Volusianus
38th Emperor of the Roman Empire
229 CE to 253 CE
Volusianus (Latin: Gaius Vibius Volusianus Augustus; died August 253), also known as Volusian, is a Roman Emperor from 251 to 253.
He is son to Gaius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus by his wife Afinia Gemina Baebiana.
He is known to have had a sister, Vibia Galla.
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The emperor Decius, while absent from Rome, had evidently selected Publius Licinius Valerianus, or Valerian, commander of the armies of the Upper Rhine, to direct the government.
Consul under Severus Alexander, Valerianus had played a leading role in inducing the Senate to risk support for the rebellion of Gordian I against Maximinus.
He may have been one of the twenty consulars who successfully defended Italy against the emperor.
However, Trebonianus Gallus, who has served with loyalty and distinction as legate of Moesia, is the emperor's immediate successor.
Gallus comes from an ancient family of Perusia (modern Perugia, Italy), whose ancestry can be traced to the pre-Roman Etruscan aristocracy.
He adopts Decius's younger son Hostilian as his co-ruler and at the same time makes his own son, Volusianus, a secondary and later co-emperor.
A severe outbreak of plague, possibly either measles or smallpox, enters the Roman Empire in 251, where it will rage for fifteen years; Hostilian dies of this plague shortly after receiving his title.
The Plague of Cyprian is the name given to this pandemic, probably of smallpox.
It is named after St. Cyprian, an early Christian writer who witnesses and describes the plague, which will cause widespread manpower shortages in agriculture and the Roman army.
Gallus, preparing for a fight with the usurper Aemilianus, recalls several legions under Licinius Valerianus and orders reinforcements to return to Rome from the Rhine frontier.
Despite these dispositions, Aemilianus marches onto Italy ready to fight for his claim.
Valerian heads south with the northern armies, but Gallus has no chance to face Aemilian in battle: he and Volusian are murdered by their own troops in August 253, in Interamna; these troops then join Aemilianus’ side before his arrival.
The Roman forces of the Upper Rhine declare Valerian emperor a few weeks later and continue their march towards Rome.
Before the two sides come to battle, Aemilianus is assassinated near Spoletium by his troops, who proclaim Valerian emperor.
Despite Aemilianus’ victory over the Goths, his attempt to seize power has allowed the defeated Goths to regroup and invade Greece.