Tetricus I

Tetricus I
Emperor of the Gallic Empire
The obverse of an aureus featuring Tetricus I. Caption: IMP. TETRICVS P. F. AVG.
Emperor of the Gallic Empire
Reign	271–274 AD
Predecessor	Victorinus
Successor	None (Gallic Empire reconquered by Aurelian)
Born	Gaul
Died	Lucania, Italia
Issue	Tetricus II
Names Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus

Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus was a Gallo-Roman nobleman who ruled as 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 that surrender was necessary after his defeat is debated. Aurelian spared Tetricus, and even made him a senator and the corrector (governor) of Lucania et Bruttium. Tetricus died of natural causes a few years after 274.

Background

The Gallic Empire was a state composed of the Roman provinces which made up Britannia, Hispania, and Gaul, which broke away from the Roman Empire during the reign of emperor Gallienus. Gallienus had become emperor after his father, emperor Valerian, was captured by the Sassanids in 260. Gallienus's rule occurred during the Crisis of the Third Century (235–284), a period of intense political and military power struggles. Gallienus was overwhelmed by numerous issues, including several usurpers, and barbarian attacks in the Balkans and along the Rhine — one attack by the Franks pushed as far as Tarraco (modern-day Tarragona) in Hispania. Because Gallienus was unable to prevent the raids, Postumus, a military commander on the Rhine frontier, rose up and declared himself emperor; at about the same time, he assassinated Saloninus, Gallenius's son and co-emperor, in Colonia (modern-day Cologne). Postumus focused on defending the Gallic Empire, and, in the words of the 4th-century Roman historian Eutropius, "restored the almost exhausted provinces through his enormous vigour and moderation."

Gallienus attempted to invade the Gallic Empire twice, in 260 and 265, but was repulsed both times, forcing him to accept the secession. Although he was unable to conquer the Gallic Empire, Gallienus did ensure that the Roman Empire was defended; he stationed Aureolus, a military commander, in northern Italia, to prevent Postumus from crossing the Alps. Postumus was killed by his soldiers in 269 in Mogontiacum (modern-day Mainz) while putting down a revolt by the usurper Laelianus, because he would not permit them to sack the city. After the army killed Postumus, they elected Marcus Aurelius Marius, an officer, as Gallic emperor. While some primary sources hold that Marius reigned for only two days before being killed by Victorinus, who had served as praetorian prefect (commander of his praetorian guard) under Postumus, the number of coins issued by Marius indicate that he must have served for a longer time, a period of roughly three months. Victorinus declared himself emperor in mid-269 in Augusta Treverorum (modern-day Trier), two days after killing Marius. Victorinus's rule was recognized by the provinces of Britannia and Gaul, but not by those of Hispania.

Life

A 268 AD map, showing the Gallic Empire in (green, top left), the Roman Empire in (red, middle), and the Palmyrene Empire in (yellow, bottom right)

A map of the Gallic Empire (green, top left), Roman Empire (red, middle and far left), and Palmyrene Empire (yellow, bottom right), during the reign of Tetricus I

Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus, commonly referred to as Tetricus I, was born in Gaul, on an unknown date, to a noble family of Gallic origin. Little of his early life is known, however he had become a senator and occupied the post of praeses provinciae (governor) of Gallia Aquitania, a province in the southwest of what is now France, by 271. In early 271, emperor Victorinus was murdered in Colonia by Attitianus, an officer in the Gallic army, allegedly because he had seduced Attitianus's wife. Because the motivation for his assassination was personal, rather than political, Victorinus's mother, Victoria, was able to retain power within the empire; her power allowed her to appoint Tetricus as emperor after securing the support of the army through bribes. The army proclaimed Tetricus as Gallic emperor in spring of the same year at Burdigala (modern-day Bordeaux), although Tetricus was not present for the proclamation.

