Editing Gordian I

{{short description|Roman emperor in 238}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
| image        = Gordian1cng80000719 (obverse).jpg
| image_size   = 
| alt          = Coin of Gordian I
| caption      = Gordian I on a [[denarius]]. Inscription: IMP. CAES. M. ANT. GORDIANVS AFR. AVG. 
| succession   = [[Roman emperor]]
| reign        = {{circa}} March – April 238<ref name=Rea>The exact chronology of events is unknown. See: Rea, J. (1972). "[http://www.jstor.org/stable/20180380 O. Leid. 144 and the Chronology of A.D. 238]". ''[[Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik|ZPE]]'' '''9''', 1-19.</ref>
| predecessor  = [[Maximinus Thrax]]
| successor    = [[Pupienus]] and [[Balbinus]]
| regent       = [[Gordian II]]
| reg-type     = {{nowrap|Co-emperor}}
| birth_date   = {{circa}} 158
| birth_place  = possibly [[Phrygia]]
| death_date   = April 238 (aged about 80)
| death_place  = [[Carthage]], [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa Proconsularis]]
| burial_place = 
| spouse       = Unknown, possibly Fabia Orestilla<ref name="Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians, 17:4">Historia Augusta, ''The Three Gordians'', 17:4</ref>
| issue        = {{ubl|[[Gordian II]]|[[Maecia Faustina]]}}
| issue-link   = 
| issue-pipe   = 
| full name    = Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus{{sfn|Southern|p=86}}
| regnal name  = Imperator Caesar Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus Africanus Augustus<ref>{{cite book |last=Cooley |year=2012 |first=Alison E. |title=The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=497|isbn=978-0-521-84026-2 |url={{googlebooks|VlghAwAAQBAJ|plainurl=y}} |author-link=Alison E. Cooley }}</ref>
| dynasty      = [[Gordian dynasty|Gordian]]
| father       = Unknown, possibly Maecius Marullus<ref name="Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians, 2:2">Historia Augusta, ''The Three Gordians'', 2:2</ref> or Marcus Antonius<ref name="ReferenceA">Settipani (2001), ''Continuité gentilice et continuité sénatoriale dans les familles sénatoriales romaines à l'époque impériale''</ref>
| mother       = Unknown, possibly Ulpia Gordiana<ref name="Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians, 2:2"/> or Sempronia Romana<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
}}
{{Year of Six Emperors}}

'''Gordian I''' ({{langx|la|Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus}}; {{circa}} 158 – April 238 AD) was [[Roman emperor]] for 22 days with his son [[Gordian II]] in 238, the [[Year of the Six Emperors]]. Caught up in a rebellion against the Emperor [[Maximinus Thrax]], he was defeated in battle and committed suicide after the death of his son,  having had the second shortest reign in imperial history.

==Family and background==
Gordian I was said to be related to prominent senators of his time.{{sfn|Birley|2005|p=340}} His praenomen and nomen ''Marcus Antonius'' suggested that his paternal ancestors received Roman citizenship under the [[triumvir]] [[Mark Antony]], or one of his daughters, during the late [[Roman Republic]].{{sfn|Birley|2005|p=340}}  Gordian's cognomen ‘Gordianus’ also indicates that his family origins were from [[Anatolia]], more specifically [[Galatia]] or [[Cappadocia]].<ref>Peuch, Bernadette, "Orateurs et sophistes grecs dans les inscriptions d'époque impériale", (2002), pg. 128</ref>

According to the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'', his mother was a Roman woman called Ulpia Gordiana and his father was the senator Maecius Marullus.<ref name="Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians, 2:2"/> While modern historians have dismissed his father's name as false, there may be some truth behind the identity of his mother. Gordian's family history can be guessed through inscriptions. The name ''Sempronianus'' in his name, for instance, may indicate a connection to his mother or grandmother. In [[Ankara]], Turkey, a funeral inscription has been found that names a ''Sempronia Romana'', daughter of a named ''Sempronius Aquila'' (an imperial secretary).{{sfn|Birley|2005|p=340}} Romana erected this undated funeral inscription to her husband (whose name is lost), who died as a [[praetor]]-designate.{{sfn|Meckler|2001}}

