Philip the Arab
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Philip I (Template:Langx; Template:Circa – September 249), commonly known as Philip the Arab, was Roman emperor from 244 to 249. After the death of Gordian III in February 244, Philip, who had been Praetorian prefect, rose to power. He quickly negotiated peace with the Sasanian Empire and returned to Rome to be confirmed by the Senate. According to many historians, he was possibly the first Christian Roman Emperor.
Although his reign lasted only five years, it marks an unusually stable period in a century that is otherwise known for having been turbulent.Template:EfnTemplate:Efn Near the end of his rule, Philip commemorated Rome's first millennium. In September 249 he was killed during or shortly after the Battle of Verona against the usurper Trajan Decius, who was subsequently recognized by the Senate as his successor.
Born in modern-day Shahba, Syria, in what was then Arabia Petraea, Philip's ethnicity was most likely Arab. While he publicly adhered to the Roman religion, he was later asserted to have been a Christian, and in the later half of the 3rd century and into the beginning of the 4th century, some Christian clergymen held that Philip had been the first Christian ruler of Rome. He was described as such in many published works that became widely known during the Middle Ages, including: Chronicon (Template:Literal translation); Historiae Adversus Paganos (Template:Literal translation); and Historia Ecclesiastica (Template:Literal translation).Template:Sfn Consequently, Philip's religious affiliation remains a divisive topic in modern scholarly debate about his life.
Early life
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Little is known about Philip's early life and political career. He was born in what is today Shahba, Syria, about Template:Convert southeast of Damascus, in Trachonitis.Template:Sfn His birth city, later renamed Philippopolis, lay within Aurantis, an Arab district which at the time was part of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea.Template:Sfn Most historians accept that Philip was, indeed, an ethnic Arab.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Perry Anderson, Passages from Antiquity to Feudalism (London: NLB, 1974), 87–88.</ref> He was the son of a local citizen, Julius Marinus, possibly of some importance.Template:Sfn Allegations from later Roman sources (Historia Augusta and Epitome de Caesaribus) that Philip had a very humble origin or even that his father was a leader of brigands are not accepted by modern historians.Template:Sfn His birth date is not recorded by contemporary sources, but the 7th-century Chronicon Paschale records that he died at the age of 45.<ref>Chronicon Paschale, Olympiad 257.</ref>
While the name of Philip's mother is unknown, he did have a brother, Gaius Julius Priscus, an equestrian and a member of the Praetorian Guard under Gordian III (238–244).Template:Sfn Philip was married to Marcia Otacilia Severa, daughter of a Roman governor. They had a son, Philip II, born in 237 or 238.Template:Sfn
The rise to the purple of the Severans from nearby Emesa is noted as a motivational factor in Philip's own ascent, due to geographic and ethnic similarity between himself and the Emesan emperors.Template:EfnTemplate:Efn
Accession to the throne
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Philip's rise to prominence began through the intervention of his brother Priscus, who was an important official under the emperor Gordian III.Template:Sfn His big break came in 243, during Gordian III's campaign against Shapur I of Persia, when the Praetorian prefect Timesitheus died under unclear circumstances.Template:Sfn At the suggestion of his brother Priscus, Philip became the new Praetorian prefect, with the intention that the two brothers would control the young Emperor and rule the Roman world as unofficial regents.Template:Sfn Following a military defeat, Gordian III died in February 244 under circumstances that are still debated. While some claim that Philip conspired in his murder, other accounts (including one coming from the Persian point of view) state that Gordian died in battle.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Whatever the case, Philip assumed the purple robe following Gordian's death.
