Gordian III
–
Roman Emperor
: 238-244 A.D. –
Bronze 19mm (4.02 grams) from the Roman provincial city of
Nicaea
in the
province of
Bythinia
Reference: RG 715; SNG Copenhagen 526-7 var. (three standards)
M ANT ΓOPΔIANOC AVΓ, Radiate, draped, and cuirassed bust right
NIKAEΩN, Four military standards; two surmounted by wreaths, two by
capricorns.
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Standards
Roman military standards. The standards with discs, or signa
(first three on left) belong to centuriae of the
legion (the image does not show the heads of the standards – whether
spear-head or wreathed-palm). Note (second from right) the
legion’s
aquila
. The standard on the
extreme right probably portrays the
She-wolf
(lupa) which fed
Romulus
, the legendary founder of
Rome. (This was the emblem of
Legio VI Ferrata
, a legion then
based in
Judaea
, a detachment of which is
known to have fought in Dacia). Detail from Trajan’s Column, Rome
Modern reenactors parade with replicas of various legionary
standards. From left to right: signum (spear-head type), with
four discs; signum (wreathed-palm type), with six discs;
imago of ruling emperor; legionary aquila; vexillum
of commander (legatus) of
Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix
, with
embroidered name and emblem (Capricorn) of legion
Each tactical unit in the imperial army, from centuria upwards, had
its own standard. This consisted of a pole with a variety of adornments that was
borne by dedicated standard-bearers who normally held the rank of duplicarius.
Military standards had the practical use of communicating to unit members where
the main body of the unit was situated, so that they would not be separated, in
the same way that modern tour-group guides use umbrellas or flags. But military
standards were also invested with a mystical quality, representing the divine
spirit (genius) of the unit and were revered as such (soldiers frequently
prayed before their standards). The loss of a unit’s standard to the enemy was
considered a terrible stain on the unit’s honour, which could only be fully
expunged by its recovery.
The standard of a centuria was known as a signum, which was
borne by the unit’s signifer. It consisted of a pole topped by either an
open palm of a human hand or by a spear-head. The open palm, it has been
suggested, originated as a symbol of the
maniple
(manipulus = “handful”), the
smallest tactical unit in the
Roman army of the mid-Republic
. The poles were
adorned with two to six silver discs (the significance of which is uncertain).
In addition, the pole would be adorned by a variety of cross-pieces (including,
at bottom, a crescent-moon symbol and a tassel). The standard would also
normally sport a cross-bar with tassels.
The standard of a Praetorian cohort or an auxiliary cohort or ala was
known as a vexillum
or banner. This was a square flag,
normally red in colour, hanging from a crossbar on the top of the pole. Stitched
on the flag would be the name of the unit and/or an image of a god. An exemplar
found in Egypt bears an image of the goddess Victory on a red background. The
vexillum was borne by a vexillarius. A legionary detachment (vexillatio)
would also have its own vexillum. Finally, a vexillum
traditionally marked the commander’s position on the battlefield.[194]
The exception to the red colour appears to have been the Praetorian Guard, whose
vexilla, similar to their clothing, favoured a blue background.
From the time of
Marius
(consul 107 BC), the standard of all
legions was the
aquila
(“eagle”). The pole was surmounted
by a sculpted eagle of solid gold, or at least gold-plated silver, carrying
thunderbolts in its claws (representing
Jupiter
, the highest Roman god. Otherwise the
pole was unadorned. No exemplar of a legionary eagle has ever been found
(doubtless because any found in later centuries were melted down for their gold
content). The eagle was borne by the aquilifer, the legion’s most senior
standard-bearer. So important were legionary eagles as symbols of Roman military
prestige and power, that the imperial government would go to extraordinary
lengths to recover those captured by the enemy. This would include launching
full-scale invasions of the enemy’s territory, sometimes decades after the
eagles had been lost e.g. the expedition in 28 BC by
Marcus Licinius Crassus
against
Genucla
(Isaccea, near modern
Tulcea
, Rom., in the Danube delta region), a
fortress of the Getae
, to recover standards lost 33 years
earlier by
Gaius Antonius
, an earlier
proconsul
of
Macedonia
. Or the campaigns of AD 14-17 to
recover the three eagles lost by
Varus
in AD 6 in the
Teutoburg Forest
.