The Gallic Empire mirrored the Roman imperial administrative traditions, and as such each Gallic emperor adopted a Roman regnal title upon his accession; after becoming emperor, Tetricus adopted the regnal name and titles of Imperator Caesar Esuvius Tetricus Pius Felix Invictus Augustus Pontifex Maximus. The Gallic Empire also followed the Roman tradition of emperors appointing themselves as consul, with Tetricus appointing himself as consul in 271, 272, 273, and 274. By Roman custom, there were two consuls per year; however, the names of the other consuls for 271–273 are not known, but it is known that Tetricus's son, Tetricus II, served as his colleague in 274. Tetricus was also tribune from 271 to 274. Tetricus elevated Tetricus II as caesar in 273 to increase the legitimacy of his reign by founding a dynasty; he may have also elevated his son to co-emperor during the last days of his reign, but this is uncertain. The semi-fictional Historia Augusta, in its biography of emperor Aurelian, states that Tetricus elevated his son at an unspecified date, however, neither of the 4th-century historians Aurelius Victor or Eutropius mention such an event.

During Tetricus's reign, the main threats to the Gallic Empire came from the Roman Empire and Germanic peoples. Tetricus also had to contend with dissent within the army and government. Tetricus was recognized as emperor by all of Gaul — except Gallia Narbonensis, which had been partially reconquered by Placidianus, a general under Roman emperor Claudius Gothicus — and Britannia. He was not recognized by the provinces of Hispania, including Hispania Baetica, Lusitania, and Hispania Tarraconensis, which had earlier refused to recognize Victorinus as emperor, nor by the city of Argentoratum (modern-day Strasbourg) in Germania. The provinces that did not recognize Tetricus chose instead to recognize Aurelian as Roman emperor, who had been proclaimed emperor in September 270 at Sirmium in Pannonia. By the time of Tetricus's rule, the Germanic peoples had become increasingly aggressive, launching raids across the Rhine and along the coast. Tetricus moved the capital of the Gallic Empire from Colonia to Augusta Treverorum in late 271 in order to guard against the Germanic peoples. Tetricus attacked them with some success, mainly during the early part of his reign, celebrating a triumph for one of his victories. Later in his reign, he was forced to withdraw troops and abandon forts, which allowed the border territories to be pillaged. Later Germanic raids were met with almost no opposition — one penetrated so far into Gallic territory that it reached the Loire. While Aurelian was focused on attacking the Palmyrene Empire, which had broken away from the Roman Empire in 270 under its queen, Zenobia, Tetricus was able to recover Gallia Narbonensis and southeastern parts of Gallia Aquitania. During 273–274, Faustinus, provincial governor of Gallia Belgica, rebelled against Tetricus, however, his revolt was swiftly crushed. Around this time, Tetricus also held the quinquennalia, public games that took place every four years.

Antoninianus of Tetricus II

After Aurelian had succeeded in his reconquest of the Palmyrene Empire, he turned his attention to the Gallic Empire, beginning preparations for an invasion in 273. In early 274, Aurelian began to march into northern Gaul, while Tetricus led his troops southward from Augusta Treverorum to meet him. The armies of Aurelian and Tetricus met in February or March 274 at the Battle of Châlons, near modern-day Châlons in north-eastern France. The higher discipline of the Roman forces, coupled with the greater military command of Aurelian, tipped the harsh battle in Roman favor, and after Tetricus was captured in the combat, the morale of the Gallic forces broke. The army of Tetricus was soundly defeated, and Tetricus surrendered either directly after his defeat or later; the latest possible date for his surrender was March 274, when the Gallic mints switched from minting coins of Tetricus I and II to those of Aurelian. Primary sources including Aurelius Victor, Eutropius, the Historia Augusta, and Orosius report that Tetricus had already made a deal with Aurelian, offering to surrender in exchange for an honourable defeat and no punishment, quoting the ghost of Palinurus from Virgil's Aeneid 6.365: eripe me his invicte malis (pluck me out, O undefeated one, from these troubles). However, this is believed by modern historians to be a product of Roman imperial propaganda; Aurelian, who was attempting to stabilise his fragile empire, benefited from the account that Tetricus had planned to betray his army, as his troops would then be less likely to rise up again.

