Maximinus Thrax

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Maximinus Thrax
Maximinus Thrax Musei Capitolini MC473.jpg
Bust of Maximinus Thrax
in Capitoline Museums, Rome
27th Emperor of the Roman Empire
Reign 20 March 235[1] early May 238
Predecessor Severus Alexander
Successors Pupienus and Balbinus
Born c. 173
Thrace or Moesia
Died May 238 (aged 65)
Aquileia, Italy
Wife
Caecilia Paulina
Issue Gaius Julius Verus Maximus
Full name
Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus Augustus
Father Unknown, possibly Micca[2]
Mother Unknown, possibly Ababa[2]
Maximinus Thrax (Latin Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus Augustus;[3] c. 173 May 238),
also known as Maximinus I, was Roman Emperor from 235 to 238.

Maximinus is described by several ancient sources, though none are contemporary

except Herodian's Roman History. He was a so-called barracks emperor of the 3rd
century; his rule is often considered to mark the beginning of the Crisis of the
Third Century. He died at Aquileia whilst attempting to put down a Senatorial
revolt.

Contents [hide]
1 Rise to power
2 Rule
2.1 Consolidation of power
2.2 Defence of frontiers
2.3 Gordian I and Gordian II
2.4 Pupienus, Balbinus, and Gordian III
2.5 Defeat and death
3 Politics
4 Appearance
5 See also
6 References
7 Sources
7.1 Primary sources
7.2 Secondary sources
8 Further reading
9 External links
Rise to power[edit]
Most likely Maximinus was of Thraco-Roman origin (believed so by Herodian in his
writings).[4] According to the notoriously unreliable Augustan History (Historia
Augusta), he was born in Thrace or Moesia to a Gothic father and an Alanic mother,
[5] an Iranian people of the Scythian-Sarmatian branch; however, the supposed
parentage is highly unlikely, as the presence of the Goths in the Danubian area is
first attested after the beginning of the Crisis of the Third Century. British
historian Ronald Syme, writing that the word 'Gothia' should have sufficed for
condemnation of the passage in the Augustan History, felt that the burden of
evidence from Herodian, Syncellus and elsewhere pointed to Maximinus having been
born in Moesia.[6] The references to his Gothic ancestry might refer to a Thracian
Getae origin (the two populations were often confused by later writers, most
notably by Jordanes in his Getica), as suggested by the paragraphs describing how
he was singularly beloved by the Getae, moreover, as if he were one of themselves
and how he spoke almost pure Thracian.[7]

His background was, in any case, that of a provincial of low birth, and was seen by
the Senate as a barbarian, not even a true Roman, despite Caracallas edict
granting citizenship to all freeborn inhabitants of the Empire.[8] In many ways,
Maximinus was similar to the later Thraco-Roman emperors of the 3rd-5th century
(Licinius, Galerius, Aureolus, Leo the Thracian, etc.), elevating themselves, via a
military career, from the condition of a common soldier in one of the Roman legions
to the foremost positions of political power. He joined the army during the reign
of Septimius Severus,[9] but did not rise to a powerful position until promoted by
Alexander Severus.[10] Maximinus was in command of Legio IV Italica, composed of
recruits from Pannonia,[11] who were angered by Alexander's payments to the
Alemanni and his avoidance of war.[12] The troops, among whom included the Legio
XXII Primigenia, elected the stern Maximinus, killing young Alexander and his
mother at Moguntiacum (modern Mainz).[13] The Praetorian Guard acclaimed him
emperor, and their choice was grudgingly confirmed by the Senate,[8] who were
displeased to have a peasant as emperor. His son Maximus became caesar.[8]

Rule[edit]

O laureate draped and cuirassed bust of Maximinus

MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG GERM
R Maximinus holding sceptre; standard on either side
P M TR P II COS P P
silver denarius struck in Rome from February to December 236 AD; ref. RIC 4
Consolidation of power[edit]
Maximinus hated the nobility and was ruthless towards those he suspected of
plotting against him.[14] He began by eliminating the close advisors of Alexander.
[15] His suspicions may have been justified; two plots against Maximinus were
foiled.[16] The first was during a campaign across the Rhine, when a group of
officers, supported by influential senators, plotted to destroy a bridge across the
river, in order to strand Maximinus in hostile territory. [17] They planned to
elect senator Magnus emperor, afterwards; but the conspiracy was discovered and the
conspirators executed.[14] The second plot involved Mesopotamian archers who were
loyal to Alexander.[18] They planned to elevate Quartinus, but their leader Macedo
changed sides and murdered Quartinus instead, although this was not enough to save
his own life.[14]

Defence of frontiers[edit]
The accession of Maximinus is commonly seen as the beginning of the Crisis of the
Third Century (also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis), the
commonly applied name for the crumbling and near collapse of the Roman Empire
between 235 and 284 caused by three simultaneous crises external invasion, internal
civil war, and economic collapse.[10]