Under Augustus, it became the practice for legions to carry portraits (imagines)
of the ruling emperor and his immediate family members. An imago was
usually a bronze bust carried on top of a pole like a standard by an
imaginifer.
From around the time of Hadrian (r. 117-38), some auxiliary alae
adopted the dragon-standard (draco) commonly carried by Sarmatian cavalry
squadrons. This was a long cloth wind-sock attached to an ornate sculpture of an
open dragon’s mouth. When the bearer (draconarius) was galloping, it
would make a strong hissing-sound.
Decorations
The Roman army awarded a variety of individual decorations (dona) for
valour to its legionaries. Hasta pura was a miniature spear; phalerae
were large medal-like bronze or silver discs worn on the cuirass; armillae
were bracelets worn on the wrist; and
torques were worn round the neck, or on the cuirass. The highest
awards were the coronae (“crowns”), of which the most prestigious was the
corona civica, a crown made oak-leaves awarded for saving the life of a
fellow Roman citizen in battle. The most valuable award was the corona
muralis, a crown made of gold awarded to the first man to scale an enemy
rampart. This was awarded rarely, as such a man hardly ever survived.
There is no evidence that auxiliary common soldiers received individual
decorations like legionaries, although auxiliary officers did. Instead, the
whole regiment was honoured by a title reflecting the type of award e.g.
torquata (“awarded a torque”) or armillata (“awarded bracelets”).
Some regiments would, in the course of time, accumulate a long list of titles
and decorations e.g. cohors I Brittonum Ulpia torquata pia fidelis c.R..
The place Nicaea is said to have been colonized by
Bottiaeans
,
and to have originally borne the name of Ancore (Steph.
B. s. v.) or Helicore (Geogr. Min. p. 40, ed. Hudson); but it was
subsequently destroyed by the
Mysians
. A
few years after the death of
Alexander the Great
,
Macedonian
king
Antigonus
— who had taken control of much of
Asia Minor
upon the death of Alexander (under whom Antigonus had served as a
general) — probably after his victory over
Eumenes
, in
316 BC, rebuilt the town, and called it, after himself, Antigoneia (Greek:
Αντιγόνεια). (Steph. B. l. c.; Eustath. ad
Horn. II. ii. 863) Several other of Alexander’s generals (known together as the
Diadochi
(Latin; original Greek
DiadokhoiΔιάδοχοι/
“successors”)) later conspired to remove Antigonus, and after defeating him the
area was given to
Thessalian
general Lysimachus
(Lysimakhos) (circa 355 BC-281 BC) in 301 BC as his share
of the lands. He renamed it Nicaea (Greek:
Νίκαια
, also
transliterated
as Nikaia or Nicæa; see also
List of traditional Greek place names
), in tribute to his wife Nicaea, a
daughter of Antipater
. (Steph. B., Eustath., Strab., ll. cc.) According to another
account (Memnon, ap. Phot. Cod. 224. p. 233, ed. Bekker), Nicaea was founded by
men from
Nicaea
near
Thermopylae
, who had served in the army of Alexander the Great. The town was
built with great regularity, in the form of a square, measuring 16 stadia in
circumference; it had four gates, and all its streets intersected one another at
right angles, so that from a monument in the centre all the four gates could be
seen. (Strabo
xii. pp. 565 et seq.) This monument stood in the gymnasium, which was
destroyed by fire, but was restored with increased magnificence by the
younger Pliny
(Epist. x. 48), when he was governor of
Bithynia
.
The city was built on an important crossroads between
Galatia
and
Phrygia
, and
thus saw steady trade. Soon after the time of Lysimachus, Nicaea became a city
of great importance, and the kings of Bithynia, whose era begins in 288 BC with
Zipoetes
, often resided at Nicaea. It has already been mentioned that in the
time of Strabo it is called the metropolis of Bithynia, an honour which is also
assigned to it on some coins, though in later times it was enjoyed by
Nicomedia
.
The two cities, in fact, kept up a long and vehement dispute about the
precedence, and the 38th oration of
Dio
Chrysostomus
was expressly composed to settle the dispute. From this
oration, it appears that Nicomedia alone had a right to the title of metropolis,
but both were the first cities of the country.
