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GORDIAN III A.D. 238-244
Caesar: a.d.
238
(under Balbinus and
Pupienus)
Augustus: a.d. 238-244
Marcus Antonius Gordianus "Pius," c. A.D. 225-244.
Although orphaned as a child, Gordian III belonged to a prominent and
exceptionally wealthy family, then headed by his grandfather, Gordian I. His
mother was Maecia Faustina, a daughter of Gordian I and a sister of Gordian II.
Although we have virtually no insight into the personality of Gordian III, we
are told by the Historia Augusta that he was light-hearted, handsome,
winning and "... was loved by the people, the senate and the soldiers as no
prince had ever been before."
The joint emperors Balbinus and Pupienus raised young Gordian III
to the rank of Caesar shortly after his grandfather and uncle perished in their
failed North African revolt. For the two emperors it was a prudent move: not
only did they fulfill the demands of the rioting populace, but they also
placated the praetorian guards, who viewed young Gordian as their candidate.
Additionally, the joint-emperors presumably gained access to his family's
enormous wealth, from which it seems they hammered out a large coinage in less
than 100 days. Among these coins were ones honoring the young Caesar, though
they constituted only a very small portion of the output.
The chronology of this chaotic period is far from certain,
although it seems the co-emperors reigned with Gordian as their Caesar until
July of 238, when the two Augusti were murdered and Gordian III was hailed
emperor in their place. Despite his youth (he was then about 13 years old),
Gordian was probably the best candidate, for he was not mature enough to have an
agenda of his own.
During this intense civil war, the enemies of Rome had become
active. The Goths and the Carpi had crossed the Danube, and the Sasani-ans made
advances in the East. Though his predecessors had planned to meet these
challenges (Balbinus against the Goths and Pupienus against the Sasanians),
their executions prevented any such action. The first three years of Gordian's
reign were ostensibly under the guidance of the senate, though no doubt they
were careful not to upset the praetorians or the army in the process. The
Danubian frontier was managed through the presence of existing legions and the
payment of subsidies.
Among Gordian's earliest
tasks was the veneration of his deceased
grandfather and uncle, which included the dismissal of the legion that caused
their deaths under Capellianus. Although overtures like these,
which earned Gordian the title "Pius," were
commendable, in the latter case it opened North Africa to a new revolt in
240 (by the provincial governor
Sabinianus) which had to be quelled by soldiers based in
Mauretania.
In 241, the 16-year-old Gordian changed the complexion of his
reign by appointing Timesitheus, a man of exceptional character and experience,
as his commander of the praetorian guard. At the same time he strengthened his
ties to Timesitheus by marrying his daughter, Tranquill-ina.
But the "honeymoon" was over before it began, for the Sasanian king,
Shapur I, had invaded Syria, requiring immediate attention from the
emperor and his father-in-law. En route
to Syria, Gordian and Timesitheus were delayed on the Danubian
frontier, where they defeated the Carpi and re-established peace in the region.
Gordian's army was finally
able to engage Shapur in the spring of 243. The
Romans quickly gained the upper hand against the Persians, and were able not
only to preserve Antioch, but to recover Nisibis, Hatra and Car-rhae as
Gordian's legions advanced deep into Mesopotamia with the goal of taking the
capital, Ctesiphon. But the death of Timesitheus in the winter
of 243 dampened the effort. The cause of Timesitheus' death is not certainly
known; he either died of natural causes or was murdered by Philip the Arab, his
rival in life and replacement in death.
Though Gordian could no longer rely upon the counsel of
Timesitheus, he none-the-less led his army
further against the Sasanians. It seems, however, that he did not lead
aggressively enough to satisfy his soldiers, who no doubt wanted to sack
the Sasanian capital and strip it of its
legendary wealth. The death
of Gordian III at Zaitha in February or March of 244 is a bit of a mystery, and
is usually attributed to a coup by Philip I.
Philip told the senate that Gordian had died of natural causes,
while Shapur reports that he died in battle against the Sasanians at Misikhe.
Regardless of how Gordian — then 19 years old — actually died, it
must
have been a lonely, frightening affair. Gordian was without an
adviser he could trust, and was at odds with the ambitious Philip, all the while
trying
to lead an army so far from the comforts of the Rome he had known
as a child. We are told that Gordian, in a fit of desperation, offered to
abdicate in place of Philip and take a subordinate role, such as that of Caesar,
or even a lesser position, in exchange for his life.
Numismatic Note:
Gordian III was the last emperor to strike
the denarius in quantity, and even in his reign it was being eclipsed by
the double-denarius,
which had been reintroduced by Pupienus and Balbinus. Denarii of subsequent
emperors are extremely rare. Antioch, which had been safeguarded by Gordian's
armies, now became a regular Imperial mint. |
