Vitalian (praetorian prefect)

Vitalian (died 238) was a Praetorian Prefect during the reign of the Roman Emperor Maximinus Thrax.[1] He is mainly notable for being assassinated in the course of the Roman Senate revolt on behalf of Gordian I and Gordian II, a step deemed necessary due to the terror he apparently instilled in the people of Rome in Maximinus' own absence. According to the historian Herodian, he was killed by a group of soldiers who gained an audience with him on the pretext of carrying secret messages concerning Maximinus.

  1. Herodian, Roman History 7.6
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, September 09, 2012. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.