Gordian II - Wikipedia Gordian II From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Roman emperor in 238 Roman emperor Gordian II Denarius featuring Gordian II. The inscription reads imp m ant gordianvs afr avg. Roman emperor Reign 22 March – 12 April 238 Predecessor Maximinus Thrax Successor Pupienus and Balbinus Co-emperor Gordian I Born c. 192 Died 12 April 238 (aged 45) Carthage, Africa Proconsularis Names Marcus Antonius Gordianus[1] Regnal name Imperator Caesar Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus Africanus Augustus[2] Dynasty Gordian Father Gordian I Mother Unknown, possibly Fabia Orestilla[3] Part of a series on Roman imperial dynasties Year of the Six Emperors 238 AD Maximinus Thrax Gordian I and Gordian II Pupienus and Balbinus, nominally with Gordian III v t e Gordian II (Latin: Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus Africanus;[4] c. 192 – 12 April 238) was Roman Emperor for 21 days with his father Gordian I in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors. Seeking to overthrow Emperor Maximinus Thrax, he died in battle outside Carthage. Since he died before his father, Gordian II had the shortest reign of any Roman Emperor in the whole of the Empire's history, at 21 days. Contents 1 Early life 2 Revolt against Maximinus Thrax 3 Family tree 4 See also 5 Sources 5.1 Primary sources 5.2 Secondary sources 6 References 7 External links Early life[edit] Born c. 192, Gordian II was the only known son of Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus the Elder. His family were of Equestrian rank, who were modest and very wealthy.[citation needed] Gordian was said to be related to prominent senators.[5] His praenomen and nomen Marcus Antonius suggest that his paternal ancestors received Roman citizenship under the Triumvir Mark Antony, or one of his daughters, during the late Roman Republic.[5] Gordian’s cognomen ‘Gordianus’ suggests that his family origins were from Anatolia, especially Galatia and Cappadocia.[6] According to the notoriously unreliable Historia Augusta, his mother was a Roman woman called Fabia Orestilla,[3] born circa 165, who the Augustan History claims was a descendant of Emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius through her father Fulvus Antoninus.[3] Modern historians have dismissed this name and her information as false.[7] There is some evidence to suggest that Gordian's mother might have been the granddaughter of the Greek Sophist, consul and tutor Herodes Atticus.[8] His younger sister was Antonia Gordiana, who was the mother of Emperor Gordian III. Although the memory of the Gordians would have been cherished by the Senate and thus appear sympathetic in any Senatorial documentation of the period, the only account of Gordian's early career that has survived is contained within the Historia Augusta, and it cannot be taken as an accurate or reliable description of his life story prior to his elevation to the purple in 238.[9] According to this source, Gordian served as quaestor in Elagabalus' reign[10] and as praetor and consul suffect with Emperor Alexander Severus.[11][12] In 237 or 238, Gordian went to the province of Africa Proconsularis as a legatus under his father, who served as proconsular governor.[13] Gordian II on a coin, celebrating his military prowess. IMP. CAES. M. ANT. GORDIANVS AFR. AVG. / VIRTVS AVG. S C. Revolt against Maximinus Thrax[edit] Early in 235, Emperor Alexander Severus and his mother Julia Avita Mamaea were assassinated by mutinous troops at Moguntiacum (now Mainz) in Germania Inferior.[14] The leader of the rebellion, Maximinus Thrax, became Emperor, despite his low-born background and the disapproval of the Roman Senate.[15] Confronted by a local elite that had just killed Maximinus's procurator,[16] Gordian's father was forced to participate in a full-scale revolt against Maximinus in 238 and became Augustus on 22 March.[8] Due to Gordian I's advanced age, the younger Gordian was attached to the imperial throne and acclaimed Augustus too.[17] Like his father, he too was awarded the cognomen Africanus.[8] Father and son saw their claim to the throne ratified both by the Senate[18] and most of the other provinces, due to Maximinus' unpopularity.[19] Opposition would come from the neighbouring province of Numidia.