Editing Valerian (emperor) (section)

==Biography==
===Origins and rise to power===
Unlike many of the would-be emperors and rebels who vied for imperial power during the [[Crisis of the Third Century]], Valerian was of a noble and traditional [[Roman Senate|senatorial]] family. Details of his early life are sparse, except for his marriage to [[Egnatia Mariniana]], with whom he had two sons: [[Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus]] (his co-emperor and later successor) and [[Licinius Valerianus (brother of Gallienus)|Licinius Valerianus]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bray |first1=J. |title=Gallienus: A study in reformist and sexual politics |date=1997 |publisher=Wakefield Press |location=Kent Town, S. Australia |page=20 |isbn=1-86254-337-2 }}</ref>

Valerian was [[Roman consul|consul]] for the first time either before AD 238 as a ''Suffectus'' or in 238 as an ''Ordinarius''. In 238 he was ''[[princeps senatus]]'', and [[Gordian I]] negotiated through him for senatorial acknowledgement for his claim as emperor. In 251 AD, when [[Decius]] revived the censorship with legislative and executive powers so extensive that it practically embraced the civil authority of the emperor, Valerian was chosen [[Roman censor|censor]] by the Senate,{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} though he declined to accept the post. During the reign of Decius he was left in charge of affairs in Rome when that prince left for his ill-fated last campaign in [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Zonaras |author-link=Zonaras |title=Epitome Historiarum |page=XII, 20}}</ref> Under [[Trebonianus Gallus]] Valerian was appointed ''dux'' of an army probably drawn from the garrisons of the German provinces which seems to have been ultimately intended for use in a war against the Persians.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Christol |first1=Michel |author-link=Michel Christol |title=A propos de la politique exterieure de Trebonien Galle |journal=Revue Numismatique |date=1980 |volume=22 |issue=6 |pages=63–74 |doi=10.3406/numi.1980.1803 }}</ref>

However, when Trebonianus Gallus had to deal with the rebellion of [[Aemilianus]] in 253 AD, he turned to Valerian for assistance in crushing the attempted usurpation. Valerian headed south but was too late: Gallus was killed by his own troops, who joined Aemilianus before Valerian arrived. The [[Raetia]]n soldiers then proclaimed Valerian emperor and continued their march towards Rome. Upon his arrival in September, Aemilianus's legions defected, killed him and proclaimed Valerian emperor. In Rome, the Senate quickly acknowledged Valerian.<ref name=P>{{cite book|last=Peachin|first=Michael|title=Roman Imperial Titulature and Chronology, A.D. 235–284|publisher=Gieben|year=1990|isbn=90-5063-034-0|place=Amsterdam|pages=36–38}}</ref>
[[File:Radiate of Valerian (YORYM 2001 787) obverse.jpg|thumb|Radiate of Valerian]]

===Rule and fall===
[[File:Naghsh-e rostam, Irán, 2016-09-24, DD 12.jpg|thumb|A [[bas relief]] of Emperor Valerian standing at the background and held captive by King of Kings [[Shapur I]] found at [[Naqsh-e Rustam]], [[Shiraz]], [[Iran]]. The kneeling man is probably [[Philip the Arab]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title = ŠĀPUR I: ROCK RELIEFS | last = Overlaet | first = Bruno | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/shapur-I-rock-reliefs | encyclopedia  = Encyclopaedia Iranica | year = 2017 | quote = The two emperors who are named are shown in the way they are described: Philip the Arab is kneeling, asking for peace, and Valerian is physically taken prisoner by Šāpur. Consequently, the relief must have been made after 260 CE. }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kia |first1=Mehrdad |title=The Persian Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia |date=2016 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1610693912 |page=274 |quote=(...) while another figure, probably Philip the Arab, kneels, and the Sasanian king holds the ill-fated Emperor Valerian by his wrist.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Corcoran|first=Simon|author-link=Simon Corcoran|chapter=Before Constantine|title=The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2006|page=35|quote=He recorded these deeds for posterity in both words and images at Naqsh-i Rustam and on the Ka'aba-i Zardušt near the ancient Achaemenid capital of Persepolis, preserving for us a vivid image of two Roman emperors, one kneeling (probably Philip the Arab, also defeated by Shapur) and the second (Valerian), uncrowned and held captive at the wrist by a gloriously mounted Persian king.|isbn=978-0521521574| editor-given1 = Noel | editor-surname1 = Lenski }}</ref>]]
Valerian's first act as emperor was to appoint his son Gallienus ''[[Augustus (title)|augustus]]'', thus making him co-emperor. Early in his reign, affairs in Europe went from bad to worse, and the whole West fell into disorder. In the East, [[Antioch]] had fallen into the hands of a [[Sassanid dynasty|Sassanid]] vassal and [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]] was occupied by [[Shapur I]] (Sapor).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} Valerian and Gallienus split the problems of the empire between them, with the son taking the West, and the father heading East to face the [[Sassanid Empire|Persian]] threat.

