Tetricus I Gallic Roman 273AD Rare Ancient Roman Coin Good humor Goddess i29680

Item:
i29680

 Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Tetricus I – Gallic Roman Emperor: 271-274 A.D. –

Bronze Antoninianus 20mm (2.81 grams) Struck  273 – 274 A.D.
Reference: RIC 80. Elmer 789. Cohen 57.
IMP TETRICVS P F AVG, radiate and cuirassed bust right
HILARITAS AVGG, Hilaritas standing left, holding long branch and cornucopiae.
   Hilaritas was the goddess of rejoicing and good humor.

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Guarantee of Authenticity.

Caius Pius Esuvius Tetricus was Emperor of the

Gallic Empire

(Imperium Galliarum) from 270/271 to 273, following the

murder of Victorinus

. Tetricus, who ruled with his son, Tetricus II, was the last of

the Gallic emperors.

Tetricus was born to a noble family and held the administrative rank of

(provincial governor) of

Aquitania
at

the time of Victorinus

‘ death. Victorinus’ mother,

Victoria

, paid the army heavily to declare Tetricus emperor near Burdigalia

(Bordeaux,

France
), which

was approved in Gaul

and Britain

. Following his appointment, Tetricus repelled Germanic tribes that

took advantage of the confusion following the death of Victorinus to invade.

Tetricus installed his capital at Augusta Treverorum (present

Trier
,

Germany
, near

the vital Rhine border, hence later seat of a

Tetrarch
)

and appointed his son,

Tetricus

II
,

Caesar

(273). Tetricus made no attempts to expand the Gallic Empire,

other than southward, regaining

Aquitania

(which had rejoined the Roman empire during the reign of

Claudius

Gothicus
). In late 273 or early 274,

Faustinus
,

provincial governor of

Gallia Belgica
,

rebelled against him in

Augusta Treverorum

.

In 273, Emperor

Aurelian

set out to reconquer the western Roman empire, following his victories in the

east. Tetricus took his army southward from Trier to meet Aurelian, who was

advancing into northern Gaul. The

decisive battle

took place near

Châlons-sur-Marne

, where Tetricus and his son surrendered to Aurelian.

According to literary sources, after being displayed as trophies at

Aurelian’s

triumph

in Rome, the lives of Tetricus and his son were spared by Aurelian,

and Tetricus was even given the title of

Lucaniae et Bruttiorum, that is governor of a southern region of

Italia

. Tetricus died at an unknown date in Italy; he is listed as one of

Rome’s

Thirty Tyrants

in the

Historia Augusta

.

The Gallic Empire (Latin:
Imperium Galliarum) is the modern
name for a breakaway part of the
Roman Empire
that functioned de facto as
a separate state from 260 to 274.It originated during the
Crisis of the Third Century
.

It was established by
Postumus
in 260 in the wake of
barbarian
invasions and instability in

Rome, and at its height included the territories of
Germania
,
Gaul
,
Britannia
, and (for a time)
Hispania
. After Postumus’ assassination in 268
it lost much of its territory, but continued under a number of emperors and
usurpers. It was retaken by
Roman emperor

Aurelian
after the
Battle of Châlons
in 274.

History

Origins

The Roman
Crisis of the Third Century
continued as
Emperor
Valerian
was defeated and captured by the
Sassanid Empire
of
Persia
, leaving his son
Gallienus
in very shaky control. Shortly
thereafter, the
Palmyrene Empire
, which came to encompass
Egypt
,
Syria
,
Judea
, and
Arabia Petraea
also broke away.

The governors in
Pannonia
staged unsuccessful local revolts. The
Emperor left for the Danube to attend to their disruption. This left
Postumus
, who was governor of
Germania Superior
and
Inferior
, in charge at the Rhine border. An
exeptional administrator, Postumus had also protected the Germania Inferior
against an invasion led by the Franks in the summer of 260 very well. In fact,
Postumus defeated the Frankish forces at Empel so decisively, that there would
be no further Germanic raids for 10 years. This all would have combined to make
Postumus one of the most powerful men in the west of the Roman empire.

The imperial heir
Saloninus
and the praetorian prefect Silvanus
remained at Colonia Agrippina (Cologne),
to keep the young heir out of danger and perhaps also as a check on Postumus’
ambitions. Before long, however, Postumus besieged Colonia Agrippina and put the
young heir and his guardian to death, making his revolt official. Postumus is
thought to have established his capital at Cologne or Trier,^[2]
with Lugdunum also becoming an important city in the empire.

