Gordian III
was the youngest
emperor
of the
Roman Empire
who ruled alone. He was only 13 years old when he became emperor and ruled from 238 to 244 AD. His father was Junius Balbus and his mother was Antonia Gordiana.
In 235 AD, a man named Maximinus became emperor after
Alexander Severus
died.
The
Roman Senate
didn't like Maximinus, so when a
rebellion
started in
Africa Province
in 238, Gordian III's grandfather and uncle became emperors together because of the rebellion.
The governor of
Numidia
, who supported Maximinus, ended the rebellion quickly.
Later, the
Roman Senate
chose two new emperors named Pupienus and Balbinus. They also made Gordian III a Caesar.
Mximinus attacked Pupienus and Balbinus, but his army were not able to move through the mountains during
winter
.
Maximinus army didn't have
supplies
after being there for four weeks, which made his soldiers unhappy and afraid. As a result, the second Parthian legion, which was a part of Maximinus' army, turned against him and killed him.
Things were still bad for Pupienus and Balbinus because of many problems such as
violence
from
military
and a big fire in Rome in June 238. The next month, Pupienus and Balbinus were killed by the
Praetorian Guard
, and Gordian III became the emperor of Rome alone.
When Gordian became emperor, he was young, so the rich families in
Rome
took control of the government through the
Senate
.
In 240, a man named Sabinianus rebelled in
Africa Province
, but he quickly lost.
Gordian married a woman named Furia Sabinia Tranquillina. Her father, Timesitheus, became the
leader
of the
soldiers
who protected the emperor. He became very powerful and acted like the real ruler of Rome.
During Gordian's time as emperor, there were many strong
earthquakes
.
The earthquakes were so bad that cities fell and were destroyed. Gordian read some old books for
advice
about what to do.
In the
third century
, the borders of Rome were not strong against attacks from
Germanic tribes
and the
Sassanid Empire
. Shapur, the ruler of the Sassanid Empire, invaded
Mesopotamia
. Gordian sent a large army to fight them. The Sassanids lost and were forced to go back across the
Euphrates River
.
Gordian wanted to invade their land, but his wife's father died in an unknown way.
This made it dangerous for Gordian and his army. The soldiers were happy that Gordian won and he had a big celebration.
Two men named Gaius Julius Priscus and
Philip the Arab
became the new leaders of the soldiers who protected the emperor after Gordian wife's father died.
Philip and Priscus helped Gordian start a second war against Shapur. The
Sassanids
fought back very strongly near a place called Ctesiphon.
It is not clear what happened to Gordian after this battle. Some Roman sources say that
Philip
made peace with Shapur in a way that was bad for
Rome
, and that Gordian died while they were leaving for home.
Zonaras says that Gordian died when he fell off his horse during a battle.
Shapur wrote that there was a big battle near
Fallujah
(Iraq), which resulted in a big Roman defeat and the death of Gordian III.
Some people think that Gordian died at Zaitha because he was murdered by his angry soldiers.
It is said that
Philip
brought Gordian's body back to Rome and made him a god.
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