Valerian (emperor)

Valerian
Roman emperor
ReignSeptember 253 – June 260
PredecessorAemilian
SuccessorGallienus (alone)
Co-emperorGallienus
Bornc. 199[2]
DiedAfter 260 or 264 AD
Bishapur or Gundishapur
Spouses
Issue
Detail
Names
Publius Licinius Valerianus[3]
Regnal name
Imperator Caesar Publius Licinius Valerianus Augustus
DynastyValerian

Valerian (/vəˈlɪəriən/ və-LEER-ee-ən; Latin: Publius Licinius Valerianus; c. 199 – 260 or 264) was Roman emperor from 253 to spring 260 AD. Valerian is known as the first Roman emperor to have been taken captive in battle, captured by the Persian emperor Shapur I after the Battle of Edessa, causing shock and instability throughout the Roman Empire. The unprecedented event and his unknown fate generated a variety of different reactions and "new narratives about the Roman Empire in diverse contexts".[4]

  1. ^ F. Johansen (1995). Catalogue Roman portraits, vol. III.. p. 122, cat. no. 50.
  2. ^ RE 13.1 (1926) col. 488, Licinius 173. John Malalas 12.298 gives his age at death as 61 years, but apparently mistakes the emperor for his identically-named son. Weigel says he was born shortly before 200.
  3. ^ Valerian's full title at his death was Imperator Caesar Pvblivs Licinivs Valerianvs Pivs Felix Invictvs Avgvstvs Germanicvs Maximvs Pontifex Maximvs Tribuniciae Potestatis VII Imperator I Consul IV Pater Patriae, "Emperor Caesar Publius Licinius Valerianus, Patriotic, Favored, Unconquered Augustus, Conqueror of the Germans, Chief Priest, seven times Tribune, once Emperor, four times Consul, Father of the Fatherland".
  4. ^ Caldwell, Craig H. (2018). "The Roman Emperor as Persian Prisoner of War: Remembering Shapur's Capture of Valerian". Brill's Companion to Military Defeat in Ancient Mediterranean Society. pp. 335–358. doi:10.1163/9789004355774_016. ISBN 9789004355774.