French historian [[Christian Settipani]] has conjectured that Gordian I's parents were Marcus Antonius (b. ca 135), ''tr. pl.'', ''praet. des.'', and wife Sempronia Romana (b. ca 140), daughter of Titus Flavius Sempronius Aquila (b. ca 115), ''Secretarius [[ab epistulis]] Graecis'', and wife Claudia (b. ca 120), daughter of an unknown father and his wife [[Claudia Tisamenis]] (b. ca 100), sister of [[Herodes Atticus]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/> It appears in this family tree that the person who was related to Herodes Atticus was Gordian I's mother or grandmother and not his wife.{{sfn|Birley|2005|p=340}} But the late [[Anthony Birley|Antony Birley]] stated that the question remains open.{{sfn|Birley|2005|p=341}}

Also according to the ''Historia'', the wife of Gordian I was a Roman woman called [[Fabia Orestilla]],<ref name="Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians, 17:4" /> born circa 165, whom the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' claims was a descendant of emperors [[Antoninus Pius]] and [[Marcus Aurelius]] through her father Fulvus Antoninus.<ref name="Historia Augusta, The Three Gordians, 17:4" /><ref name="KRA">{{cite book |last=Krawczuk |first=Aleksander |author-link=Aleksander Krawczuk |title=Poczet cesarzowych Rzymu |publisher=Iskry |year=1998 |location=Warszawa |isbn=83-244-0021-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qC-ZAAAACAAJ |pages=147 |access-date=7 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707172702/https://books.google.com/books?id=qC-ZAAAACAAJ |archive-date=7 July 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Modern historians have dismissed this name and her information as false.{{sfn|Meckler|2001}}

With his wife, Gordian I had at least two children: a son of the same name<ref>Historia Augusta, ''The Three Gordians'', 17:1</ref> and a daughter, [[Maecia Faustina]] (who was the mother of the future Emperor [[Gordian III]]).<ref>Historia Augusta, ''The Three Gordians'', 4:2</ref> His wife died before 238 AD. Christian Settipani identified her parents as Marcus Annius Severus, who was a Suffect [[Roman consul|Consul]], and his wife Silvana, born circa 140 AD, who was the daughter of [[Lucius Plautius Lamia Silvanus]] and his wife Aurelia Fadilla, the daughter of Antoninus Pius and wife Annia Galeria Faustina or [[Faustina the Elder]].<ref name="ReferenceA" />

==Early life==
Gordian steadily climbed the Roman imperial hierarchy when he became part of the [[Roman Senate]]. His political career started relatively late in his life{{sfn|Meckler|2001}} and his early years were probably spent in rhetoric and literary studies.{{sfn|Birley|2005|p=340}}{{sfn|Birley|2005|p=340}} As a military man, Gordian commanded the [[Legio IV Scythica]] when the legion was stationed in [[Syria]].{{sfn|Birley|2005|p=340}} He served as governor of [[Roman Britain]] in 216 AD and was a suffect consul sometime during the reign of [[Elagabalus]].{{sfn|Meckler|2001}} Inscriptions in Roman Britain bearing his name were partially erased suggesting some form of imperial displeasure during this role.{{sfn|Birley|2005|p=339}}

While he gained unbounded popularity on account of the magnificent games and shows he produced as [[aedile]],<ref>Historia Augusta, ''The Three Gordians'', 3:5</ref> his prudent and retired life did not excite the suspicion of [[Caracalla]], in whose honor he wrote a long epic poem called "Antoninias".{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}<ref>Historia Augusta, ''The Three Gordians'', 3:3</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Kemezis|first=Adam M|title=Greek Narratives of the Roman Empire Under the Severans: Cassius Dio, Philostratus and Herodian|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2014}}</ref> Gordian certainly retained his wealth and political clout during the chaotic times of the Severan dynasty which suggests a personal dislike for intrigue. [[Philostratus]] dedicated his work ''Lives of the Sophists'' to either him or his son, Gordian II.<ref>{{cite book|last=Grant|first=Michael|url=https://archive.org/details/romanemperorsbio0000gran/page/140|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|page=140|author-link=Michael Grant (classicist)}}</ref>