Maximinus' first campaign was against the Alemanni, whom Maximinus defeated despite
heavy Roman casualties in a swamp in the Agri Decumates.[19] After the victory,
Maximinus took the title Germanicus Maximus,[8] raised his son Maximus to the rank
of caesar and princeps iuventutis, and deified his late wife Paulina.[15] Maximinus
may have launched a second campaign deep into Germania, defeating a Germanic tribe
beyond the Weser in the Battle at the Harzhorn.[20][21] Securing the German
frontier, at least for a while, Maximinus then set up a winter encampment at
Sirmium in Pannonia,[8] and from that supply base fought the Dacians and the
Sarmatians during the winter of 235236.[15]

Gordian I and Gordian II[edit]

Part of a series on Roman imperial dynasties
Year of the Six Emperors
238 AD
Maximinus Thrax
Gordian I and Gordian II
Pupienus and Balbinus, nominally with
Gordian III
v t e
Early in 238, in the province of Africa, a treasury official's extortions through
false judgments in corrupt courts against some local landowners ignited a full-
scale revolt in the province.[22] The landowners armed their clients and their
agricultural workers and entered Thysdrus (modern El Djem), where they murdered the
offending official and his bodyguards[23] and proclaimed the aged governor of the
province, Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus (Gordian I), and his son, Gordian
II, as co-emperors.[24] The Senate in Rome switched allegiance, gave both Gordian
and Gordian II the title of Augustus, and set about rousing the provinces in
support of the pair.[25] Maximinus, wintering at Sirmium immediately assembled his
army and advanced on Rome, the Pannonian legions leading the way.[15]

Meanwhile, in Africa, the revolt had not gone as planned. The province of Africa
was bordered on the west by the province of Numidia, whose governor, Capelianus,
nursed a long-standing grudge against the Gordians and controlled the only
legionary unit (III Augusta) in the area.[26] He marched on Carthage and easily
overwhelmed the local militias defending the city.[22] Gordian II was killed in the
fighting and, on hearing this, Gordian I hanged himself with his belt.[27]

Pupienus, Balbinus, and Gordian III[edit]

When the African revolt collapsed, the Senate found itself in great jeopardy.[28]
Having shown clear support for the Gordians, they could expect no clemency from
Maximinus when he reached Rome. In this predicament, they remained determined to
defy Maximinus and elected two of their number, Pupienus and Balbinus, as co-
emperors.[15] When the Roman mob heard that the Senate had selected two men from
the patrician class, men whom the ordinary people held in no great regard, they
protested, showering the imperial cortge with sticks and stones.[29] A faction in
Rome preferred Gordian's grandson (Gordian III), and there was severe street
fighting. The co-emperors had no option but to compromise, and, sending for the
grandson of the elder Gordian they appointed him Caesar.[30]

Defeat and death[edit]

Maximinus marched on Rome,[31] but Aquileia closed its gates against him. His
troops became disaffected during the unexpected siege of the city, at which time
they suffered from famine and disease.[14] In May 238, soldiers of the II Parthica
in his camp assassinated him, his son, and his chief ministers.[28] Their heads
were cut off, placed on poles, and carried to Rome by cavalrymen.[15]

Pupienus and Balbinus then became undisputed co-emperors. However, they distrusted
each other, and ultimately both were murdered by the Praetorian Guard, making
Gordian III sole Emperor.

Politics[edit]
Maximinus doubled the pay of soldiers;[9] this act, along with virtually continuous
warfare, required higher taxes. Tax-collectors began to resort to violent methods
and illegal confiscations, further alienating the governing class from everyone
else.[15]

According to early church historian Eusebius of Caesarea, the Imperial household of

Maximinus' predecessor, Alexander, had contained many Christians. Eusebius states
that, hating his predecessor's household, Maximinius ordered that the leaders of
the churches should be put to death.[32][33] According to Eusebius, this
persecution of 235 sent Hippolytus of Rome and Pope Pontian into exile but other
evidence suggests that the persecutions of 235 were local to the provinces where
they occurred rather than happening under the direction of the Emperor.[34]

Appearance[edit]
Ancient sources, ranging from the unreliable Historia Augusta to Herodian, speak of
Maximinus as a man of significantly greater size than his contemporaries.[35][36]
He is, moreover, depicted in ancient imagery as a man with a prominent brow, nose,
and jaw; symptoms of acromegaly.[37] His thumb was said to be so large that he wore
his wife's bracelet as a ring for it.

According to Historia Augusta, he was of such size, so Cordus reports, that men
said he was eight foot, six inches (c. 2.5 metres) in height.[38] It is very likely
however that this is one of the many 'tall tales' in the Historia Augusta, and is
immediately suspect due to its citation of Cordus, one of the several fictitious
authorities the work cites.[39]

Although not going into the supposedly detailed portions of Historia Augusta, the
historian Herodian, a contemporary of Maximinus, mentions him as a man of greater
size, noting that He was in any case a man of such frightening appearance and
colossal size that there is no obvious comparison to be drawn with any of the best-
trained Greek athletes or warrior elite of the barbarians.[40]

Some historians interpret the stories on Maximinus' unusual height (as well as
other information on his appearance, like excessive sweating and superhuman
strength) as popular stereotyped attributes which do no more than intentionally
turn him into a stylized embodiment of the barbarian bandit[41] or emphasize the
admiration and aversion that the image of the soldier evoked in the civilian
population.[42]

See also[edit]
Aspasius of Rome (his secretary as emperor)
References[edit]
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