Nepotianus

Nepotianus (died 30 June 350 AD), sometimes known in English as Nepotian,[1] was a member of the Constantinian dynasty who reigned as a short-lived usurper of the Roman Empire. He ruled the city of Rome for twenty-eight days, before being killed by his rival usurper Magnentius' general Marcellinus.[1]

Nepotianus
Nepotianus on a coin bearing
his claimed title of Augustus
Roman emperor
Reign3–30 June 350
(in competition with Magnentius)[1]
Died30 June 350
Rome
Regnal name
Flavius Julius Popilius Nepotianus Constantinus[3]
DynastyConstantinian
FatherVirius Nepotianus
MotherEutropia

Background

Nepotianus was the son of Eutropia, half-sister of Emperor Constantine I,[4] and of Virius Nepotianus. On his mother's side, he was the grandson of Emperor Constantius Chlorus and Flavia Maximiana Theodora.[5]

Events

After the revolt of Magnentius, Nepotianus proclaimed himself emperor and entered Rome with a band of gladiators[4] on 3 June 350.[1] After attempting to resist Nepotianus with an undisciplined force of Roman citizens, the defeated praefectus urbi Titianus (or Anicius, or Anicetus), a supporter of Magnentius, fled the city.

Magnentius quickly dealt with this revolt[4] by sending his trusted magister officiorum Marcellinus to Rome. According to Eutropius, Nepotianus was killed in the resulting struggle (on 30 June), his head put on a lance and borne around the city.[4] In the following days, his mother Eutropia was also killed alongside the supporters of Nepotianus.[5]

See also

Notes

  1. "DiMaio, Michael, "Nepotian (350 A.D.)", "DIR"". Roman-emperors.org. 6 August 1996. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  2. Sear, David (2014). Roman Coins. Spink & Son. pp. 255–256.
  3. Coins refer to him as either "Flavius Julius Nepotianus", "Flavius Popilius Nepotianus" or "Flavius Nepotianus Constantinus".[2]
  4. Eutropius x.11
  5. Pauly-Wissowa, Eutropia 2

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.