==Rise to power==
[[File:Gordian I Musei Capitolini MC475.jpg|thumb|left|Early 3rd-century portrait head on a modern bust, labeled as Gordian I in the [[Capitoline Museums]], [[Rome]]. The identification is uncertain.<ref>H. Stuart Jones (1912), [https://archive.org/details/catalogueofancie01britiala/page/207/ ''A Catalogue of the Ancient Sculptures Preserved in the Municipal Collections of Rome: The Sculptures of the Museo Capitolino''], p. 207, no. 64. "This head bears the traditional name of Gordian I. It is, however, too young for him, and is not like his coin-portraits."</ref><ref>The traditional identification of [[c:Category:Musei Capitolini MC 475 (Gordiano I)|this portrait]] as Gordian I is uncertain; if correct, it was probably created about a decade before his accession to the throne. See K. Fittschen & P. Zanker (1985). ''Katalog der römischen Porträts in den Capitolinischen Museen und den anderen kommunalen Sammlungen der Stadt Rom I: Kaiser- und Prinzenbildnisse'', Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, pp. 123–124, no. 104, for a summary of opinions on the date and identification.</ref>]]
[[File:Tunis Bardo Buste 2.jpg|thumb|left|Bust of an emperor in the [[Bardo National Museum (Tunis)]] labeled as Gordian I. Some authors call him [[Decius]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=R. R. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ynlYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA234 |title=The Last Statues of Antiquity |last2=Ward-Perkins |first2=Bryan |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-875332-2 |pages=234, note 8 |language=}}</ref>]]

During the reign of [[Alexander Severus]], Gordian I (who was by then in his late sixties), after serving his suffect consulship prior to 223, drew lots for the [[proconsul]]ar governorship of the province of [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa Proconsularis]]{{sfn|Meckler|2001}}<ref name=":1">[[Herodian]], 7:5</ref> which he assumed in 237.{{sfn|Birley|2005|p=333}}  However, prior to the commencement of his [[promagistrate|promagistrature]], Maximinus Thrax killed Alexander Severus at [[Mainz|Moguntiacum]] in [[Germania Inferior]] and assumed the throne.<ref>Potter, pg. 167</ref>

Maximinus was not a popular emperor and universal discontent increased due to his oppressive rule.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Cope|first=Geoffrey|title=Gordian I, 2, & 3 (238AD-244AD)}}</ref> It culminated in a revolt in Africa in 238 AD (the exact month is unknown).<ref>[[Herodian]], 7:4. "After Maximinus had completed three years as emperor [after 22 March 238], the people of Africa first took up arms and touched off a serious revolt for one of those trivial reasons which often prove fatal to a tyrant."</ref> After Maximinus' fiscal curator was murdered in a riot, people turned to Gordian and demanded that he accept the dangerous honor of the imperial throne.{{sfn|Southern|p=86}} Gordian, who was about 80 years according to [[Herodian]], eventually yielded to the popular clamour and assumed both the purple and the ''[[Roman naming conventions|cognomen]]'' "Africanus".<ref name=":1"/>

According to [[Edward Gibbon]]:

<blockquote>An iniquitous sentence had been pronounced against some opulent youths of [Africa], the execution of which would have stripped them of far the greater part of their patrimony. (...) A respite of three days, obtained with difficulty from the rapacious treasurer, was employed in collecting from their estates a great number of slaves and peasants blindly devoted to the commands of their lords and armed with the rustic weapons of clubs and axes. The leaders of the conspiracy, as they were admitted to the audience of the procurator, stabbed him with the daggers concealed under their garments, and, by the assistance of their tumultuary train, seized on the little town of [[Thysdrus]], and erected the standard of rebellion against the sovereign of the Roman empire. (...) Gordianus, their proconsul, and the object of their choice [as emperor], refused, with unfeigned reluctance, the dangerous honour, and begged with tears that they should suffer him to terminate in peace a long and innocent life, without staining his feeble age with civil blood. Their menaces compelled him to accept the Imperial purple, his only refuge indeed against the jealous cruelty of Maximin (...).<ref name="ReferenceB">Gibbon, Vol. I, Ch. 7</ref></blockquote>

