Editing Gallic Empire

{{Short description|Breakaway state of the Roman Empire (260–274)}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Gallic Empire
| common_name            = Gallic Empire
| native_name            = 
| era                    = Late Antiquity
| government_type        = [[Autocracy]]
| year_start             = 260
| year_end               = 274
| event_end              = [[Battle of Châlons (274)|Battle of Châlons]]
| p1                     = Roman Empire
| s1                     = Roman Empire
| image_map              = File:GallicEmpire262.png
| image_map_caption      = The Gallic Empire under [[Postumus]] by 262 (in blue), with the [[Roman Empire]]
| capital                = {{ubl|[[Colonia Agrippina]] ([[Cologne]]) (260–271)|[[Augusta Treverorum]] ([[Trier]]) (271–274)<ref>Bourne, R. J. (2001). ''Aspects of the relationship between the Central and Gallic Empires in the mid to late third century AD with special reference to coinage studies.'' Archaeopress. p. 22.</ref>}}
| common_languages       = {{ubl|[[Latin language|Latin]] (official)|[[Languages of the Roman Empire|Regional/local languages]]}}
| leader1                = [[Postumus]]
| leader2                = [[Marcus Aurelius Marius|Marius]]
| leader3                = [[Victorinus]]
| leader4                = [[Tetricus I]]
| year_leader1           = 260–269
| year_leader2           = 269
| year_leader3           = 269–270
| year_leader4           = 270–274
| title_leader           = Emperor
| demonym                = 
| area_km2               = 
| area_rank              = 
| GDP_PPP                = 
| GDP_PPP_year           = 
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
| today                  = 
}}
The '''Gallic Empire'''{{efn|The regime had no distinct name or style that has survived on official monuments, inscriptions or coins; its titles and administrative structures followed the models of the central Roman government.{{sfn|Drinkwater|1987|pp=126–127}} Occasionally modern historians use the Latin phrase ''Imperium Galliarum'' to refer to the state, derived from a passage in [[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]]: ''Victorinus postea Galliarum accepit imperium'', "Victorinus took command of the Gallic provinces".{{sfn|Drinkwater|1987|p=15}} }} or '''Gallo-Roman Empire'''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mommsen |first=Theodor |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Provinces_of_the_Roman_Empire/mVdFAQAAMAAJ |title=The Provinces of the Roman Empire: From Caesar to Diocletian |last2=Dickson |first2=William Purdie |date=1886 |publisher=C. Scribner's sons |pages=106 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Harl |first=Kenneth W. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Coinage_in_the_Roman_Economy_300_B_C_to/5yPDL0EykeAC |title=Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700 |date=1996 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-0-8018-5291-6 |pages=333 |language=en}}</ref> are names used in modern historiography for a [[secession|breakaway]] part of the [[Roman Empire]] that functioned ''[[de facto]]'' as a separate state from 260 to 274.{{efn|The year of Postumus' accession was either 259 or 260. The year 259 was once favoured; however, most modern scholars consider that the summer or fall of 260 is more likely when Postumus was hailed emperor.<ref>Polfer (''Postumus'')</ref>{{sfn|Drinkwater|1987|p=97}} The exact dating depends on several factors, including when the emperor [[Valerian (Roman emperor)|Valerian]] was captured and disgraced. Other dates cited here must be pushed back by one year if 259 is accepted as the year of Postumus' accession.{{sfn|Drinkwater|1987|pp=95–106}} }} It originated during the [[Crisis of the Third Century]], when a series of Roman military leaders and aristocrats [[Roman usurpers|declared themselves emperors]] and took control of [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]] and adjacent provinces without attempting to conquer [[Roman Italy|Italy]] or otherwise seize the central Roman administrative apparatus.<ref name="Goldsworthy 2009 116–7">{{cite book |last=Goldsworthy|first=Adrian|date=2009|title=The Fall of the West|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|pages=116–117}}</ref>

The Gallic Empire was established by [[Postumus]] in 260 in the wake of [[barbarian]] invasions and instability in [[Rome]], and at its height included the territories of [[Germania]], Gaul, [[Roman Britain|Britannia]], and (for a time) [[Hispania]]. After Postumus' assassination in 269 it lost much of its territory, but continued under a number of emperors and usurpers. It was retaken by [[Roman emperor]] [[Aurelian]] after the [[Battle of Châlons (274)|Battle of Châlons]] in 274.

==History==

===Origins===
The Roman [[Crisis of the Third Century]] continued as the Emperor [[Valerian (emperor)|Valerian]] was defeated and captured by the [[Sasanian Empire]] of [[Persia]] in the [[Battle of Edessa]], together with a large part of the Roman field army in the east. This left his son [[Gallienus]] in very shaky control. Shortly thereafter, the [[Palmyra|Palmyrene]] leader [[Odaenathus]] gained control of a wide swath of the east, including [[Roman Egypt|Egypt]], [[Roman Syria|Syria]], [[Iudaea Province|Judea]], and [[Arabia Petraea]]; while he was nominally loyal to the Roman government, his domain was ''de facto'' independent and has come to be referred to as the [[Palmyrene Empire]].

