Quietus
| Quietus | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usuper-emperor of the Roman Empire | |||||
 Quietus on a coin celebrating Eternal Rome. [1] | |||||
| Reign | 260-1 (with Macrianus Minor) | ||||
| Predecessor | Gallienus / Macrianus Major | ||||
| Successor | Gallienus | ||||
| |||||
| Father | Macrianus Major | ||||
| Mother | ? (of senatorial descent) | ||||
Titus Fulvius Iunius Quietus (d. 261) was a Roman usurper.
Quietus was the son of Fulvius Macrianus and a noblewoman, possibly named Iunia. According to Historia Augusta, he was a military tribune under Valerian, but this information is challenged by historians.
He gained the imperial office with his brother Macrianus Minor, after the death of Emperor Valerian in the Sassanid campaign of 260. With the army deep in the enemy territory, the soldiers elected the two emperors. The support of his father, controller of the imperial treasure, and the influence of Balista, Praetorian prefect of the late Emperor Valerian, proved instrumental in his promotion.
Quietus and Macrianus, elected consuls, had to face the lawful Emperor Gallienus, at the time in the West. Quietus and Ballista stayed in the eastern provinces, while his brother and father marched their army to Europe to seize control of the Roman Empire. After the defeat of his brother and father in Thrace in 261, Quietus lost the control of the provinces in favour of Odaenathus of Palmyra. Forced to flee to the city of Emesa, he was killed by its inhabitants, possibily instigated by Ballista (Zonaras xii.24).
References
- ^ The coinage of Macrianus and of his brother and co-emperor Quietus celebrated the army, the confidence in victory, and the foreseen arrival of happy times. All of these themes were very important in a time of emergency, when the Roman Empire had lost its Emperor in battle against the Sassanid Empire, and the army was deep in enemy territory.
External links
Media related to Quietus at Wikimedia Commons