#aemilian

[twofielder]

Coin of the Day #453 (7/31/2025)

Woo! I don’t think I’ll ever get over finding an Aemilian mislabeled as Volusian.

Roman Province - Pisidia

AE22 - 5.52g

Aemilian 253 AD

Antioch Pisidia

Obverse IMP C M AEM AEMILLIANO AVG

Bust of Aemilian right, radiate, draped, cuirassed, from behind

Reverse ANTIOCHI OCL A S R

Vexillum with eagle flanked by standards

RPC IX 1299

[twofielder]

Coin of the Day #39 (6/12/2024)

Now here’s an emperor you don’t see everyday…

Roman Province - Moesia

AE25 - 10.37g

Aemilian 253 AD

Viminacium Mint

Obverse IMP C M AEMIL AEMILIANVS A

Bust of Aemilian right, laureate, draped, cuirassed

Reverse P M S COL VIM AN XIV

Moesia standing left, bull left, lion right

RPC IX 89

[crime-notforgotten]

This is an old one, in the year 253 b.c a man named Aemilianus, a.k.a Aemilian, became Roman Emperor for a whole three months then was murdered. He was a well respected commander of the Moesian (a region of Roman territory) troops. In 253, the Goths, a Germanic tribe, felt unduly treated by the Romans and began attacking towns and villages on the Roman side of the Border.  Aemilian was in charge of that particular area’s army, and, taking them by surprise, killed most of the Goths, then invaded and ransacked their territory. He was labled an enemy of the state even though he stopped the Goths, and this led to the war which brought him to power. Winning the battle, he was proclaimed Emperor by the Roman Senate and promised to fight for Rome in Thrace and against Persia. Unfortunately for the new Emperor, another man with a bigger army was soon on his way to make a claim for power. Hearing that Valerian was coming with a much larger force, Aemilian’s men decided to just kill him as opposed to fighting in another war. They killed him in Spoleto, an ancient Italian village, or at a place called the Sanguinarium bridge, (which is quite the metal name). Aemilian’s Army pledged themselves to Valerian and a ‘damnatio memorae’ (meaning condemnation of memory, basically a law stating the person must not be remembered) was placed upon the short-lived Emperor. Pictured above: a coin from the era with a likeness of Aemilian, a good map of the Roman Empire in 250 bc, a sculpture of the Romans fighting the Goths, and the beautiful Spoleto, Italy, where Aemilian met his end.

[oldcurrencyexchange]

O’Brien Coin Guide: Roman Emperors and their Coins, Part V (Military Anarchy of the 3rd C)

O’Brien Coin Guide: Roman Emperors and their Coins, Part V (Military Anarchy of the 3rd C)

Introduction

The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis, (AD 235–284) was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressures of invasion, civil war, plague, and economic depression.

The Crisis began with the assassination of Emperor Alexander Severus at the hands of his own troops in 235, initiating a fifty-year period…

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[classicalcivilisation]

The Barracks Emperors - part 3 (253-68)

18. Aemilian (3 months in 253) - he was commander of the Danube troops, and was acclaimed Emperor by his army, defeating Gallus... before being killed by his own men (in a shocking twist!) when Valerian proclaimed himself emperor and moved against him. Eutropius' summary of him is beautifully bitchy: "Aemilianus came from an extremely insignificant family, his reign was even more insignificant, and he was slain in the third month."

19. Valerian I (253-260) - Valerian came from a senatorial family, and was consul in 238, and negotiated with Gordian I for senatorial acknowledgement for his claim of emperor. He was marching to help quell Aemillian's revolt when first Gallus' troops murdered him, then Aemillian's troops murdered *him* (I am not kidding when I say this may be the most common cause of death for Barracks Emperors). He was defeated at the battle of Edessa in 260 by Shapur I... and then, during negotiations, taken prisoner and held for the rest of his life, however long that was. In one version, he was skinned and his skin stuffed with straw and held as a trophy - in another, he was forced to swallow molten gold, and in yet another was flayed alive. 

20. Gallienus (253-268) - Valerian's son, Gallienus is notable amongst the barracks emperors for surviving as co-emperor and sole ruler for *more then a decade*. That's pretty impressive. This is a pretty crummy time for the Roman Empire, though - it sees Britain, Spain, parts of Germania and large bits of Gaul break off to form the Gallic Empire (which survived until 274) under the general Postumus, as well as the loss of Palmyra - and numerous other minor rebellions, famine, and plagues. He was... oh, would you look at that. Assassinated by his advisers. 

21. Ingenuus (June 260) - leader of a brief revolt after Valerian I's capture, defeated by Gallienus' general Aureolus. Drowned himself in a river to avoid capture.

22. Regalianus (260) - Elected Emperor by by the Pannonians to deal with the Sarmatians. Shortly afterwards was killed by a coalition of his own people and the Roxoloni. 

23. Macrianus Minor (259/60 - 261) - His father, Macrianus Major, took Valerian's treasury and used that influence to have he and his brother nominated emperors. Was defeated in Thrace in 261 by Aureolus, and asked the legions to kill himself and his father rather then be delivered to him. 

24. Quietus (260-1) - Lost control of his provinces after his father and brother's death to Odaenathus of Palmyra, and was killed by the inhabitants of Emesa whilst it was besieged. 

25. Mussius Aemilianus (261/2) - Supported Macrinus' rebellion, possibly had himself proclaimed emperor after their fall. Was strangled in prison after being captured.

26. Aureolus (268) - A general who worked his way up from nothing, he was one of Gallienus' best generals. He staged a desperate coup against Gallienus after an unsuccessful attack on Postumus - who he possibly deliberately left alone - inviting him to join him. He surrendered to Claudius Gothicus, but the Praetorian Guard murdered him.