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Philip I ‘the Arab’ – Roman Emperor: 244-249 A.D.
Bronze 29mm (13.16 grams) of Antioch in Seleukis and Pieria
Struck circa 247-249 A.D.
Reference: McAlee 993(a)
AVTOK K M IOVΛI ΦIΛIΠΠOC CЄB, radiate, draped & cuirassed bust left; gorgoneion on breastplate.
ANTIOXЄΩN MHTPO. KOΛΩN, Veiled and turreted bust of City-goddess Tyche right, ram running right above, star beneath; in field, Δ-Є / S-C.
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Founded by Seleukos I circa 300
B.C. with Greek and Macedonian settlers brought from the destroyed city of
Antigoneia on the Orontes. The city was named after Seleukos’ father with the
purpose of being a western capital to guard against the northern expansion of
the Ptolemaic kingdom. Eventually as many territories were lost, Antioch became
the only capital of the Seleukid kingdom. Pompey the Great deposed the last king
Antiochos XIII in 64 B.C. The Romans then made it a capital of a new Roman
province and the seat of the Roman governors. There were temples of Olympian
Zeus, Apollo in Daphne, hippodrome (built under the Seleukids and embellished by
the Romans) and colonnaded main streets (being a gift from Herod the Great). It
was an important center for the arts and learning.
Tyche (Greek for luck; the Roman equivalent was
Fortuna
) was the presiding
tutelary deity
that governed the fortune and
prosperity of a city, its destiny. Increasingly during the Hellenistic period,
cities had their own specific iconic version of Tyche, wearing a
mural crown
(a crown like the walls of the
city).
The
Greek historian Polybius
believed that when no cause can be
discovered to events such as floods, droughts, frosts or even in politics, then
the cause of these events may be fairly attributed to Tyche.
Stylianos Spyridakis concisely expressed Tyche’s appeal in a
Hellenistic world of arbitrary violence and unmeaning reverses: “In the
turbulent years of the
Epigoni of Alexander
, an awareness of the
instability of human affairs led people to believe that Tyche, the blind
mistress of Fortune, governed mankind with an inconstancy which explained the
vicissitudes of the time.”
In literature, she might be given various genealogies, as a daughter of
Hermes
and
Aphrodite
, or considered as one of the
Oceanids
, daughters of
Oceanus
and
Tethys
, or of
Zeus. She was connected with
Nemesis
and
Agathos Daimon
(“good spirit”).
She was uniquely venerated at
Itanos
in Crete, as Tyche Protogeneia,
linked with the Athenian
Protogeneia
(“firstborn”), daughter of
Erechtheus
, whose self-sacrifice saved the
city.
She had temples at
Caesarea Maritima
,
Antioch
,
Alexandria
and
Constantinople
. In
Alexandria
the Tychaeon, the temple of
Tyche, was described by
Libanius
as one of the most magnificent of the
entire Hellenistic world.
Tyche appears on many
coins
of the Hellenistic period in the three
centuries before the Christian era, especially from cities in the Aegean.
Unpredictable turns of fortune drive the complicated plotlines of
Hellenistic romances
, such as
Leucippe and Clitophon
or
Daphnis and Chloe
. She experienced a
resurgence in another era of uneasy change, the final days of publicly
sanctioned
Paganism
, between the late-fourth-century
emperors
Julian
and
Theodosius I
who definitively closed the
temples. The effectiveness of her capricious power even achieved respectability
in philosophical circles during that generation, though among poets it was a
commonplace to revile her for a fickle harlot.
In medieval art
, she was depicted as carrying a
cornucopia
, an
emblematic
ship’s rudder, and the
wheel of fortune
, or she may stand on the
wheel, presiding over the entire circle of fate.
The constellation of
Virgo
is sometimes identified as the heavenly
figure of Tyche, as well as other goddesses such as
Demeter
and
Astraea
.
Marcus
Julius Philippus or Philippus I Arabs (c. 204–249), known in
English
as Philip the Arab or formerly (prior to World War II) in
English as Philip the Arabian, was a
Roman
Emperor
from 244 to 249.
//
Little is known about Philip’s early life and political
career. He was born in
Shahba
, about
55 miles southeast of
Damascus
,
in the
Roman province
of
Syria
. Philip has the nickname “the Arab” because he had family who had
originated in the
Arabian peninsula
, believed to be distant descendants of the prestigious
Baleed family of Aleppo
. Philip was the son of a Julius Marinus, a local Roman citizen,
possibly of some importance. Many historians[1][2][3]
agree that he was of Arab descent who gained
Roman citizenship
through his father, a man of considerable influence. Many
citizens from the provinces took Roman names upon acquiring citizenship. This
makes tracing his Arabic blood line difficult. However, it is documented that
Rome used the
Ghassan
tribe from the
Azd of
Yemen
as vassals
to keep the neighboring northern Arabs in check.
