Editing Claudius Gothicus (section)

=== Downfall of Gallienus ===
[[File:Roman Emperor Gallienus, 253-260 CE. Marble. Acquired in Paris, France, in 1742 CE. Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany.jpg|thumb|Roman emperor [[Gallienus]], ({{reign}}253–268)]]
During the 260s, the breakup of the [[Roman Empire]] into three distinct governing entities (the core Roman Empire, the [[Gallic Empire]] and the [[Palmyrene Empire]]) placed the whole Roman imperium in a precarious position. [[Gallienus]] was seriously weakened by his failure to defeat [[Postumus]] in the West, and his acceptance of [[Odaenathus]] ruling a de facto independent kingdom within the Roman Empire in the East. By 268, this situation had changed, as Odaenathus was assassinated, most likely due to court intrigue, and Gallienus fell victim to a mutiny in his own ranks. Upon the death of Odaenathus, power fell to his younger son, who was dominated by his mother, [[Zenobia]].<ref name="Potter, pg. 263">Potter, pg. 263</ref>

Under threat of invasion in the Balkans by multiple Germanic tribes, Gallienus's troubles primarily lay with [[Postumus]], whom he could not attack because his attention was required in dealing with an insurrection led by [[Macrianus Major|Macrianus]] and the threats created by the invading [[Scythians]]. After four years of delay, Postumus had established some control over the Empire. In 265, when Gallienus and his men crossed the Alps, they defeated and besieged Postumus in an (unnamed) [[Gallic Empire|Gallic]] city. When victory appeared to be near, Gallienus made the mistake of approaching the city walls too closely and was gravely injured, compelling him to cease his campaign against Postumus. Over the next three years, Gallienus's troubles only got worse. The Scythians successfully invaded the Balkans in the early months of 268, and [[Aureolus]], a commander of the Roman cavalry based in [[Milan]], declared himself an ally of Postumus and went so far as to claim the imperial throne for himself.<ref name="Potter, pg. 263" />

At this time, another invasion was taking place. In 268, a tribe or grouping called the [[Herulians]] moved through [[Asia Minor]] and then into Greece on a naval expedition. Despite this, scholars assume Gallienus's efforts were focused on Aureolus, the officer who betrayed him, and the defeat of the Herulians was left to his successor, Claudius Gothicus.<ref name="EmpireAtBay">{{cite book |title=The Roman empire at bay, AD 180-395 |first=David |last=Potter |edition=second |series=Routledge history of the ancient world |date=2004 |chapter=7 |isbn=978-1-315-88256-7}}</ref>

The death of Gallienus was surrounded by conspiracy and betrayal, as were many emperors' deaths. Different accounts of the incident have been recorded, but they agree that senior officials wanted Gallienus dead. According to two accounts, the prime conspirator was [[Aurelius Heraclianus]], the [[Praetorian Prefect]]. One version of the story tells of Heraclianus bringing Claudius into the plot while the account given by the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' exculpates the soon-to-be emperor and adds the prominent general [[Lucius Aurelius Marcianus]] into the plot. The removal of Claudius from the conspiracy may be due to his later role as the progenitor of the [[house of Constantine]], a fiction of [[Constantine I|Constantine]]'s time, and suggests that the original version from which these two accounts derive was current prior to the reign of Constantine. It was written that while sitting down at dinner, Gallienus was told that Aureolus and his men were approaching the camp. Gallienus rushed to the front lines, ready to give orders, when he was struck down by a commander of his cavalry. In a different and more controversial account, Aureolus forges a document in which Gallienus appears to be plotting against his generals and makes sure it falls into the hands of the emperor's senior staff. In this plot, [[Aurelian]] is added as a possible conspirator. The tale of his involvement in the conspiracy might be seen as at least partial justification for the murder of Aurelian himself under circumstances that seem remarkably similar to those in this story.<ref name="Potter, pg. 264">Potter, pg. 264</ref>

Whichever story is true, Gallienus was killed in the summer of 268, probably between July and October,<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last=Stein |first=Arthur |author-link=Arthur Stein (historian) |year=1924 |title=Zur Chronologie der römischen Kaiser von Decius bis Diocletian |journal=Archiv für Papyrusforschung und verwandte Gebiete |volume=7 |issue=1–2 |pages=30–51 |doi=10.1515/apf.1924.7.1-2.30 |s2cid=161464046 |language=de}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Grant |first=Michael |url=https://archive.org/details/romanemperorsbio0000gran/page/180 |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=178–182 |author-link=Michael Grant (classicist)}}</ref>{{sfn|Kienast|2017|p=222}} and Claudius was chosen by the army outside of [[Milan]] to succeed him. Accounts tell of people hearing the news of the new emperor, and reacting by murdering Gallienus's family members until Claudius declared he would respect the memory of his predecessor. Claudius had the deceased emperor deified and buried in a family tomb on the [[Appian Way]]. The traitor Aureolus was not treated with the same reverence, as he was killed by his besiegers after a failed attempt to surrender.<ref name="Potter, pg. 264" />