Philip was not willing to repeat the mistakes of previous claimants, and was aware that he had to return to Rome in order to secure his position with the Senate.Template:Sfn However, his first priority was to conclude a peace treaty with Shapur, and withdraw the army from a potentially disastrous situation.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Although Philip was accused of abandoning territory, the actual terms of the peace were not as humiliating as they could have been.Template:Sfn He paid 500,000 denarii to the Sasanian Empire<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and cedes Armenia and Mesopotamia to them.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Philip immediately issued coins proclaiming that he had made peace with the Persians (pax fundata cum Persis).Template:Sfn
Leading his army back up the Euphrates, south of Circesium Philip erected a cenotaph in honor of Gordian III, but his ashes were sent ahead to Rome, where he arranged for Gordian III's deification.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Whilst in Antioch, he left his brother Priscus as extraordinary ruler of the Eastern provinces, with the title of rector Orientis.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Moving westward, he gave his brother-in-law Severianus control of the provinces of Moesia and Macedonia.Template:Sfn He arrived in Rome in the late summer of 244, where he was confirmed augustus.Template:Sfn Before the end of the year, he nominated his young son caesar (heir), his wife, Marcia Otacilia Severa, was named augusta, and he also deified his father Marinus, even though the latter had never been emperor.Template:Sfn While in Rome, Philip also claimed a victory over the Persians with the titles of Persicus Maximus, Parthicus Maximus and Parthicus Adiabenicus (the latter probably unofficially).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Reign
[edit]In an attempt to shore up his regime, Philip put a great deal of effort in maintaining good relations with the Senate, and from the beginning of his reign, he reaffirmed the old Roman virtues and traditions.Template:Sfn He quickly ordered an enormous building program in his home town, renaming it Philippopolis, and raising it to civic status, while he populated it with statues of himself and his family.Template:Sfn He also introduced the Actia-Dusaria Games in Bostra, capital of Arabia. This festival combined the worship of Dushara, the main Nabataean deity, with commemoration of the Battle of Actium, as part of the Roman Imperial cult.Template:Sfn
The creation of the new city of Philippopolis, piled on top of the massive tribute owed to the Persians, as well as the necessary donativum to the army to secure its acceptance of his accession, made Philip desperately short of money.Template:Sfn To pay for it, he ruthlessly increased levels of taxation, while at the same time he ceased paying subsidies to the tribes north of the Danube that were vital for keeping the peace on the frontiers.Template:Sfn Both decisions would have significant impacts upon the empire and his reign.Template:Sfn
At the frontiers of the Roman Empire
[edit]In 245, Philip was forced to leave Rome as the stability established by Timesitheus was undone by a combination of his death, Gordian's defeat in the east and Philip's decision to cease paying the subsidies.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The Carpi moved through Dacia, crossed the Danube and emerged in Moesia where they threatened the Balkans.Template:Sfn Establishing his headquarters in Philippopolis in Thrace, he pushed the Carpi across the Danube and chased them back into Dacia, so that by the summer of 246, he claimed victory against them, along with the title "Carpicus Maximus".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In the meantime, the Arsacids of Armenia refused to acknowledge the authority of the Persian king Shapur I, and war with Persia flared up again by 245.Template:Sfn
Ludi Saeculares
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Nevertheless, Philip was back in Rome by August 247, where he poured more money into the most momentous event of his reign – the Ludi Saeculares, which coincided with the one thousandth anniversary of the foundation of Rome.Template:Sfn So in April 248 AD (April 1001 A.U.C.), Philip had the honor of leading the celebrations of the one thousandth birthday of Rome, which according to the empire's official Varronian chronology was founded on 21 April 753 BC by Romulus.