The governors in [[Pannonia]] staged unsuccessful local revolts. The Emperor left for the Danube to attend to their disruption. This left [[Postumus]], who was governor of [[Germania Superior]] and [[Germania Inferior|Inferior]], in charge at the Rhine border. An exceptional administrator, Postumus had also ably protected Germania Inferior against an invasion led by the [[Franks]] in the summer of 260. In fact, Postumus defeated the Frankish forces at Empel so decisively that there would be no further Germanic raids for ten years. This all combined to make Postumus one of the most powerful men in the western reaches of the Roman Empire.

[[File:Map of the Gallic Empire, 260 AD.jpg|342px|thumbnail|The Gallic Empire at its greatest territorial extent, after its creation by [[Postumus]] in 260]]

Gallienus's son [[Saloninus]] and the praetorian prefect Silvanus remained at [[Colonia Agrippina]] ([[Cologne]]), to keep the young heir out of danger and perhaps also as a check on Postumus' ambitions. Before long, however, Postumus besieged Colonia Agrippina and put the young heir and his guardian to death, making his revolt official. Postumus is thought to have established his capital there or at [[Augusta Treverorum]] ([[Trier]]).{{sfn|Drinkwater|1987|pp=24-27}} [[Lugdunum]] ([[Lyon]]) was one of the most important cities in the area under his control.

Postumus did not make any effort to extend his control into Italy or to depose Gallienus. Instead, he established parallel institutions modelled on the Roman Empire's central government: his regime had its own praetorian guard, two annually elected [[Consul (Gallic Empire)|consuls]] (not all of the names have survived), and probably its own senate. According to the numismatic evidence, Postumus held the office of consul five times.

Postumus successfully fended off a military incursion by Gallienus in 263, and was never challenged by him again. However, in early 269 he was challenged by [[Laelianus]], who was probably one of his own commanders. Laelianus was declared emperor at [[Roman Mogontiacum|Mogontiacum]] (now [[Mainz]]) by his [[Legio XXII Primigenia]]. In response, Postumus quickly retook Mogontiacum and Laelianus was killed. In the aftermath of the battle, however, Postumus was overthrown and killed by his own troops, reportedly because he did not allow them to sack the city.<ref>[[Aurelius Victor]] 33.8.</ref><ref>[[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]] 9.9.1.</ref>

===After Postumus===
[[File:Coin of Tetricus I.jpg|thumb|left|Coin of [[Tetricus I|Tetricus]], last emperor (271–274) of the Gallic Empire]]
An officer in Postumus' army, [[Marcus Aurelius Marius]], was installed as Emperor upon Postumus's death, but died very shortly after; ancient sources writing much later state that he reigned only two days, though it is more likely, based on the numismatic record, that he reigned for a few months.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Polfer|first= Michael |title= Marius (A.D. 269)|url= http://www.roman-emperors.org/marius.htm|date= June 24, 1999|encyclopedia= De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and Their Families|access-date=July 10, 2009}}</ref> Subsequently, the tribune of the praetorians, [[Victorinus|Marcus Piavonius Victorinus]] came to power, being recognized as Emperor in northern Gaul and Britannia, but not in Hispania.<ref name="Victorinus"/> Meanwhile, Roman Emperor Gallienus had been killed in a coup in 268, and his successor in the central Roman provinces, [[Claudius Gothicus]], re-established Roman authority in [[Gallia Narbonensis]] and parts of [[Gallia Aquitania]]; there is some evidence that the provinces of Hispania, which did not recognize Postumus's successors in Gaul, may have realigned with Rome then.<ref name="Victorinus">{{cite encyclopedia |last= Polfer|first= Michel |title= Victorinus (A.D. 269–271)|url= http://www.roman-emperors.org/victorin.htm|date= June 3, 2000|encyclopedia= De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and Their Families|access-date=July 10, 2009}}</ref><ref name="Claudius">{{cite encyclopedia |last= Weigel|first= Richard D.|title= Claudius II Gothicus (268–270) |url= http://www.roman-emperors.org/claudgot.htm |date= June 19, 2001|encyclopedia= De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and Their Families|access-date=July 10, 2009}}</ref>