The Gallic Empire had its own praetorian guard, two annually elected consuls
(not all of whose names have survived) and probably its own senate. According to
the numismatic evidence, Postumus himself held the office of consul five times.

 

Coin of
Tetricus
, last emperor (271–274) of
the Gallic Empire

Postumus successfully fended off a military incursion by Gallienus in 263,
and was never challenged by him again. However, in early 268 he was challenged
by Laelianus
, probably one of his commanders, who
was declared emperor at Mogontiacum (Mainz)
by his
Legio XXII Primigenia
. Postumus quickly retook
Mogontiacum and Laelianus was killed. Postumus himself, however, was overthrown
and killed by his own troops, reportedly because he did not allow them to sack
the city.^[3][4]

After Postumus

After the death of Postumus, the Gallic Empire began to decline. Roman
Emperor
Claudius Gothicus
re-established Roman
authority in
Gallia Narbonensis
and parts of
Gallia Aquitania
, and there is some evidence
that the provinces of Hispania, which did not recognize the subsequent Gallic
Emperors, may have re-aligned with Rome then.^[5][6]

Marius
was instated as Emperor upon Postumus’
death, but died very shortly after; ancient sources writing much later state
that he reigned only two days, though it is more likely, as displayed through
the numismatic record, that he reigned for a few months.^[7]
Subsequently
Victorinus
came to power, being recognized as
Emperor in northern Gaul and Britannia, but not in Hispania.^[5]
Victorinus spent most of his reign dealing with insurgencies and attempting to
recover the Gaulish territories taken by Claudius Gothicus. He was assassinated
in 271, but his mother
Victoria
took control of his troops and used
her power to influence the selection of his successor.^[5]
With Victoria’s support,
Tetricus
was made Emperor, and was recognized
in Britannia and the parts of Gaul still controlled by the Empire.^[8]
Tetricus fought off Germanic barbarians who had begun ravaging Gaul after the
death of Victorinus, and was able to re-take Gallia Aquitania and western Gallia
Narbonensis while Roman Emperor
Aurelian
was engaging Queen
Zenobia
‘s
Palmyrene Empire
in the east. He established
the imperial court at Trier
, and in 273 he elevated his son,
also named Tetricus
, to the rank of
Caesar
. The following year the younger Tetricus
was made co-consul, but the Empire grew weak from internal strife, including a
mutiny led by the usurper
Faustinus
.^[8]
By that time Aurelian had defeated the Palmyrene Empire and had made plans to
re-conquer the west. He moved into Gaul and defeated Tetricus at the
Battle of Châlons
in 274; according to some
sources, Tetricus offered to surrender in exchange for clemency for him and his
son before the battle.^[8]
This detail may be later propaganda, but either way, Aurelian was victorious,
and the Gallic Empire was effectively dismantled.^[8]

Causes

The Gallic Empire was symptomatic of the fragmentation of power during the
third-century crisis. It has also been taken to represent autonomous trends in
the western provinces, including proto-feudalistic tendencies among the Gaulish
land-owning class whose support has sometimes been thought to have underpinned
the strength of the Gallic Empire, and an interplay between the strength of
Roman institutions and the growing salience of provincial concerns.^[10]
One of Postumus’ primary objectives as emperor was evidently the defence of the
Germanic frontier; in 261 he repelled mixed groups of
Franks
and
Alamanni
to hold the Rhine
limes
secure (though lands beyond the upper
Rhine and Danube had to be abandoned to the barbarians within a couple of
years). In so doing, Postumus positioned himself avowedly as not only the
defender and restorer of Gaul, but also as the upholder of the Roman name.

The usurpation of power over Britain and northern Gaul by
Carausius
just twenty years later reflects a
continuing trend by which local loyalties from the landed aristocracy and
deteriorating morale in the legions enabled Carausius to seize power in Britain.^{[citation
needed]} Similarly with the withdrawal of legions
after 408, many Britons desired a localized Roman authority rather than
nationalist revolt. The desire for Roman order and institutions was entirely
compatible with a degree of national or regional separatism.

Gallic Emperors

The Gallic Emperors are known primarily from the

coins they minted. The political and military history of the Gallic
Empire can be sketched through the careers of these emperors. Their names are as
follows:

• Postumus
  260–268
  • (Laelianus
    268, usurper)
• Marius
  268
• Victorinus
  268–270
  • (Domitianus
    271? usurper)
• Tetricus the elder
  ^[14]
  270–274
  • Tetricus the younger
    270–274 (son of
    Tetricus;
    caesar
    )

Consuls of the
Gallic Empire