Commemorative coins, such as the one illustrated at left, were issued in large numbers and, according to contemporary accounts, the festivities were magnificent and included spectacular games, ludi saeculares, and theatrical presentations throughout the city.Template:Sfn In the Colosseum, in what had been originally prepared for Gordian III's planned Roman triumph over the Persians,<ref>Martial; Coleman, Kathleen M., M. Valerii Martialis Liber Spectaculorum (2006), pg. lvi</ref> more than 1,000 gladiators were killed along with hundreds of exotic animals including hippos, leopards, lions, giraffes, and one rhinoceros.<ref>Graham, T. (Writer and Director). (2000). The Fall [Television series episode]. In T. Graham (Producer), Rome: Power and Glory. Military Channel.</ref> The events were also celebrated in literature, with several publications, including Asinius Quadratus' History of a Thousand Years, specially prepared for the anniversary.Template:Sfn At the same time, Philip elevated his son to the rank of co-augustus.Template:Sfn
Downfall
[edit]Despite the festive atmosphere, there were continued problems in the provinces. In late 248, the legions of Pannonia and Moesia, dissatisfied with the result of the war against the Carpi, rebelled and proclaimed Tiberius Claudius Pacatianus emperor.Template:Sfn The resulting confusion tempted the Quadi and other Germanic tribes to cross the frontier and raid Pannonia.Template:Sfn At the same time, the Goths invaded Moesia and Thrace across the Danube frontier, and laid siege to Marcianopolis,Template:Sfn as the Carpi, encouraged by the Gothic incursions, renewed their assaults in Dacia and Moesia.Template:Sfn Meanwhile, in the East, Marcus Jotapianus led another uprising in response to the oppressive rule of Priscus and the excessive taxation of the Eastern provinces.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Other usurpers, like Marcus Silbannacus are reported to have started rebellions without much success.Template:Sfn
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Overwhelmed by the number of invasions and usurpers, Philip offered to resign, but the Senate decided to throw its support behind the emperor, with a certain Gaius Messius Quintus Decius most vocal of all the senators.Template:Sfn Philip was so impressed by his support that he dispatched Decius to the region with a special command encompassing all of the Pannonian and Moesian provinces. This had a dual purpose of both quelling the rebellion of Pacatianus as well as dealing with the barbarian incursions.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Although Decius managed to quell the revolt, discontent in the legions was growing.Template:Sfn Decius was proclaimed emperor by the Danubian armies in the spring of 249 and immediately marched on Rome.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Yet even before he had left the region, the situation for Philip had turned even more sour. Financial difficulties had forced him to debase the antoninianus, as rioting began to occur in Egypt, causing disruptions to Rome's wheat supply and further eroding Philip's support in the capital.Template:Sfn
Although Decius tried to come to terms with Philip,Template:Sfn Philip's army met the usurper near modern Verona that summer. Decius easily won the battle and Philip was killed sometime in September 249,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn either in the fighting or assassinated by his own soldiers who were eager to please the new ruler.Template:Sfn Philip's eleven-year-old son and heir may have been killed with his father and Priscus disappeared without a trace.Template:Sfn
Attitude towards Christianity
[edit]Some later traditions, first mentioned by the historian Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History, held that Philip was the first Christian Roman Emperor. According to Eusebius (Ecc. Hist. VI.34), Philip was a Christian, but was not allowed to enter Easter vigil services until he confessed his sins and was ordered to sit among the penitents, which he did willingly. Later versions located this event in Antioch.Template:Sfn
However, historians generally identify the later Emperor Constantine, baptized on his deathbed, as the first Christian emperor, and generally describe Philip's adherence to Christianity as dubious, because non-Christian writers do not mention the fact, and because throughout his reign, Philip to all appearances (coinage, etc.) continued to follow the state religion.<ref>Cruse, C.F., translator. Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, Hendrickson Publishers, 1998 (fourth printing, 2004), pp. 220–221.</ref> Critics ascribe Eusebius' claim as probably due to the tolerance Philip showed towards Christians.
See also
[edit]Explanatory notes
[edit]Citations
[edit]General and cited sources
[edit]Primary sources
[edit]- Aurelius Victor, Epitome de Caesaribus
- Orosius, Histories against the Pagans, vii.20
- Joannes Zonaras, Compendium of History extract: Zonaras: Alexander Severus to Diocletian: 222–284
- Zosimus, Historia Nova
Secondary sources
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External links
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- Philip the Arab
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- People from Roman Arabia
- Arabs in the Roman Empire
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- 3rd-century Roman emperors
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- Crisis of the Third Century
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