Tetricus I – Gallic Roman Emperor: 271-274AD Ancient Roman Coin Victory i34631

Tetricus I – Gallic Roman Emperor: 271-274 A.D. –
Bronze Antoninianus 17mm (2.27 grams) Treveri mint 272-273 A.D.
Reference: RIC 57
 IMPTETRICVSPFAVG – Radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right.
COMESAVG – Victory advancing left, holding wreath and palm.

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In
Greek mythology,
Nike
was a 
goddess who personified
victory, also known as the Winged Goddess of 
Victory. The Roman equivalent was
Victoria. Depending upon the time of various 
myths, she was described as the daughter of
Pallas (Titan) and
Styx (Water) and the sister of
Kratos (Strength),
Bia (Force), and
Zelus (Zeal). Nike and her siblings were close 
companions of 
Zeus, the dominant deity of the
Greek pantheon. According to classical (later) 
myth, Styx brought them to Zeus when
the 
god was assembling allies for the
Titan War against the older deities. Nike 
assumed the role of the divine
charioteer, a role in which she often is 
portrayed in Classical Greek art. Nike flew around battlefields rewarding the 
victors with glory and fame.

Nike is seen with wings in most statues and paintings. Most other winged 
deities in the Greek pantheon had shed their wings by Classical times. Nike is 
the goddess of strength, speed, and victory. Nike was a very close acquaintance 
of 
Athena, and is thought to have stood in 
Athena’s outstretched hand in the statue of Athena located in the Parthenon. 
Nike is one of the most commonly portrayed figures on Greek coins.

Names stemming from Nike include amongst others:
Nicholas, Nicola, Nick, Nikolai, Nils, Klaas, 
Nicole, Ike, Niki, Nikita, Nika, Niketas, and Nico.

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
praeses provinciae (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
corrector 
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