Marcus Claudius Tacitus

Marcus Claudius Tacitus
Tacitus
45th Emperor of the Roman Empire

Bust of the Emperor Tacitus
Reign September 25, 275 – June 276
Full name Marcus Claudius Tacitus (from birth to accession);
Caesar Marcus Claudius Tacitus Augustus (as emperor)
Born ca. 200
Birthplace Interamna, Italia
Died June 276 (aged 76)
Place of death Antoniana Colonia Tyana, Cappadocia
Predecessor Aurelian
Successor Florianus

Tacitus (Latin: Marcus Claudius Tacitus Augustus;[1][2] ca. 200 – June 276), was Roman Emperor from 275 to 276. During his short reign he campaigned against the Goths and the Heruli, for which he received the title Gothicus Maximus.

Contents

Biography

Antoninianus of Tacitus

Tacitus was born in Interamna (Terni), in Italia.[3] He circulated copies of the historian Gaius Cornelius Tacitus' work, which was barely read at the time, and so we perhaps have him to thank for the partial survival of Tacitus' work; however, modern historiography[4] rejects his claimed descent from the historian as forgery. In the course of his long life he discharged the duties of various civil offices, including that of consul in 273, with universal respect.[5]

After the assassination of Aurelian, Tacitus was chosen by the Senate to succeed him, and the choice was cordially ratified by the army.[2] This was the last time the Senate elected a Roman Emperor. It is known that there was an interregnum between Aurelian and Tacitus, and there is substantial evidence that Aurelian's wife Ulpia Severina ruled in her own right before Tacitus' election.[6][7] At any rate Tacitus was situated at Campania when he heard the news of his election, and quickly rushed to Rome.[8] He decided to re-involve the Senate in some consultative manner in the mechanisms of government,[9] and asked the Senate to deify Aurelian, before he arrested and executed Aurelian's murderers.[8]

His next action was to move against the barbarian mercenaries that had been gathered by Aurelian to supplement Roman forces for his Eastern campaign.[10] These mercenaries had plundered several towns in the Eastern Roman provinces after Aurelian had been murdered and the campaign cancelled.[9] His half-brother, the Praetorian Prefect Florianus, and Tacitus himself won a victory against these tribes, among which were the Heruli, which gained the emperor the title Gothicus Maximus.[8]

He was on his way back west to deal with a Frankish and Alamannic invasion of Gaul when, (according to Aurelius Victor, Eutropius and the Historia Augusta), Tacitus died of fever at Tyana in Cappadocia in June 276.[11][12] It was reported that he began acting strangely, declaring that he would alter the names of the months to honor himself before succumbing to a fever.[10] In a contrary account, Zosimus claims he was assassinated, after appointing one of his relatives to an important command in Syria.[13]

Sources

Primary sources

Secondary sources

References

  1. ^ In Classical Latin, Tacitus' name would be inscribed as MARCVS CLAVDIVS TACITVS AVGVSTVS.
  2. ^ a b Jones, pg. 873
  3. ^ Historia Augusta, Vita Taciti, 15:1
  4. ^ McMahon, http://www.roman-emperors.org/tacitus.htm#N_3_
  5. ^ Canduci, pg. 100
  6. ^ Watson, Alaric (1999). Aurelian and the Third Century. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-07248-4. 
  7. ^ Körner, Christian (December 23, 2008). "Aurelian (A.D. 270-275)". De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and Their Families. http://www.roman-emperors.org/aurelian.htm. Retrieved January 6, 2011. 
  8. ^ a b c Southern, pg. 127
  9. ^ a b Gibbon, Ch. 12
  10. ^ a b Canduci, pg. 101
  11. ^ Aurelius Victor, 36:1
  12. ^ Historia Augusta, Vita Taciti, 13:5
  13. ^ Zosimus, I:63:2

Cavafy, "The Complete Poems" Harcourt, Brace & World (1961) pg. 201 Dugan, "Poems 2" Yale University Press (1963) pg. 33

External links

Media related to Marcus Claudius Tacitus at Wikimedia Commons

Regnal titles
Preceded by
Aurelian
Roman Emperor
275–276
Succeeded by
Florianus
Political offices
Preceded by
Titus Flavius Postumius Quietus ,
Junius Veldumnianus,
Tetricus I
Consul of the Roman Empire
273
with Placidianus,
Tetricus I
Succeeded by
Aurelian,
Capitolinus
Preceded by
Aurelian ,
Marcellinus
Consul of the Roman Empire
276
with Aemilianus
Succeeded by
Probus,
Paulinus

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Marcus Claudius Tacitus — Büste des Marcus Claudius Tacitus aus dem Louvre Antoninian des Tacitus Marcus Claudius Tacitus (* um 200; † 276) war von 275 bi …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Marcus Claudius Tacite — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Tacite (homonymie). Marcus Claudius Tacite Empereur romain …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Tacĭtus, Marcus Claudius — Tacĭtus, Marcus Claudius, röm. Kaiser, geb. 200 n. Chr., leitete sein Geschlecht vom Historiker T. ab, dessen Werke er in allen Bibliotheken aufstellen und zehnmal jährlich auf Staatskosten abschreiben ließ. Er wurde nach Kaiser Aurelians Tod und …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Tacite, Marcus Claudius — Marcus Claudius Tacite Pour les articles homonymes, voir Tacite (homonymie). Marcus Claudius Tacite …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Marcus Claudius Marcellus (Julio-Claudian dynasty) — This article is about the nephew of Augustus. For the Second Punic War general from whom this man was descended, see Marcus Claudius Marcellus. Roman imperial dynasties Julio Claudian dynasty Marcellu …   Wikipedia

  • Marcus Claudius Marcellus Aeserninus — For others with a similar name, see Marcus Claudius Marcellus (disambiguation). Marcus Claudius Marcellus Aeserninus is the name of several people in ancient Roman history: Marcus Claudius, M. F. Marcellus Aeserninus is mentioned by Cicero as a… …   Wikipedia

  • Marcus Claudius Marcellus (Neffe des Augustus) — Mögliches Porträt des Marcellus Marcellustheater …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Marcus Annius Florianus — († September 276 bei Tarsus) war ein römischer Kaiser. Leben Antoninian, auf dem Florianus von Herkules gekrönt wird Aufgrund der dürftigen Quellenlage ist über Florianus wenig Sicheres bekannt. Er wurde von …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Tacitus (disambiguation) — Tacitus was a Roman historian. Other people and things named Tacitus include:*Marcus Claudius Tacitus, emperor of Rome 275 ndash;276 *Asteroid 3097 Tacitus, named after the historian. *Tacitus, a lunar impact crater, also named after the… …   Wikipedia

  • Tacitus (Begriffsklärung) — Tacitus ist der Name mehrerer antiker Personen: Publius (?) Cornelius Tacitus, (ca. 58–ca. 120), römischer Historiker und Senator; Tacitus (Kaiser) (vollständiger Name Marcus Claudius Tacitus, ca. 200–276), römischer Kaiser. Tacitus steht… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”