The name of Philip’s mother is unknown, but sources refer to
a brother,
Gaius Julius Priscus
, a member of the
Praetorian guard
under
Gordian
III
(238–244). In 234, Philip married
Marcia Otacilia Severa
, daughter of a Roman Governor. They had two children:
a son named Marcus Julius Philippus Severus (Philippus
II) in 238 and according to numismatic evidence they had a daughter called
Julia Severa or Severina, whom the ancient Roman sources don’t mention.
Philip became a member of the
Pretorian Guard
during the reign of the emperor
Alexander Severus
, who was a Syrian. In ancient Rome the Pretorian Guard was
closely associated with the emperor, serving among other things as the emperor’s
bodyguard.
Political
career
In 243, during
Gordian
III
‘s campaign against
Shapur I
of
Persia, the
Praetorian prefect
Timesitheus
died under unclear circumstances. At the suggestion of his
brother Priscus, Philip became the new Praetorian prefect, with the intention
that the two brothers would control the young Emperor and rule the Roman world
as unofficial regents. Following a military defeat, Gordian III died in 244
under circumstances that are still debated. While some claim that Philip
conspired in his murder, other accounts (including one coming from the Persian
point of view) state that Gordian died in battle. Whatever the case, Philip
assumed the purple following Gordian’s death. According to Edward Gibbon:
His rise from so obscure a station to the first dignities
of the empire seems to prove that he was a bold and able leader. But his
boldness prompted him to aspire to the throne, and his abilities were
employed to supplant, not to serve, his indulgent master.
Philip was not willing to repeat the mistakes of previous
claimants, and was aware that he had to return to
Rome in order to
secure his position with the
senate
. He thus travelled west, after concluding a peace treaty with Shapur
I, and left his brother Priscus as extraordinary ruler of the Eastern provinces.
In Rome he was confirmed
Augustus
, and nominated his young son
Caesar
and heir.
Philip’s rule started with yet another
Germanic
incursion on the provinces of
Pannonia
and the Goths
invaded Moesia
(modern-day Serbia
and Bulgaria
)
in the Danube
frontier. They were finally defeated in the year 248, but the
legions
were not satisfied with the result, probably due to a low share of the plunder,
if any. Rebellion soon arose and
Tiberius
Claudius Pacatianus
was proclaimed emperor by the troops. The uprising was
crushed and Philip nominated
Gaius Messius
Quintus Decius
as governor of the province. Future events would prove this
to be a mistake. Pacatianus’ revolt was not the only threat to his rule: in the
East, Marcus Jotapianus
led another uprising in response to the oppressive rule of
Priscus
and the excessive taxation of the Eastern provinces. Two other
usurpers, Marcus Silbannacus
and
Sponsianus
,
are reported to have started rebellions without much success.
In April
A.D.
248 (April 1000
A.U.C.
), Philip had the honour of leading the celebrations of the one
thousandth birthday of Rome, which according to tradition was
founded
in 753 BC by
Romulus
. He combined the anniversary with the celebration of Rome’s alleged
tenth saeculum
.
According to contemporary accounts, the festivities were magnificent and
included spectacular games,
ludi saeculares
, and theatrical presentations throughout the city. In the
coliseum, more than 1,000 gladiators were killed along with hundreds of exotic
animals including hippos, leopards, lions, giraffes, and one rhinoceros.
The events were also celebrated in literature, with several publications,
including
Asinius Quadratus
‘s History of a Thousand Years, specially prepared
for the anniversary.
Despite the festive atmosphere, discontent in the legions was
growing. Decius
(249–251) was proclaimed Emperor by the Danubian armies in the spring of 249 and
immediately marched to Rome. Philip’s army met the usurper near modern
Verona
that summer. Decius won the battle and Philip was killed sometime in
September 249,
either in the fighting or assassinated by his own soldiers who were eager to
please the new ruler. Philip’s eleven-year-old son and heir may have been killed
with his father and Priscus disappeared without a trace.
Religious
beliefs
Further information:
Philip the Arab and Christianity
Some later traditions, first mentioned in the historian
Eusebius
in his
Ecclesiastical History
, held that Philip was the first
Christian
Roman emperor. This tradition seems to be based on reports in
Eusebius that Philip allegedly had once entered a Christian service on Easter,
after having been required by a bishop to confess his sins. Later versions
located this event in Antioch.
However, historians generally identify the later Emperor
Constantine, baptised on his deathbed, as the first Christian emperor, and
generally describe Philip’s adherence to Christianity as dubious, because
non-Christian writers do not mention the fact, and because throughout his reign,
Philip to all appearances (coinage, etc.) continued to follow the
state religion
.
Critics ascribe Eusebius’ claim as probably due to the tolerance Philip showed
towards Christians.
Saint Quirinus of Rome
was, according to a legendary account, the son of
Philip the Arab.
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