Gordianus

• a Roman proper name; in partic., the name of three Roman emperors, Capitol. Gord.—
• II Deriv. Gordĭānus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to the emperor Gordian, Gordian: LEGIO, Inscr. Grut. 53, 10; Inscr. Don. cl. 3, no. 48.

the name of three Roman emperors, father, son, and grandson.

1. M. Antonius Gordianus, surnamed Africanus, the son of Metius Marullus and Ulpia Gordiana, daughterof Annius Severus, traced his descent by the father's side from the Gracchi, by the mother's from the emperor Trajan, and married Fabia Orestilia, the great grand-daughter of Antoninus. His ancestors had for three generations at least risen to the consulship, a dignity with which he himself was twice invested. His estates in the provinces were believed to be more extensive than those of any other private citizen: he possessed a suburban villa of matchless splendour on the Praenestine way, and inherited from his great grand-father the house in Rome which had once belonged to the great Pompeius, had afterwards passed into the hands of M. Antonius, and still bore the name of the Domus Rostrata, derived from the trophies captured in the piratical war, which decorated its vestibule when Cicero wrote the second Philippic. Gordianus in youth paid homage to the Muses, and among many other pieces composed an epic in thirty books, called the Antoninius, the theme being the wars and history of the Antonines. In maturer years he declaimed with so much reputation that he numbered emperors among his audiences ; his quaestorship was distinguished by profuse liberality; when aedile he far outstripped all his predecessors in magnificence, for he exhibited games every month on the most gorgeous scale at his own cost; he discharged with honour the duties of a praetorian judge; in his first consulship, A. D. 213, he was the colleague of Caracalla; in his second of Alexander Severus; and soon afterwards was nominated proconsul of Africa, to the great joy of the provincials. Nor was his popularity unmerited. In all things a foe to excess, of gentle and affectionate temper in his domestic relations, he expended his vast fortune in ministering to the enjoyment of his friends and of the people at large, while his own mode of life was of the most frugal and temperate description, and the chief pleasure of his declining years was derived from the study of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and Virgil.

The spirit of resistance excited in every region of the empire by the tyranny of Maximinus was first kindled into open rebellion in Africa by the flagrant injustice of the imperial procurator, who sought to gain the favour of his master by emulating his oppression. Some noble and wealthy youths of Tisdrus, whom he had condemned to pay a fine which would have reduced them to indigence, collecting together their slaves and rustic retainers, sent them forwards by night to the city, commanding them to mix with the crowd, so as not to excite suspicion, while they themselves entered the gates at day-break, and boldly repaired to the presence of the officer of the revenue, as if for the purpose of satisfying his demands. Seizing a favourable moment, they plunged their daggers into his heart, while the soldiers who rushed forwards to the rescue were instantly assailed by the peasants, and destroyed or put to flight. The conspirators, feeling that their offence was beyond forgiveness, determined to identify some one of conspicuous station with their enterprise. Hurrying to the mansion of the venerable Gordianus, now in his eightieth year, they burst into his chamber, and before he could recover from his surprise, invested him with a purple robe, and hailed him as Augustus. While the ringleaders were explaining the event of the morning, and bidding him choose between death upon the spot and the imperial dignity accompanied by distant and doubtful danger, the whole city had assembled at his gates, and with one voice saluted him as their sovereign. Gordianus, perceiving that resistance was fruitless, yielded to the wishes of the multitude; and all the chief cities of Africa having ratified the choice of Tisdrus, he was escorted a few days afterwards to Carthage in a sort of triumphal procession, and saluted by the title of Africanus. From thence he despatched letters to Rome, announcing his elevation, inveighing at the same time against the cruelty of Maximinus, recalling those whom the tyrant had banished, and promising not to fall short of the liberality of his predecessors in largesses to the soldiers and populace.

