Editing Tacitus (emperor) (section)

==Emperor==
After the assassination of [[Aurelian]], the army, apparently showing remorse towards its role in the death of the beloved emperor, relinquished the right of choosing his successor to the [[Roman Senate|Senate]].<ref>Gibbon, pp. 274–278</ref> After a few weeks, the throne was offered to the aged ''Princeps Senatus'', Tacitus.

According to the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'', Tacitus, after ascertaining the sincerity of the Senate's regard for him, accepted their nomination on 25 September 275,<ref>Historia Augusta, ''Vita Taciti'', 3.2.</ref> and the choice was cordially ratified by the army.<ref name="Jones, pg. 873"/> If true, Tacitus would have been the last emperor elected by the Senate.<ref>{{cite book|author=Lee Fratantuono|title=Tacitus Annals XVI|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3DM6DwAAQBAJ&dq=Tacitus+last+emperor+elected+senate++275&pg=PA4|year=2017|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-3500-2351-2|page=4}}</ref> However, it's possible that much of this narrative is fictitious, as [[Zosimus (historian)|Zosimus]] and [[Zonaras]] report that Tacitus was actually proclaimed by the army without any intervention of the Senate.<ref>{{cite book|last=Grant|first=Michael|url=https://archive.org/details/romanemperorsbio0000gran/page/188|title=The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to the Rulers of Imperial Rome, 31 BC–AD 476|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|year=1985|isbn=0-684-18388-9|place=New York|pages=188–189|author-link=Michael Grant (classicist)}}</ref> His proclamation as emperor should have happened in late November or early December.<ref>{{cite book|last=Watson|first=A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ukf-lEYl3FUC&pg=PA225|title=Aurelian and the Third Century|publisher=Routledge|year=1999|isbn=0-415-07248-4|location=London|page=225}}</ref>

In older historiography, it was generally accepted that Aurelian's wife, [[Ulpia Severina]], ruled in her own right before the election of Tacitus which could indicate an interregnum which lasted as long as six months.<ref name="watson">{{cite book | last =Watson | first =Alaric| title =Aurelian and the Third Century | publisher =Routledge| year =1999 | location = London| isbn = 0-415-07248-4}}</ref><ref name="re">{{cite encyclopedia |url= http://www.roman-emperors.org/aurelian.htm|title= Aurelian (A.D. 270–275)|last1= Körner|first1= Christian|date= December 23, 2008 |encyclopedia= De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and Their Families|access-date=January 6, 2011}}</ref> Contemporary bibliography considers that no interregnum may have existed between Aurelian's death and the coronation of the new Emperor. Tacitus had been living in [[Campania]] before his election, and returned only reluctantly to the assembly of the Senate in Rome, where he was elected. He immediately asked the Senators to deify Aurelian, before arresting and executing Aurelian's murderers.<ref name="Southern, pg. 127">Southern, p. 127</ref> In ancient sources, he was described as very old at that time, but in reality he was possibly in his fifties.<ref name="Hagi336" />

Amongst the highest concerns of the new reign was the restoration of the ancient Senatorial powers. He granted substantial prerogatives to the [[Roman Senate|Senate]], securing to them by law the appointment of the emperor, of the consuls, and the provincial governors, as well as supreme right of appeal from every court in the empire in its judicial function, and the direction of certain branches of the revenue in its long-abeyant administrative capacity.<ref>Gibbon, p. 279</ref> [[Probus (emperor)|Probus]] respected these changes, but after the reforms of [[Diocletian]] in the succeeding decades not a vestige would be left of them.

===Fighting barbarians===
Next he moved against the barbarian mercenaries that had been gathered by Aurelian to supplement Roman forces for his Eastern campaign.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} These mercenaries had plundered several towns in the Eastern Roman provinces after Aurelian had been murdered and the campaign cancelled.<ref>Gibbon, p. 280</ref> His half-brother, the Praetorian Prefect [[Florian (emperor)|Florian]], and Tacitus himself won a victory against these tribes, among which were the [[Heruli]], gaining the emperor the title ''Gothicus Maximus''.<ref name="Southern, pg. 127"/>

===Death===
On his way back to the west to deal with a [[Franks|Frankish]] and [[Alamanni]]c invasion of [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]], according to [[Aurelius Victor]], [[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]] and the [[Historia Augusta]], Tacitus died of fever at [[Tyana]] in [[Cappadocia]] around June 276, after a rule of just over 6 months.<ref>Aurelius Victor, 36:1</ref><ref>Historia Augusta, ''Vita Taciti'', 13:5</ref> In a contrary account, [[Zosimus (historian)|Zosimus]] claims he was assassinated, after appointing one of his relatives to an important command in [[Roman Syria|Syria]].<ref>Zosimus, I:63:2</ref>