Due to his advanced age, he insisted that his son be associated with him. A few days later, Gordian entered the city of [[Carthage]] with the overwhelming support of the population and local political leaders.<ref>Herodian, 7:6:2</ref>  Gordian I sent [[Assassination|assassins]] to kill Maximinus' [[Praetorian Guard|praetorian prefect]], [[Publius Aelius Vitalianus]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Laale|first=Hans Willer|title=Ephesus (Ephesos): An Abbreviated History from Androclus to Constantine X|publisher=WestBow Press|year=2011|isbn=978-144-971-618-9}}</ref> and the rebellion seemed to be successful.<ref name="Potter, pg. 169">Potter, pg. 169</ref> Gordian, in the meantime, had sent an embassy to Rome, under the leadership of [[Valerian (emperor)|Publius Licinius Valerianus]],<ref>Zosimus, 1:11</ref> to obtain the Senate's support for his rebellion.<ref name="Potter, pg. 169">Potter, pg. 169</ref>  The Senate confirmed the new emperor and many of the provinces gladly sided with Gordian.<ref name="Potter, pg. 170">Potter, pg. 170</ref> This event is sometimes dated to 2 April, but this is only based on a passage of the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'', nowadays considered highly unreliable, that told about an eclipse presaging the imminent fall of the Gordians.<ref name=Rea/>

Opposition came from the neighboring province of [[Numidia]].{{sfn|Southern|p=86}} [[Capelianus]], governor of Numidia and a loyal supporter of Maximinus Thrax, held a grudge against Gordian<ref name="Potter, pg. 170">Potter, pg. 170</ref> and invaded the African province with the only legion stationed in the region, [[Legio III Augusta|III ''Augusta'']], and other veteran units.<ref>Herodian, 7.9.3</ref> Gordian II, at the head of a militia army of untrained soldiers, lost the [[Battle of Carthage (238)|Battle of Carthage]] and was killed,<ref name="Potter, pg. 170">Potter, pg. 170</ref> and Gordian I killed himself by hanging himself with his belt.<ref>{{Cite book|last=D'Epiro|first=Peter|title=The Book of Firsts: 150 World-Changing People and Events, from Caesar Augustus to the Internet|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|year=2010|isbn=978-030-747-666-1}}</ref> The Gordians had ruled only 22 days, the 2nd [[List of shortest-reigning monarchs|shortest reign]] of any Roman emperor behind [[Quintillus]] who ruled for 17 days during the crisis of the 3rd century.<ref>[[Filocalus]], ''[[Chronograph of 354]]'', [https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/chronography_of_354_16_chronicle_of_the_city_of_rome.htm Part 16]: "The two Gordians ruled for 20 days. They died in Africa."</ref><ref>''[[Laterculus]] [[iarchive:chronicaminorasa00momm/page/436/mode/1up|Imperatorum Malalianus]]'' (7th century): "Gordian ruled 22 days; the other Gordian reigned 20 years" (a mistake for "20 days").</ref><ref>[[Symeon Logothete]] ({{Circa}} 970), [https://books.google.com/books?id=pZYWvAEACAAJ&pg=PA75 ''Chronographia''], [[CSHB]], 75. "[[Pupienus|Maximus]] and [[Balbinus]] ruled 22 days", actually the two Gordians. This is followed by [[Zonaras]] ({{Circa}} 1120) ''[[Epitome]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=lXGCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT42 xvii.17]: "According to some they reigned about twenty-two days, but according to others not quite three months".</ref> Gordian I was the first emperor to commit suicide since [[Otho]] in 69 during the [[Year of the Four Emperors]].

==Legacy==
Gordian's positive reputation can be attributed to his reportedly amiable character. Both he and his son were said to be fond of literature, even publishing their own voluminous works.<ref name="ReferenceB" />  While they were strongly interested in intellectual pursuits, they possessed neither the necessary skills nor resources to be considered able statesmen or powerful rulers. Having embraced the cause of Gordian, the Senate was obliged to continue the revolt against Maximinus following Gordian's death, appointing [[Pupienus]] and [[Balbinus]] as joint emperors.{{sfn|Southern|p=87}}  Nevertheless, by the end of 238, the recognised emperor would be Gordian III, Gordian I's grandson.{{sfn|Southern|p=87}}