The younger Pliny makes frequent mention of Nicaea and its public buildings,
which he undertook to restore when governor of Bithynia. (Epist. x. 40, 48,
etc.) It was the birthplace of the astronomer
Hipparchus
(ca. 194 BC), the mathematician and astronomer
Sporus
(ca. 240) and the historian
Dio Cassius
(ca. 165).
It was the death-place of the comedian
Philistion
. The numerous coins of Nicaea which still exist attest the
interest taken in the city by the emperors, as well as its attachment to the
rulers; many of them commemorate great festivals celebrated there in honour of
gods and emperors, as Olympia, Isthmia, Dionysia, Pythia, Commodia, Severia,
Philadelphia, etc. Throughout the imperial period, Nicaea remained an important
town; for its situation was particularly favourable, being only 40 km (25 mi)
distant from Prusa
(Pliny
v. 32), and 70 km (43 mi) from
Constantinople
. (It.
Ant. p. 141.) When Constantinople became the capital of the
Eastern Empire
, Nicaea did not lose in importance; for its present walls,
which were erected during the last period of the Empire, enclose a much greater
space than that ascribed to the place in the time of Strabo. Much of the
existing architecture and defensive works date to this time, early 300s.
Nicaea suffered much from earthquakes in 358, 362 and 368; after the last of
which, it was restored by the emperor
Valens
. During
the Middle Ages it was for a long time a strong bulwark of the
Byzantine
emperors against the
Turks
.
Nicaea
in early Christianity
In the reign of
Constantine
, 325, the celebrated
First Council of Nicaea
was held there against the
Arian
heresy
, and the
prelates there defined more clearly the concept of the
Trinity
and
drew up the
Nicene
Creed
. The doctrine
of the Trinity was finalized at the Council of Constantinople in
381 AD which expressly included the Holy Ghost as equal to the Father and the
Son. The first Nicene Council was probably held in what would become the now
ruined mosque of Orchan. The church of Hagia Sophia was built by
Justinian
I
in the middle of the city in the 6th century (modelled after the larger
Hagia
Sophia
in Constantinople), and it was there that the
Second Council of Nicaea
met in 787 to discuss the issues of
iconography
.
Marcus Antonius Gordianus Pius (January
20, 225
–
February 11
,
244),
known in
English
as Gordian III,
was
Roman Emperor
from 238 to 244. Gordian was the
son of
Antonia Gordiana
and his father was 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 becoming Roman Emperor. Gordian had assumed the name of his maternal
grandfather in 238.
Following the murder of emperor
Alexander Severus
in Moguntiacum (modern
Mainz
), the capital of the
Roman province
Germania Inferior
,
Maximinus Thrax
was acclaimed emperor, despite
strong opposition of the
Roman senate
and the majority of the
population. In response to what was considered in Rome as a rebellion, Gordian’s
grandfather and uncle, Gordian I and II, were proclaimed joint emperors in the
Africa Province
. Their 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
, namely the
ParthicaII
who assassinated Maximinus. But their joint reign was doomed from the start with
popular riots, military discontent and even 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
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 dealt quickly. 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
kingdom 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 huge army to the East. The Sassanids were driven back over
the Euphrates and defeated in the
Battle of Resaena
(243). 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.
Marcus Julius Philippus, also known as
Philip the Arab
, stepped in at this moment as
the new Praetorian Prefect and the campaign proceeded. In the beginning of 244,
the Persians counter-attacked. Persian sources claim that a battle was fought (Battle
of Misiche) near modern
Fallujah
(Iraq)
and resulted in a major Roman defeat and the death of Gordian III[1].
Roman sources do not mention this battle and suggest that Gordian died far away,
upstream of the Euphrates. Although ancient sources often described Philip, who
succeeded Gordian as emperor, as having murdered Gordian at Zaitha (Qalat es
Salihiyah), the cause of Gordian’s death is unknown.
Gordian’s youth and good nature, along with the deaths of his
grandfather and uncle and his own tragic fate at the hands of another usurper,
granted him the everlasting esteem of the Romans. Despite the opposition of the
new emperor, Gordian was deified by the Senate after his death, in order to
appease the population and avoid riots.
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