In 254, 255, and 257, Valerian again became ''Consul Ordinarius.'' By 257, he had recovered Antioch and returned the province of [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]] to Roman control. The following year, the [[Goths]] ravaged [[Asia Minor]]. In 259, Valerian moved on to [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]], but an outbreak of [[Plague of Cyprian|plague]] killed a critical number of [[legionary|legionaries]], weakening the Roman position, and the town was besieged by the Persians. In 260, probably in June,<ref name=P/> Valerian was decisively defeated in the [[Battle of Edessa]] and held prisoner for the remainder of his life. Valerian's capture was a tremendous defeat for the Romans.<ref>[http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallval.htm ''Valerian'']</ref>

===Persecution of Christians===
{{see also|Anti-Christian policies in the Roman Empire#Valerian}}
While fighting the Persians, Valerian sent two letters to the Senate ordering that firm steps be taken against [[Christians]]. The first, sent in 257, commanded Christian clergy to perform sacrifices to the [[Roman gods]] or face banishment. The second, the following year, ordered the execution of Christian leaders. It also required Christian senators and [[equites]] to perform acts of worship to the Roman gods or lose their titles and property, and directed that they be executed if they continued to refuse. It also decreed that Roman matrons who would not [[apostasy|apostatize]] should lose their property and be banished, and that civil servants and members of the Imperial household who would not worship the Roman gods should be reduced to slavery and sent to work on the Imperial estates.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Rise of Christianity|url=https://archive.org/details/riseofchristiani00fren|url-access=limited|author=W. H. C. Frend|author-link=W. H. C. Frend|publisher=Fortress Press, Philadelphia|year=1984|page=[https://archive.org/details/riseofchristiani00fren/page/326 326]|isbn= 978-0800619312}}</ref> This indicates that Christians were well-established at that time, some in very high positions.{{sfn|Moss|2013|p=153}}

The execution of Saint [[Prudent de Narbonne|Prudent]] at [[Narbonne]] is taken to have occurred in 257.{{sfn|Baudoin|2006|p=19}}
Prominent Christians executed in 258 included [[Pope Sixtus II]] (6 August), Saint [[Romanus Ostiarius]] (9 August) and [[Saint Lawrence]] (10 August).
Others executed in 258 included the saints [[Saint Denis of Paris|Denis]] in Paris, [[Pontius of Cimiez|Pontius]] in [[Cimiez]], [[Cyprian]] and [[Martyrs of Carthage under Valerian|others]] in Carthage and [[Eugenia of Rome|Eugenia]] in Rome. 
In 259 Saint [[Patroclus of Troyes|Patroclus]] was executed at [[Troyes]] and Saint [[Fructuosus]] at [[Tarragona]].{{sfn|Baudoin|2006|p=19}}
When Valerian's son [[Gallienus]] became emperor in 260, the decree was rescinded.{{sfn|Moss|2013|p=153}}
[[File:Cameo Shapur Valerianus Bab360 CdM Paris.jpg|thumb|[[Cameo (carving)|Cameo]] of Shapur I capturing Valerian at the Battle of Edessa]]