Victorinus spent most of his reign dealing with insurgencies and attempting to recover the Gaulish territories taken by Claudius Gothicus. He was assassinated in 271, but his mother [[Victoria (Roman usurper)|Victoria]] took control of his troops and used her power to influence the selection of his successor.<ref name="Victorinus"/> With Victoria's support, the governor of [[Gallia Aquitania]], [[Tetricus I|Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus]] was made Emperor, and was recognized in Britannia and the parts of Gaul that had recognized Victorinus.<ref name="TetricusI">{{cite encyclopedia |last= Polfer|first= Michel |title= Tetricus I (AD 271–273)|url= http://www.roman-emperors.org/tetrici.htm|date= January 28, 2000|encyclopedia= De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and Their Families|access-date=July 10, 2009}}</ref> Tetricus fought off Germanic barbarians who had begun ravaging Gaul after the death of Victorinus, and was able to re-take Gallia Aquitania and western Gallia Narbonensis while Claudius Gothicus's successor [[Aurelian]] was in the east fighting the [[Palmyrene Empire]], now in open revolt against Roman authority under Queen [[Zenobia]]. Tetricus established the imperial court at [[Trier]], and in 273 he elevated his son, [[Tetricus II|also named Tetricus]], to the rank of [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]].

The following year the younger Tetricus was made co-consul with his father, but the area under their control grew weak from internal strife, including a mutiny led by the usurper [[Faustinus]].<ref name="TetricusI" /> By that time Aurelian had defeated the Palmyrene Empire and had made plans to reconquer the west. He moved into Gaul and defeated Tetricus at the [[Battle of Châlons (274)|Battle of Châlons]] in 274. According to some sources, Tetricus offered to surrender in exchange for clemency for him and his son before the battle.<ref name="TetricusI" /> This detail may be later propaganda, but either way, Aurelian was victorious, and the Gallic Empire was effectively ended.<ref name="TetricusI" /> In contrast with his propaganda after the recent defeat of Zenobia, Aurelian did not present his recapture of Gaul as a victory over a foreign enemy, and indeed many officials who had served in the army and administration of the Gallic Empire continued their careers, including Tetricus, who was appointed to an administrative post in Italy.<ref name="Goldsworthy 2009 116–7" />

==Causes==

The Gallic Empire was symptomatic of the fragmentation of power during the [[Crisis of the Third Century|third-century crisis]]. It has also been taken to represent autonomous trends in the western provinces, including proto-[[feudalism|feudalistic]] tendencies among the Gaulish land-owning class whose support has sometimes been thought to have underpinned the strength of the Gallic Empire,{{sfn|Drinkwater|1987|p=239}} and an interplay between the strength of Roman institutions and the growing importance of provincial concerns.{{sfn|Drinkwater|1987|pp=247-8}}

One of Postumus' primary objectives as emperor was evidently the defense of the [[Germanic frontier]]. In 261, he repelled mixed groups of [[Franks]] and [[Alamanni]] to hold the Rhine ''[[Limes (Roman Empire)|limes]]'' secure (though lands beyond the upper Rhine and Danube had to be abandoned to the barbarians within a couple of years).{{sfn|Drinkwater|1987|pp=226-7}} In so doing, Postumus positioned himself avowedly as not only the defender and restorer of Gaul, but also as the upholder of the Roman name.{{sfn|Drinkwater|1987|pp=24-27}}{{efn|Gallic emperors are called ''adsertores Romani nominis'' in the ''[[Augustan History|Historia Augusta]]''.}}

Similarly with the withdrawal of legions after 408, many Britons desired a localized Roman authority rather than nationalist revolt. The desire for Roman order and institutions was entirely compatible with a degree of national or regional separatism.

==List of Gallic Emperors==

The Gallic Emperors are known primarily from the [[coin]]s they minted.{{sfn|Drinkwater|1987|p=16}} The political and military history of the Gallic Empire can be sketched through the careers of these emperors. Their names are as follows:{{sfn|Drinkwater|1987|p=102}}
* [[Postumus]] 260–269 <!-- spurious, but maybe we should still mention it somehow: (including joint rule with his putative son [[Postumus the Younger|Postumus Junior]] ? – 268) -->
** ([[Laelian]] 269, usurper)
* [[Marcus Aurelius Marius|Marius]] 269
* [[Victorinus]] 268/69–271
** ([[Domitian II]] 271?, usurper)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/083/ant0830751.htm|title=The Domitian II coin from Chalgrove: a Gallic emperor returns to history |access-date=29 October 2013|author=Richard Abdy}}</ref>
* [[Tetricus I]] 271–274
* [[Tetricus II]] 273–274 (son of Tetricus I; [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]]) 
** ([[Faustinus]] 273/74, usurper)

