfully prevented the city of Augustodunum Haeduorum (Autun, France) from rejoining the Roman Empire. The city was besieged for seven months, before it was stormed and plundered.

Victorinus was murdered in 270 or early 271 by Attitianus, one of his officers, whose wife Victorinus had supposedly seduced. Victorinus' mother, Victoria (or Vitruvia), continued to hold power after the death of Victorinus and she arranged for his deification and, after considerable payment to the troops, the appointment of Tetricus I as his successor.

Victorinus is listed among the Thirty Tyrants in the Historia Augusta. The (dubius) Historia Augusta equally has a short description of Victorinus the Younger, allegedly the son of Victorinus that was appointed Emperor by his family the day his father was murdered, and would have been killed immediately afterwards by the troops.

Victorinus - External link

• "Victorinus", De Imperatoribus Romanis site

Categories: Ancient Romans | Crisis of the Third Century

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Victorinus", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki