Roman emperor in 218
Diadumenian
|
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An
aureus
bearing the image of Diadumenian. The inscription reads
m
opel
ant
diadvmenian
caes
.
|
|
Augustus
| May ? June 218
|
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Predecessor
| Macrinus
(co-emperor)
|
---|
Successor
| Elagabalus
|
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Caesar
| May 217 ? May 218
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|
Born
| 14 September 208 AD
|
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Died
| June 218 AD (aged 9)
Zeugma
|
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|
Marcus Opellius Diadumenianus (birth)
Marcus Opellius Antoninus Diadumenianus (217)
| |
Imperator Caesar Marcus Opellius Antoninus Diadumenianus
|
|
Father
| Macrinus
|
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Mother
| Nonia Celsa
|
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Diadumenian
(
dy-
AD
-uu-
MEE
-nee-?n
;
Latin
:
Marcus Opellius Antoninus Diadumenianus
; 14
September 208 ? June 218) was the son of the
Roman emperor
Macrinus
and served as his co-ruler for a brief time in 218. His mother, Macrinus' wife, is called
Nonia Celsa
in the unreliable
Historia Augusta
, though this name may have been fictional. Diadumenian became
caesar
in May 217, shortly after his father's accession to the imperial throne.
Elagabalus
, a relative of the recently deceased
Caracalla
, revolted in May of the following year, and Diadumenian was elevated to co-emperor. After Macrinus was defeated in the
Battle of Antioch
on 8 June 218, Diadumenian was sent to the court of
Artabanus IV of Parthia
to ensure his safety; however, he was captured and executed along the way. After his death and that of his father, the
Senate
declared both of them enemies of Rome and had their names struck from records and their images destroyed ? a process known in modern scholarship as
damnatio memoriae
.
History
[
edit
]
Diadumenian was born on 14 September 208,
named Marcus Opellius Diadumenianus, to
Macrinus
, the
praetorian prefect
and future emperor of
Berber
origin.
The unreliable
Historia Augusta
, a collection of
biographies
of Roman emperors and usurpers, mistakenly names Diadumenian as "Diadumenus".
The same source also states that Diadumenian's mother (Macrinus' wife) was called
Nonia Celsa
, though this name may have been invented by the author of the text.
Little information survives about Diadumenian, although the details of his physical appearance can be deduced from coinage and a description from the
Historia Augusta
, which relates that he was "beautiful beyond all others, somewhat tall of stature, with golden hair, black eyes and an aquiline nose; his chin was wholly lovely in its molding, his mouth designed for a kiss, and he was by nature strong and by training graceful".
Having served as praetorian prefect under
Caracalla
, Macrinus participated in a plot to have the Emperor assassinated and exploited the resulting power vacuum to seize the throne for himself on 11 April 217, three days after Caracalla's death.
Shortly after, the eight-year-old Diadumenian was elevated to
caesar
– formalising his position as heir to the throne – at
Zeugma
, while his guard was escorting him from
Antioch
to
Mesopotamia
to join his father. He was also given the name Antoninus, in honour of the
Antonine dynasty
, at this time.
On 16 May 218 a revolt against him and his father was launched in
Emesa
by
Elagabalus
, whose mother,
Julia Soaemias
, was Caracalla's cousin. In order to put down the revolt, Macrinus led his legions to a fort at
Apamea
. There Macrinus elevated Diadumenian to
augustus
, making him co-emperor. After Macrinus was defeated by Elagabalus on 8 June 218, at the
Battle of Antioch
, Macrinus fled north and then to the
Bosporus
. Before fleeing, he entrusted Diadumenian to loyal servants, instructing them to take him into the
Parthian Empire
, to the court of
Artabanus IV
, to ensure his safety. Diadumenian was captured en route in Zeugma and executed in late June.
His head was brought to Elagabalus and reportedly kept as a trophy.
Following the demise of both Macrinus and Diadumenian, the
Roman Senate
quickly proclaimed their support for Elagabalus, declaring the former emperors to be enemies of the state. They were subject to a process known in modern scholarship as
damnatio memoriae
, with their images and mentions in inscriptions and
papyri
being destroyed during the reign of Elagabalus.
In an attempt to wipe out all traces of Diadumenian and his father, Elagabalus dated his own reign to the end of that of Caracalla.
Surviving busts of Diadumenian are mangled, with the facial features barely being discernible.
Numismatics
[
edit
]
Aureus of Macrinus, which features Diadumenian on the reverse, seated on a platform alongside his father, with the allegory of
Liberalitas
before them.
[14]
Aureus of Diadumenian. The reverse depicts him as
princeps iuventutis
(official heir) between military standards.
[15]
A very rare denarius of Diadumenian as
augustus
, minted in the last weeks of his life, between late April and early June 218.
[16]
While
caesar
, a large number of coins were struck for Diadumenian, although fewer than the amount struck for his father. Coins in which he is depicted as
augustus
are extremely limited, and the only known coins from this time are
denarii
. This has led to the suggestion, first proposed by the ancient
numismatist
Curtis Clay
, that a large issue of coins was being made for Diadumenian; however, they were quickly melted down when the news of Macrinus' defeat spread. Some
eastern provincial coins
from the period exist which give Diadumenian the title
sebastos
, at the time the Greek equivalent of the Roman
augustus
.
In terms of gold coins, Diadumenian has one known style of
aureus
, bearing his image on the
obverse
and displaying
Spes
standing on the
reverse
, and one known style of half-aureus, bearing his image on the obverse and displaying himself holding a
sceptre
and
standard
.
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
Mattingly et al.,
Roman Imperial Coinage IV part II
, p. 11.
- ^
Mattingly et al.,
Roman Imperial Coinage IV part II
, p. 13.
- ^
Mattingly et al.,
Roman Imperial Coinage IV part II
, pp. 3, 14.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Bedoyere, Guy de la (2017).
Praetorian: The Rise and Fall of Rome's Imperial Bodyguard
. Yale University Press.
ISBN
978-0-300-22627-0
.
- Bowman, Alan; Garnsey, Peter; Cameron, Averil (2005).
The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 12
(2 ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
978-0-521-85073-5
.
- Bunson, Matthew (1991).
Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire
. Facts On File.
ISBN
978-1-4381-1027-1
.
- Cooley, Alison E.
(2012).
The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy
. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
978-0-521-84026-2
.
- Friedberg, Arthur L.; Friedberg, Ira S.; Friedberg, Robert (2017).
Gold Coins of the World - 9th edition: From Ancient Times to the Present. An Illustrated Standard Catlaog with Valuations
. Coin & Currency Institute.
ISBN
978-0-87184-009-7
.
- Harold Mattingly
,
Edward A. Sydenham
,
C. H. V. Sutherland
,
Roman Imperial Coinage
, volume IV part II, Macrinus to Pupienus,
London, Spink, 1938.
- Potter, David
(2004).
The Roman Empire at Bay, AD 180-395
. Routledge.
ISBN
978-0-415-10057-1
.
- Scott, Andrew G. (2018).
Emperors and Usurpers: An Historical Commentary on Cassius Dio's Roman History
. Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0-19-087959-4
.
- Vagi, David L. (2000).
Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, c. 82 B.C.- A.D. 480
. Fitzroy Dearborn.
ISBN
978-1-57958-316-3
.
- Varner, Eric R. (2004).
Mutilation and Transformation: Damnatio Memoriae and Roman Imperial Portraiture
. Brill.
ISBN
90-04-13577-4
.
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