==Family tree==
{{tree chart/start}}
{{tree chart| Max | | Pup | | Go1 |Max=previous<br>[[Maximinus Thrax]]<br>Emperor<br>235–238|Go1=[[File:Vexilloid of the Roman Empire.svg|20px]]<br>Gordian I<br>Emperor<br>238<br><small>∞ (?) Fabia Orestilla</small>|Pup=[[Pupienus]]<br>Emperor<br>238}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | |)|-|-|-|.}}
{{tree chart| | | | | Bal | | Go2 | | Ant |~| JLB | | GFS | | Phi |Go2=[[File:Vexilloid of the Roman Empire.svg|20px]]<br>[[Gordian II]]<br>co-emperor<br>238|Ant=[[Maecia Faustina]]|JLB=''(doubted)''<br>[[Junius Licinius Balbus]]<br>consul suffectus|GFS=[[Gaius Furius Sabinius Aquila Timesitheus|Timesitheus]]<br>praetorian prefect|Phi=next<br>[[Philip the Arab]]<br>Emperor<br>244–249|Bal=[[Balbinus]]<br>Emperor<br>238}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |!| | | |!| }}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Go3 |~| Tra | | Ph2 |Go3=[[File:Vexilloid of the Roman Empire.svg|20px]]<br>[[Gordian III]]<br>Emperor<br>238|Tra=[[Tranquillina]]|Ph2=[[Philip II (Roman emperor)|Philip II]]<br>co-emperor<br>247–249}}
{{tree chart/end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=20em}}

==Sources==
===Ancient sources===
* [[Herodian]], [https://www.livius.org/sources/content/herodian-s-roman-history/ ''Roman History, Book 7'']
* [[Historia Augusta]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Gordiani_tres*.html ''The Three Gordians'']
* [[Aurelius Victor]], [http://www.roman-emperors.org/epitome.htm ''Epitome de Caesaribus'']
* [[Joannes Zonaras]], Compendium of History [https://web.archive.org/web/20080521191250/http://www.ancientsites.com/aw/Post/1049415 extract: ''Zonaras: Alexander Severus to Diocletian: 222–284'']
* [[Zosimus (historian)|Zosimus]], [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/zosimus01_book1.htm ''Historia Nova'']

===Modern sources===
* {{citation | last = Birley | first = Anthony | title =The Roman Government in Britain| publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2005 | isbn = 978-0-19-925237-4}}
* [[Gibbon, Edward]], ''[[Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]'' (1888)
* {{cite journal |last=Grasby |year=1975 |first=K.D. |title=The Age, Ancestry, and Career of Gordian I |journal=[[Classical Quarterly]] |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=123–130 |doi=10.1017/S000983880003295X |jstor=638250 |s2cid=170082548 |ref={{sfnref|Grasby}} }}
* {{cite web|last1=Meckler|first1=David Stone|title=Gordian I (238 A.D.)|date=2001|website=[[De Imperatoribus Romanis]]|url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/gordo1.htm}}
* Potter, David Stone, ''The Roman Empire at Bay, AD 180–395'', Routledge, 2004
* {{cite book |last=Southern |year=2015 |first=Pat |title=The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine |edition=2nd |publisher=Routledge |place=London |orig-year=2001 |isbn=978-0-415-73807-1 |url={{googlebooks|2p9hCQAAQBAJ|plainurl=y}} |author-link=Pat Southern |ref={{sfnref|Southern}} }}
* Syme, Ronald, ''Emperors and Biography'', Oxford University Press, 1971

==External links==
{{Commons category|Gordianus I}}
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Gordian|volume=12|page=247}}

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{{S-bef | before=[[Maximinus Thrax]]}}
{{S-ttl | title=[[List of Roman emperors|Roman emperor]]
        | years=238
        | with=[[Gordian II]] }}
{{S-aft | after=[[Pupienus]] |after2=[[Balbinus]] }}
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{{Roman emperors}}
{{Pharaohs}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordian 01}}
[[Category:150s births]]
[[Category:238 deaths]]
[[Category:3rd-century Roman emperors]]
[[Category:Crisis of the Third Century]]
[[Category:Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome]]
[[Category:Roman governors of Britain]]
[[Category:Deified Roman emperors]]
[[Category:Heads of state who died by suicide]]
[[Category:Suicides in Ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Suicides by hanging in Tunisia]]
[[Category:Antonii]]
[[Category:Gordian dynasty]]
[[Category:Royalty who died by suicide]]