[[Postumus the Younger]], [[Victoria (Gallic Empire)|Empress Victoria]] and [[Victorinus Junior]] are included as leaders in the list of the [[Thirty Tyrants (Roman)|Thirty Tyrants]], but there are no coins or inscriptions about them. Victorinus Junior and Postumus the Younger are both now generally considered to be fictional<ref>Cancik, H.; Schneider, H.; Salazar, C., ''Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity'', Volume 14 (2009), p. 91</ref><ref>J. F. Drinkwater (1987). ''The Gallic Empire: Separatism and continuity in the north-western provinces of the Roman Empire, A.D. 260–274'', Franz Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden GMBH, Stuttgart, {{ISBN|3-515-04806-5}}, p. 65.</ref> while Victoria’s existence was proven by the discovery of her [[funerary stele]] in 2012.<ref name="Pressibus">{{Cite web |title=Victorina, ruler of the Gauls |url=http://www.pressibus.org/gen/victorina/indexgb.html |access-date=2023-05-23 |website=Pressibus|editor=Alain Beyrand}}</ref>

==Consuls of the Gallic Empire==
{{see also|Consul (Gallic Empire)}}
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Consul !! Consul
|-
| 260 || [[Postumus]] (second time)<ref name="consuls2">Drinkwater (1987), p. 188.</ref>
|Honoratianus<ref>Potter (2004), p. 260</ref>
|-
| 261 || Postumus (third time)<ref name="consuls2"/>
|rowspan="7"| unknown<ref name="consuls1"/>
|-
| 262
|rowspan="3"| unknown<ref name="consuls1"/>
|-
| 263
|-
| 264
|-
| 265
|rowspan="2"| Postumus (fourth time)<ref name="consuls2"/>
|-
| 266
|-
| 267 || unknown<ref name="consuls1"/>
|-
| 269 || Postumus (fifth time)<ref name="consuls1"/> || [[Victorinus]] (first time)<ref name="consuls1">Polfer, Michel (2000), "Postumus (A.D. 260-269)", De Imperatoribus Romanis</ref>
|-
| 269 || unknown<ref name="consuls1"/> || unknown<ref name="consuls1"/>
|-
| 270 || Victorinus (second time)<ref name="consuls2"/> || Sanctus<ref name="consuls1"/>
|-
| 271 || [[Tetricus I|Tetricus]] (first time)<ref name="consuls2"/>
|rowspan="3"| unknown<ref name="consuls1"/>
|-
| 272 || Tetricus (second time)<ref name="consuls2"/>
|-
| 273 || Tetricus (third time)<ref name="consuls2"/>
|-
|colspan="3" align="center"| ''Year and sequence unknown:''
|-
| ? || Censor (twice)<ref name="consuls1"/> || Lepidus (twice)<ref name="consuls1"/>
|-
| ? || Dialis<ref name="consuls1"/> || Bassus<ref name="consuls1"/>
|-
| ? || "Apr."<ref name="consuls1"/> || "Ruf."<ref name="consuls1"/>
|}

== Family tree ==
{{tree chart/start}}
{{tree chart| Lae | | Pos | | Mar | | Vit | | Ter |Lae=[[Laelianus]]<br>269|Pos=[[Postumus]]<br>260–269|Mar=[[Marcus Aurelius Marius]]<br>269||Vit=[[Victoria (Gallic Empire)|Victoria]]<br>271|Ter=[[Tetricus I]]<br>271–274|}}
{{tree chart| | | | | |!| | | | | | | |!| | | |!|}}
{{tree chart| | | | | Poj | | | | | | Vic | | Te2 |Poj=[[Postumus the Younger|Postumus Junior (Fictional)]]<br>260–269|Vic=[[Victorinus]]<br>268–271|Te2=[[Tetricus II]]<br>271–274}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| |}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | VcJ |VcJ=[[Victorinus Junior|Victorinus Junior (Fictional)]]<br>271}}
{{tree chart/end}}

==See also==
* [[Roman governors of Germania Inferior]]
* [[Bagaudae]]
* [[Jublains archeological site]]
* [[Consul (Gallic Empire)]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist |colwidth = 30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |last1=Drinkwater |first1=J. F. |title=The Gallic Empire: Separatism and Continuity in the north-western provinces of the Roman Empire, A.D. 260-274 |date=1987 |publisher=Steiner |location=Stuttgart |isbn=978-3515048064}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184213/http://members.lycos.co.uk/nomisma/consul/consul.html Gallic Consuls]
* [http://www.roman-empire.net/decline/gallic.html Gallic Empire]
* [https://www.livius.org/ga-gh/gallic_empire/gallic_empire.html Jona Lendering, "Gallic Empire"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030210544/https://www.livius.org/ga-gh/gallic_empire/gallic_empire.html |date=2013-10-30 }}
* [http://www.kenelks.co.uk/coins/gallic/gallic.htm Gallic Empire coinage]

[[Category:Gallic Empire| ]]
[[Category:260 establishments]]
[[Category:274 disestablishments]]
[[Category:3rd century in Roman Gaul]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 260s]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 3rd century]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Europe]]
[[Category:Crisis of the Third Century]]
[[Category:Former empires]]