The senate and all Rome received the intelligence with enthusiastic joy, the election was at once confirmed, Gordianus and his son were proclaimed Augusti. The hatred long suppressed now found free vent, Maximinus was declared a public enemy, his statues were cast down, and his name was erased from all public monuments. Italy was divided into districts, twenty commissioners were appointed to raise armies for its defence, and the most energetic measures were adopted to secure the co-operation of the distant provinces. Meanwhile, affairs at Carthage had assumed a very unexpected aspect. A certain Capellianus, procurator of Numidia, who had long been on bad terms with Gordianus, and had been recently suspended by his orders, refused to acknowledge his authority, and collecting a large body of the well-trained forces who guarded the frontier, hastened towards the capital. The new prince could oppose nothing except an effeminate crowd, destitute alike of arms and discipline. Such a rabble was unable for a moment to withstand the regular troops of Capellianus. The son of Gordianus, after vainly attempting to rally the fugitives, perished in the field; and his aged father, on receiving intelligence of these disasters, died by his own hands, after having enjoyed a sort of shadow of royalty for less than two months.

The elder Gordianus was a man of ordinary stature, with venerable white hair, a full face rather ruddy than fair, commanding respect by his eye, his brow, and the general dignity of his coun tenance, and is said to have borne a strong resemblance to Augustus in voice, manner, and gait.

Eckhel is very angry with Capitolinus for expressing a doubt whether the Gordians bore the appellation of Antonius or Antoninus. It is certain that the few medals and inscriptions in which the name appears at full length uniformly exhibited the former; but when we recollect that Fabia Orestilia, the wife of the elder, was a lineal descendant of Antoninus, and that the virtues of the Antonines were celebrated both in prose and verse by her husband, it does not appear improbable that, in common with many other emperors, he may have assumed the designation in question during the brief period of his sway.

2. M. Antonius Gordianus, eldest son of the foregoing and of Fabia Orestilia, was born in A. D. 192, was appointed legatus to his father in Africa, was associated with him in the purple, and fell in the battle against Capellianus, as recorded above, in the forty-sixth year of his age.

Less simple in his habits, and less strict in his morality than his parent, he was nevertheless respected and beloved both in public and private life, and never disgraced himself by acts of ostentatious profligacy, although he left upwards of sixty children by various mistresses, and enjoyed the somewhat questionable distinction of being selected by the favour of Elagabalus to fill the office of quaestor. He became praetor under the more pure auspices of Alexander, and acquitted himself with so much credit as a judge, that he was forthwith, at a very early age, promoted to the consulship. Several light pieces in prose and verse attested his love of literature, which he imbibed in boyhood from his preceptor, Serenus Sammonicus, whose father had accumulated a library of sixty thousand volumes, which the son inherited, and on his death bequeathed to his pupil.

No period in the annals of Rome is more embarrassed by chronological difficulties than the epoch of the two Gordians, in consequence of the obscurity, confusion, and inconsistency which characterise the narratives of the ancient historians, insomuch that we shall find six weeks, a hundred days, six months, one year, two years, and even six years, assigned by conflicting authorities as the limits of their reign, while in like manner Balbinus, with Pupienus, are variously stated to have occupied the throne for twenty-two days,--\\for three months,--for one year,--or for two years. Without attempting to point out the folly of most of these assertions, it will be sufficient to state that Eckhel has proved in the most satisfactory manner that the revolt in Africa against Maximinus must have taken place in A. D. 238, probably about the beginning of March, and that the death of the two Gordians happened in the middle of April, after a reign of six weeks, while the assassination of Balbinus and Pupienus, with the accession of the third Gordian, could not have been later than the end of the following July. Our limits do not permit us to enter into a minute investigation of these, but it may be useful to indicate the nature of the arguments which seem to establish the above conclusions :--

1. The accession of Maximinus is known to have taken place in the middle of the year A. D. 235, and copper coins are still extant issued by the senate with the usual stamp (S. C.), struck when he was tribune for the fourth time, which therefore cannot belong to an earlier date than the beginning of A. D. 238.

2. Upon receiving intelligence of the proceedings in Africa, the senate at once acknowledged the Gordians, threw down the statues of Maximinus, and declared him a public enemy. Hence it is manifest that they would issue no money bearing his effigy after these events, which must therefore belong to some period later than the beginning of A. D. 238.

3. It is known that the third Gordian was killed about the month of March, A. D. 244, and numerous coins are extant, struck in Egypt, commemorating the seventh year of his reign. But since the Egyptians calculated the commencement of their civil year, and consequently the years of a sovereign's reign, from the 29th of August, they must have reckoned some period prior to the 29th of August, A. D. 238, as the first year of the third Gordian's reign.

