Gordian III

Gordian III
Bust of Gordian III, between 242 and 244
32nd Emperor of the Roman Empire
Reign	22 April – 29 July 238 (as Caesar to Pupienus and Balbinus); 29 July 238 – 11 February 244 (sole, nominally, though government done by senate)
Predecessor	Pupienus and Balbinus
Successor	Philip the Arab
Born	20 January 225
Died	11 February 244 (aged 19) Zaitha
Wife	Furia Sabinia Tranquillina, subsequently Augusta
Full name Marcus Antonius Gordianus Pius (birth to accession) Caesar Marcus Antonius Gordianus Pius Augustus (as emperor)
Dynasty	Gordiani
Father	Unnamed Roman Senator
Mother	Antonia Gordiana

Gordian III (Latin: Marcus Antonius Gordianus Pius Augustus;^[1] 20 January 225 AD – 11 February 244 AD) was Roman Emperor from 238 AD to 244 AD. At the age of 13, he became the youngest sole legal Roman emperor throughout the existence of the united Roman Empire. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and an unnamed Roman Senator who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II. Very little is known on his early life before his acclamation. Gordian had assumed the name of his maternal grandfather in 238 AD.

Rise to power

Antoninianus of Gordian III

In 235, following the murder of Emperor Alexander Severus in Moguntiacum (modern Mainz), the capital of the Roman province Germania Inferior, Maximinus Thrax was acclaimed Emperor. In the following years, there was a growing opposition against Maximinus in the Roman senate and amongst the majority of the population of Rome. In 238 a rebellion broke out in the Africa Province, where Gordian's grandfather and uncle, Gordian I and II, were proclaimed joint emperors. This revolt was suppressed within a month by Cappellianus, governor of Numidia and a loyal supporter of Maximinus Thrax. The elder Gordians died, but public opinion cherished their memory as peace-loving and literate men, victims of Maximinus' oppression.

Meanwhile, Maximinus was on the verge of marching on Rome and the Senate elected Pupienus and Balbinus as joint emperors. These senators were not popular men and the population of Rome was still shocked by the elder Gordian's fate, so that the Senate decided to take the teenager Gordian, rename him Marcus Antonius Gordianus as his grandfather, and raise him to the rank of Caesar and imperial heir. Pupienus and Balbinus defeated Maximinus, mainly due to the defection of several legions, particularly the II Parthica who assassinated Maximinus. But their joint reign was doomed from the start with popular riots, military discontent and an enormous fire that consumed Rome in June 238. On July 29, Pupienus and Balbinus were killed by the Praetorian Guard and Gordian proclaimed sole emperor.

Rule

Radiate of Gordian III

Due to Gordian's age, the imperial government was surrendered to the aristocratic families, who controlled the affairs of Rome through the Senate. In 240, Sabinianus revolted in the African province, but the situation was quickly brought under control. In 241, Gordian was married to Furia Sabinia Tranquillina, daughter of the newly appointed praetorian prefect, Timesitheus. As chief of the Praetorian Guard and father in law of the Emperor, Timesitheus quickly became the de facto ruler of the Roman Empire.

In the 3rd century, the Roman frontiers weakened against the Germanic tribes across the Rhine and Danube, and the Sassanid Empire across the Euphrates increased its own attacks. When the Persians under Shapur I invaded Mesopotamia, the young emperor opened the doors of the Temple of Janus for the last time in Roman history, and sent a large army to the East. The Sassanids were driven back over the Euphrates and defeated in the Battle of Resaena (243).^[2] The campaign was a success and Gordian, who had joined the army, was planning an invasion of the enemy's territory, when his father-in-law died in unclear circumstances. Without Timesitheus, the campaign, and the Emperor's security, were at risk.

Gaius Julius Priscus and, later on, his own brother Marcus Julius Philippus, also known as Philip the Arab, stepped in at this moment as the new Praetorian Prefects^[3] and the campaign proceeded. Around February 244, the Persians fought back fiercely to halt the Roman advance to Ctesiphon. Persian sources claim that a battle occurred (Battle of Misiche) near modern Fallujah (Iraq) and resulted in a major Roman defeat and the death of Gordian III.^[4] Roman sources do not mention this battle and suggest that Gordian died far away from Misiche, at Zaitha (Qalat es Salihiyah) in northern Mesopotamia. Modern scholarship is not unanimously accepting this course of the events. One view holds that Gordian died at Zaitha, murdered by his frustrated army, while the role of Philip is unknown.^[5] Other scholars, such as Kettenhofen, Hartman and Winter have concluded that Gordian died in battle.

Philip transferred the body of the deceased emperor to Rome and arranged for his deification.^[6] Gordian's youth and good nature, along with the deaths of his grandfather and uncle and his own tragic fate at the hands of the enemy, earned him the lasting esteem of the Romans. The soldiers held Gordian in high esteem, as he may have sacrificed his life to save them in 244.

References

1. In Classical Latin, Gordian's name would be inscribed as MARCVS ANTONIVS GORDIANVS PIVS AVGVSTVS.
2. A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), p.147.
3. Potter 2004, p.236.
4. Res Gestae Divi Saporis, 3–4 (translation of Shapur's inscription at Naqsh-i Rustam)
5. Potter 2004, pp.234,236.
6. Potter 2004, p.238.

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "^{article name needed}". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Meckler, Michael, "Gordian III (238–244 A.D.)", De Imperatoribus Romanis
• Ammianus Marcellinus, The Later Roman Empire (AD354-378), 23.5.7
• Potter, David.S., The Roman Empire At Bay AD 180-392, Routledge, 2004, ISBN 0-203-67387-5

Bibliography

Katrin Herrmann: Gordian III. - Kaiser einer Umbruchszeit. Speyer 2013. ISBN 978-3-939526-20-9

External links

Media related to Gordian III at Wikimedia Commons