[19] Capelianus, governor of Numidia, a loyal supporter of Maximinus Thrax, and who held a grudge against Gordian,[19] renewed his allegiance to the reigning emperor[16] and invaded Africa province with the only legion stationed in the region, III Augusta, and other veteran units.[20] Gordian II, at the head of a militia army of untrained soldiers, lost the Battle of Carthage and was killed.[8] According to the Historia Augusta, his body was never recovered.[21] Hearing the news, his father took his own life.[8] This first rebellion against Maximinus Thrax was unsuccessful, but by the end of 238 Gordian II's nephew would be recognised emperor by the whole Roman world as Gordian III.[22] According to Edward Gibbon, in the first volume of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776–89), "Twenty-two acknowledged concubines, and a library of sixty-two thousand volumes, attested to the variety of [Gordian's] inclinations; and from the productions that he left behind him, it appears that the former as well as the latter were designed for use rather than ostentation."[23] Family tree[edit] 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 See also[edit] Villa Gordiani Sources[edit] Primary sources[edit] Aurelius Victor, Epitome de Caesaribus Herodian, Roman History, Book 7 Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians Joannes Zonaras, Compendium of History extract: Zonaras: Alexander Severus to Diocletian: 222–284 Zosimus, Historia Nova Secondary sources[edit] Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy A. (2004) [1994]. Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome: Updated Edition. New York: Facts on File. ISBN 0-8160-5026-0. Birley, Anthony (2005), The Roman Government in Britain, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-925237-4 Gibbon, Edward, Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire (1888) Meckler, Michael L., Gordian II (238 A.D.), De Imperatoribus Romanis (2001) Potter, David Stone, The Roman Empire at Bay, AD 180–395, Routledge, 2004 Southern, Pat (2015) [2001]. The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-73807-1. Syme, Ronald, Emperors and Biography, Oxford University Press, 1971 References[edit] ^ Cooley, Alison E. (2012). The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy. Cambridge University Press. p. 497. ISBN 978-0-521-84026-2. ^ Cooley, Alison E. (2012). The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy. Cambridge University Press. p. 497. ISBN 978-0-521-84026-2. ^ a b c Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians, 17:4 ^ In Classical Latin, Gordian's name would be inscribed as MARCVS ANTONIVS GORDIANVS SEMPRONIANVS ROMANVS AFRICANVS AVGVSTVS. ^ a b Birley, pg. 340 ^ Peuch, Bernadette, "Orateurs et sophistes grecs dans les inscriptions d'époque impériale", (2002), pg. 128 ^ Syme, pp.100–101 ^ a b c d e Meckler, Gordian II ^ Syme, pp. 1–16 ^ Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians, 18:4 ^ Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians, 18:5 ^ Birley, pg. 341. An inscription confirming this fact has been found at Caesarea in Palestine. ^ Barnes, Timothy D. (September 1968). "Philostratus and Gordian". Latomus. 27: 587, 590. ^ Potter, pg. 167 ^ Southern, p. 83. ^ a b Southern, p. 86. ^ Adkins and Adkins, p. 27 ^ Herodian, 7:7:2 ^ a b c Potter, pg. 170 ^ Herodian, 7:9:3 ^ Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians, 16:1 ^ Southern, p. 87. ^ Quoted in "From the Editor. Ambition, Style and Sacrifices", History Today, June 2017, p. 3. External links[edit] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gordianus II. Gordian II coinage Regnal titles Preceded by Maximinus Thrax Roman emperor 238 With: Gordian I Succeeded by Pupienus Balbinus v t e Roman and Byzantine emperors and ruling empresses Principate 27 BC – AD 235 Augustus Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero Galba Otho Vitellius Vespasian Titus Domitian Nerva Trajan Hadrian Antoninus Pius Marcus Aurelius Lucius Verus Commodus Pertinax Didius Julianus (Pescennius Niger) (Clodius Albinus) Septimius Severus Caracalla Geta Macrinus Diadumenian Elagabalus Severus Alexander Crisis 235–285 Maximinus Thrax Gordian I Gordian II Pupienus Balbinus Gordian III Philip the Arab Philip II Decius Herennius Etruscus Hostilian Trebonianus Gallus Volusianus Aemilianus Valerian Gallienus Saloninus Claudius Gothicus Quintillus Aurelian Ulpia Severina Tacitus Florian Probus Carus Carinus Numerian Gallic emperors Postumus (Laelianus) Marius