Hence the elevation of the first two Gordians, their death, the death of Maximinus, the accession and death of Balbinus with Pupienus, and the accession of the third Gordian, must all have fallen between the 1st of January and the 29th of August, A. D. 238.

3. M. Antonius Gordianus, according to most of the authorities consulted by Capitolinus, was the son of a daughter of the elder Gordianus, although some maintained that he was the son of the younger Gordianus. Having been elevated to the rank of Caesar, under circumstances narrated in the life of Balbinus [Balbinus], after the murder of Balbinus and Pupienus by the praetorians a few weeks afterwards, in July A. D. 238, he was proclaimed Augustus, with the full approbation of the troops and the senate, although at this time a mere boy, probably not more than fifteen years old. The annals of his reign are singularly meagre. In the consulship of Venustus and Sabinus (A. D. 240), a rebellion broke out in Africa, but was promptly suppressed. In 241, which marks his second consulship, the young prince determined to proceed in person to the Persian war, which had assumed a most formidable aspect, but before setting out married Sabinia Tranquillina, the daughter of Misitheus [Misitheus], a man distinguished for learning, eloquence, and virtue, who was straightway appointed praefect of the praetorium, and became the trusty counsellor of his son-in-law in all matters of importance. By their joint exertions, the power of the eunuchs, whose baneful influence in the palace had first acquired strength under Elagabalus and been tolerated by his successor, was at once suppressed.

In 242 Gordianus, having thrown open the temple of Janus with all the ancient formalities, quitted Rome for the East. Passing through Moesia, he routed and destroyed some barbarous tribes upon the confines of Thrace, who sought to arrest his progress; crossing over from thence to Syria, he defeated Sapor in a succession of engagements, and compelled him to evacuate Mesopotamia, the chief merit of these achievements being probably due to Misitheus, to whom they were, with fitting modesty, ascribed in the despatches to the senate. But this prosperity did not long endure : Misitheus perished by disease, or, as many historians have asserted, by the treachery of Philip, an Arabian, who, in an evil hour, was chosen by the prince to supply the place of the trusty friend whom he had lost. Philip, from the moment of his elevation, appears to have exerted every art to prejudice the soldiers against their sovereign. He contrived that the supplies destined for the use of the camp should be intercepted or sent in a wrong direction, and then aggravated the discontent which arose among the troops by attributing these disasters to the carelessness and incapacity of the emperor. At length lie so roused their passions by artful misrepresentations, that the legions rising tumultuously, attacked Gordianus as the cause of their sufferings; and having gained possession of his person, first deposed, and then put him to death. The narrative of the circumstances attending this event, as recorded by Capitolinus, is evidently largely mingled with fable, but no doubt exists as to the manner in which Gordian perished, nor of the treachery by which the deed was accomplished.

Of a lively but tractable disposition, endowed with high abilities, of amiable temper and winning address, Gordian had gained the hearts of all, and was the idol alike of the senate, the people, and the armies, until betrayed by the perfidy of his general. So well aware was Philip of the popularity of his victim, that, instead of commanding his statues to be thrown down, and his name to be erased from public monuments, as was the common practice under such circumstances, he requested the senate to grant him divine honours, announcing in his despatch that the young prince had died a natural death, and that he himself had been chosen unanimously to fill the vacant throne.

Gordian was buried near Castrum Circesium or Cercusium, in Mesopotamia, and an epitaph, enumerating his exploits, was engraved upon the tomb in Greek, Latin, Persian, Hebrew, and Egyptian characters. The inscription itself is said to have been destroyed by Licinius, but the sepulchre, which formed a conspicuous object as viewed from the surrounding country, was still to be seen in the days of Julian (A. n. 363), as we are told by Ammianus Marcellinus, who calls the spot Zaithu, or the olive-tree.

(Capitolin. Maximin. duo, Gordiani tres ; Herodian, lib. vii. viii.; Victor, de Cues. xxvi. xxvii., Epit. xxvi. xxvii.; Eutrop. 9.2; Amm. Marc. 23.5.7; Zosim.1.14-16,19, 3.14; Eckhel, vol. vii. p. 293.)