Upon Tetricus's surrender, the Gallic Empire rejoined the Roman Empire, once more restored to its former borders, and Aurelian held a triumph in Rome involving many chariots; twenty elephants; two hundred beasts, including tigers, giraffes, and elk; eight hundred gladiators; and prisoners from various barbarian peoples. The leaders of the two secessionist states, Tetricus of the Gallic Empire and Zenobia of the Palmyrene Empire, were paraded during this triumph, along with Tetricus II; Tetricus and his son were not placed in chains for their march, but instead were made to wear braccae (Gallic trousers). Aurelian pardoned all three of them and made Tetricus a senator and corrector (governor) of either Lucania et Bruttium, a region of southern Italy, or all of Italy. The Historia Augusta states that he was made corrector Lucaniae (governor of Lucania) in the biography of Tetricus, but states that he was made corrector totius Italiae (governor of Italy) in the biography of Aurelian. Epigraphic evidence exists for correctores totius Italiae who predate Tetricus, whereas the first epigraphic evidence for a corrector of a smaller region comes from around 283, ten years after Aurelian appointed Tetricus as corrector. Because of the contradictions within the Historia Augusta, the opinion of modern scholars is divided. Some, such as David Magie (1887–1960), who edited the Loeb edition of the Historia Augusta, favor Tetricus's having been made corrector totius Italiae, while others, such as Alaric Watson (1958–present), support his having been made corrector Lucaniae. Tetricus died of natural causes several years later in Italia.

Numismatics

See also: Numismatics

Reverse of an aureus bearing the image of a standing Felicitas

The gold aurei issued during the reign of Tetricus fall into several types. Seven surviving coins feature his image on the obverse, with the reverses showing him riding a horse, him holding an olive branch and a scepter, as well as various depictions of deities standing, including: Aequitas, Jupiter, Laetitia, Pax, and Spes. One features his face on the obverse and a standing Hilaritas on the reverse. Another displays his head on the obverse and a depiction of the Roman goddess Victoria walking to the right on the reverse. There are two aureus types that depicted Tetricus I and Tetricus II together; both feature jugate (side-by-side) images of them on the obverse, with one having a standing Aeternitas on the reverse and the other having a standing Felicitas. A rare quinarius (a silver coin) issued during his reign has a three-quarter facing image of Tetricus on the obverse and Victoria standing with her foot on a globe on the reverse.

Most of the coins minted during Tetricus's reign were of low quality; his antoninianus contained so little silver content that imitations were easy to make, leading to the market being flooded with fakes, called Barbarous radiates.

The coinage of the Gallic Empire does not give any evidence of public games or festivals, as was common in the Roman Empire, although it is believed that similar games and festivals were held. There are a number of issues of coins in which the emperor's head faces left, rather than the usual right, which are believed to have been used for donatives granted to soldiers upon the emperor's accession or consulships.

Historiography

The primary sources for the Gallic Empire are substandard, with historians Oliver Nicholson and P. J. Casey stating that they are "composed largely of brief notices by late 4th-century Latin authors who depended for much of their information on the lost Enmannsche Kaisergeschichte (Enmann's History of the Emperors), of scattered allusions in the first book of Zosimus, and of information gleaned from the rather copious coinage minted by the Gallic emperors." and that the imperial biographies of the unreliable Historia Augusta "interweave fact, invention, and an idiosyncratic sense of humour.". Tetricus is listed as one of the "Thirty Tyrants" in the Historia Augusta. The Historia Augusta states that Tetricus was recognized in Hispania, but modern historians have rejected this.

Epigraphic sources also provide some information, however, the epigraphic habit (the use of monumental inscriptions for public display) of the Roman Empire was in decline during the period, and many are undated. Inscriptions bearing Tetricus' name are very common throughout Gaul, although these are broken into two regions by a vertical line of inscriptions bearing Aurelian's name, which were made after the surrender of Tetricus; no Tetrican inscriptions overlap with Aurelianic inscriptions.

References

Primary sources

These sources were written by early chroniclers and have been drawn upon by modern scholars.

• Aurelius Victor, Epitome de Caesaribus
• Aurelius Victor, Liber de Caesaribus
• Eutropius, Brevarium, Book 9
• Historia Augusta, The Thirty Tyrants
• Joannes Zonaras, Compendium of History, Zonaras: Alexander Severus to Diocletian: 222–284
• Zosimus, Historia Nova

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