===Death in captivity===
[[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]], writing between 364 and 378 AD, stated that Valerian "was overthrown by Shapur king of Persia, and being soon after made prisoner, grew old in ignominious slavery among the Parthians."<ref>Eutropius. Abridgement of Roman History. Translated by the Rev. John Selby Watson.
London: Henry G. Bohn, 1853. (Book 9.7)</ref> An early Christian source, [[Lactantius]] (thought to be virulently anti-Persian, thanks to the occasional persecution of Christians by some Sasanian monarchs)<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |first=Touraj |last=Daryaee |author-link=Touraj Daryaee |title=Sasanian Iran |publisher=Mazda |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-56859-169-8 }}</ref> maintained that, for some time prior to his death, Valerian was subjected to the greatest insults by his captors, like being used as a human footstool by Shapur when mounting his horse. According to this version of events, after a long period of such treatment, Valerian offered Shapur a huge ransom for his release.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

In reply (according to one version), Shapur was said to have forced Valerian to swallow molten gold (the other version of his death is almost the same but it says that Valerian was killed by being [[flayed alive]]) and then had Valerian skinned and his skin stuffed with straw and preserved as a trophy in the main Persian temple.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} It was further alleged that it was only after a later Persian defeat against Rome that his skin was given a cremation and burial.<ref>[[Lactantius]], ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'', v; Wickert, L., "Licinius (Egnatius) 84" in ''[[Pauly-Wissowa|Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopädie]]'' 13.1 (1926), 488–495; Parker, H., ''A History of the Roman World A.D. 138 to 337'' (London, 1958), 170. From [http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallval.htm].</ref> The captivity and death of Valerian has been frequently debated by historians without any definitive conclusion.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

[[Image:HumiliationValerianusHolbein.jpg|thumb|300px|right|''The Humiliation of Emperor Valerian by [[Shapur I of Persia|Shapur I]]'', pen and ink, [[Hans Holbein the Younger]], ca. 1521. [[Kunstmuseum Basel]].]]

According to the modern scholar [[Touraj Daryaee]],<ref name="ReferenceA"/> contrary to the account of Lactantius, [[Shapur I]] sent Valerian and some of his army to the city of [[Bishapur]] or [[Gundishapur]] where they lived in relatively good conditions. Shapur used the remaining soldiers in engineering and development plans. ''[[Band-e Kaisar]]'' (Caesar's dam) is one of the remnants of Roman engineering located near the ancient city of [[Susa]].<ref>Abdolhossein Zarinkoob  "''Ruzgaran: tarikh-i Iran az aghz ta saqut saltnat Pahlvi''" pp. 195</ref> In all the stone carvings on Naghshe-Rostam, in Iran, Valerian is represented holding hands with Shapur I, a sign of submission. According to the early Persian Muslim scholar [[Abu Hanifa Dinawari]], Shapur settled the prisoners of war in Gundishapur and released Valerian, as promised, after the construction of Band-e Kaisar.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Abū Ḥanīfah Aḥmad ibn Dāvud Dīnavarī|last2=Mahdavī Dāmghānī|first2=Maḥmūd|author-link1=Abu Hanifa Dinawari|title=Akhbār al-ṭivāl|date=2002|publisher=Nashr-i Nay|location=Tihrān|isbn=9789643120009|page=73|edition=5th|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FPnKAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA18|access-date=30 August 2017}}</ref>

It has been alleged that the account of Lactantius is coloured by his desire to establish that persecutors of the Christians died fitting deaths;<ref name="Fik">{{cite book
|author=Meijer, Fik
|title=Emperors don't die in bed
|publisher=Routledge
|location=New York
|year=2004
|isbn=0-415-31202-7
}}</ref> the story was repeated then and later by authors in the Roman Near East fiercely hostile to Persia.<ref name="BI">{{cite book
|author=Isaacs, Benjamin
|title=The Near East under Roman Rule
|publisher=Brill Academic Publishers
|location=Boston
|year=1997
|pages=440
|isbn=90-04-09989-1
}}</ref>

The joint rule of Valerian and Gallienus was threatened several times by [[Roman usurpers|usurpers]]. Nevertheless, Gallienus held the throne until his own assassination in 268 AD.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Saunders|first=Randall T.|date=1992-01-11|title=Who Murdered Gallienus?|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antichthon/article/who-murdered-gallienus/2B48700FFE47B8DD0C76D1F878EF7A21|journal=Antichthon|language=en|volume=26|pages=80–94|doi=10.1017/S0066477400000708|s2cid=146694960 |issn=0066-4774}}</ref>