[W.R]

(1) Marcus Antonīnus Africānus. A Roman, born during the reign of the first Antonine, of one of the most illustrious and wealthy families of Rome, and who made himself very popular during his quaestorship by his munificence, and the large sums which he spent in providing games and other amusements for the people. He also cultivated literature, and wrote several poems, among others one in which he celebrated the virtues of the two Antonines. Being intrusted with the government of several provinces, he conducted himself in such a manner as to gain universal approbation. He was proconsul of Africa in A.D. 237. When an insurrection broke out in that province against Maximinus, on account of his exactions, and the insurgents saluted Gordianus as emperor, he prayed earnestly to be excused, on account of his age, being then past eighty, and to be allowed to die in peace; but, the insurgents threatening to kill him if he refused, he accepted the perilous dignity, naming his son Gordianus as his colleague, and both made their solemn entry into Carthage amid universal applause. The Senate cheerfully confirmed the election, proclaiming the two Gordiani as emperors, and declaring Maximinus and his son to be the enemies of their country. Meantime, however, Capellianus, governor of Mauritania, collected troops in favour of Maximinus, and marched against Carthage. The younger Gordianus came out to oppose him, but was defeated and killed, and his aged father, on learning the sad tidings, strangled himself. Their reign had not lasted two months altogether, yet they were greatly regretted, on account of their personal qualities.

(2) M. Antonius Africanus, son of Gordianus, was instructed by Serenus Samonicus, who left him his library, which consisted of 62,000 volumes. He was well informed, and wrote several works, but was rather too fond of pleasure, which latter circumstance seems to have recommended him to the favour of the emperor Elagabalus. Alexander Severus advanced him subsequently to the consulship. He afterwards passed into Africa as lieutenant to his father, and, when the latter was elevated to the throne, shared that dignity with him. But, after a reign of not quite two months, he fell in battle, at the age of forty-six, against Capellianus, a partisan of Maximinus. (See Gordianus, 1.)

(3) Marcus Antonīnus Pius, grandson, on the mother's side, of the elder Gordianus, and nephew of Gordianus the younger, was twelve years of age when he was proclaimed Caesar by general acclamation of the people of Rome, after the news had arrived of the death of the two Gordiani in Africa. The Senate named him colleague of the two new emperors Maximus and Balbinus, but in the following year (A.D. 238) a mutiny of the Praetorians took place at Rome, Balbinus and Maximus were murdered, and the boy Gordianus was proclaimed emperor. His disposition was kind and amiable, but at the beginning of his reign he trusted to the insinuations of a certain Maurus and other freedmen of the palace, who abused his confidence, and committed many acts of injustice. In the second year of his reign a revolt broke out in Africa, where a certain Sabinianus was proclaimed emperor, but the insurrection was soon put down by the governor of Mauritania. In the following year Gordianus, being consul with Claudius Pompeianus, married Furia Sabina Tranquillina, daughter of Misitheus, a man of the greatest personal merit. Misitheus disclosed to Gordianus the disgraceful conduct of Maurus and his friends, who were immediately deprived of their offices and driven away from court. From that moment Gordianus placed implicit trust in his father-in-law, on whom the Senate conferred the title of “Guardian of the Republic.” In the next year, news came to Rome that the Persians under Sapor had invaded Mesopotamia, had occupied Nisibis and Carrhae, entered Syria, and, according to Capitolinus, had taken Gordianus opened the temple of Ianus, according to an ancient custom which had been long disused, and, setting out from Rome at the head of a fine army, marched through Illyricum and Moesia, where he defeated the Goths and Sarmatians, and drove them beyond the Danube. Gordianus presently crossed the Hellespont, and proceeded into Syria, delivered Antioch, defeated the Persians in several battles, retook Nisibis and Carrhae, and drove Sapor back to his own dominions. The Senate voted him a triumph. In the year after, A.D. 244, Gordianus advanced into Persian territory, and defeated Sapor on the banks of the Chaboras; but while he was preparing to pursue him, Philippus, an officer in the Guards, who had contrived to spread discontent among the soldiers by attributing their privations to the inexperience of a boyish emperor, was proclaimed by the army his colleague in the Empire. Gordianus consented, but soon after was murdered by Philippus. Gordianus was about twenty years old when he died. His body, according to Eutropius, was carried to Rome, and he was numbered among the gods (Herodian, vii. 10 foll.; viii. 6 foll.; Eutrop. ix. 2).