Victorinus (Domitianus II) Tetricus I with Tetricus II as caesar Palmyrene emperors Vaballathus Zenobia Septimius Antiochus Dominate 284–395 Diocletian Maximian Galerius Constantius I Severus Constantine the Great Maxentius Licinius Maximinus Daza (Valerius Valens) (Martinian) Constantine II Constantius II Constans I Magnentius Vetranio Julian Jovian Valentinian I (west) Valens (east) Gratian (west) Valentinian II (west) Theodosius I Magnus Maximus Victor (Eugenius) Western Empire 395–480 Honorius Constantine III with son Constans II Constantius III Joannes Valentinian III Petronius Maximus Avitus Majorian Libius Severus Anthemius Olybrius Glycerius Julius Nepos Romulus Augustulus Eastern/ Byzantine Empire 395–1204 Arcadius Theodosius II Marcian Leo I Leo II Zeno Basiliscus Marcus Anastasius I Dicorus Justin I Justinian I Justin II Tiberius II Constantine Maurice with son Theodosius as co-emperor Phocas Heraclius Constantine III Heraklonas Constans II Constantine IV with brothers Heraclius and Tiberius and then Justinian II as co-emperors Justinian II (first reign) Leontios Tiberius III Justinian II (second reign) with son Tiberius as co-emperor Philippikos Anastasios II Theodosius III Leo III the Isaurian Constantine V Artabasdos Leo IV the Khazar Constantine VI Irene Nikephoros I Staurakios Michael I Rangabe with son Theophylact as co-emperor Leo V the Armenian with Symbatios-Constantine as junior emperor Michael II the Amorian Theophilos Michael III Basil I the Macedonian Leo VI the Wise Alexander Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos Romanos I Lekapenos with sons Christopher, Stephen and Constantine as junior co-emperors Romanos II Nikephoros II Phokas John I Tzimiskes Basil II Constantine VIII Zoë (first reign) and Romanos III Argyros Zoë (first reign) and Michael IV the Paphlagonian Michael V Kalaphates Zoë (second reign) with Theodora Zoë (second reign) and Constantine IX Monomachos Constantine IX Monomachos (sole emperor) Theodora Michael VI Bringas Isaac I Komnenos Constantine X Doukas Romanos IV Diogenes Michael VII Doukas with brothers Andronikos and Konstantios and son Constantine Nikephoros III Botaneiates Alexios I Komnenos John II Komnenos with Alexios Komnenos as co-emperor Manuel I Komnenos Alexios II Komnenos Andronikos I Komnenos with John Komnenos as co-emperor Isaac II Angelos Alexios III Angelos Alexios IV Angelos Nicholas Kanabos (chosen by the Senate) Alexios V Doukas Empire of Nicaea 1204–1261 Constantine Laskaris Theodore I Laskaris John III Doukas Vatatzes Theodore II Laskaris John IV Laskaris Byzantine Empire 1261–1453 Michael VIII Palaiologos Andronikos II Palaiologos with Michael IX Palaiologos as co-emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos John V Palaiologos John VI Kantakouzenos with John V Palaiologos and Matthew Kantakouzenos as co-emperors John V Palaiologos Andronikos IV Palaiologos John VII Palaiologos Andronikos V Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos John VIII Palaiologos Constantine XI Palaiologos Italics indicates a junior co-emperor, while underlining indicates a usurper. Authority control General Integrated Authority File ISNI 1 VIAF 1 WorldCat National libraries United States Art research institutes Artist Names (Getty) Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gordian_II&oldid=1026086717" Categories: 192 births 238 deaths 3rd-century Roman emperors Crisis of the Third Century Roman emperors killed in battle Deified Roman emperors Antonii Gordian dynasty Sons of Roman emperors Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Use dmy dates from March 2020 Articles containing Latin-language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from August 2018 Commons category link is on Wikidata Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ULAN identifiers Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Languages العربية تۆرکجه Bân-lâm-gú Беларуская Български Bosanski Brezhoneg Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 客家語/Hak-kâ-ngî 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית ქართული Kiswahili Latina Magyar Македонски मराठी مصرى Nederlands 日本語 Norsk bokmål Occitan Polski Português Română Русский Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 吴语 Yorùbá 粵語 Zazaki 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 31 May 2021, at 09:00 (UTC). 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