Quintillus

Quintillus ( Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus ) is the younger brother of the Roman Emperor Claude the Gothic and briefly succeeds to him from August at October 270. D. Kienast and Mr. Peachin place the beginning of its reign in September 270, whereas J.P. Callu thinks that it was associated two months with Imperium by his brother and reigned only a few days all alone (Orose gives him only one 17 days reign).

Its beginnings

It is originating in the province of Mésie and soldier like his brother, who entrusts to him the defense of Italy of north. With died of Claude, his soldiers proclaim it emperor with Aquilée, and the Roman Senate confirms its title. Jerome de Stridon mentions to him also the agreement of the senate, just as Orose and Jordanès, which confirms a rise in Imperium which would have occurred in Italy. The Vita Aureliani of the Histoire Auguste, less reliable on this point lets think, without taking again this version on its account, that Quintillus would have seized the imperial capacity of its own initiative with died of Claude.

It is presented as moderated and reconciling by the ancient historians, who do not allot nevertheless military or political companies to him, whereas the Roman Empire needs energetic men. It however seems that the brother of Claude had qualities necessary to control if one believes Eutrope of it, IX, 12: “It was a man of an exceptional moderation and a benevolence, worthy to be placed at the same level as his/her brother or even with the top. ”, and the History Auguste: “While it (Claude) rose towards the gods and the stars, his/her Quintillus brother, an irreproachable man and, to tell the truth, a brother worthy of his brother, assumed the Empire which was conferred to him of an unanimous opinion, not on a purely hereditary basis but have regard to his value: it would have become emperor even if he had not been the brother of Prince Claude. ”. Of course, one can see a will of glorifier there the alleged line of Constantin and his successors, the writer of the Histoire Auguste launching out besides in the paragraph following in an explanation detailed on the genealogy of Flavius Constantin compared to Claude, Quintillus and Crispus, the third brother.

Its currencies

The numismatists note that it could carry out a rather abundant monetary striking (see opposite), to also see. The note of the R.I.C which is devoted to him does not give less than 87 types different of monetary emissions, for which it is still necessary to bring back the low number of workshops available for the Roman central authority: the currencies of Quintillus were struck only in Rome, Milan, Siscia or Cyzique, is the four “central” workshops of the Empire Romain, it cannot act indeed of emissions distributed on a multitude of workshops, but well the work of the monetarists who did not fall under the cut from the Empire from Gaules (Lugdunum, Trier), or of Palmyre (Antioche). For coining, it would be necessary to think of a reign at least two months, it is besides the duration given by the Chronographe of 354 , 77 days, which appears most satisfactory.

Its reign

At the end of two months, the powerful army of Pannonia proclaims Aurélien with Sirmium. Quintillus does not have the means of being opposed to it, and its troops join in Aurélien. It is indeed the account which Jean Zonaras gives (XII, 26), which specifies moreover that the noise ran among the soldiers that Claude had indicated Aurélien like his successor. Less explicit, Zosime restores the account of this situation of usurpation after some time of reign of Quintillus: “After Quintillus, which was the brother of Claude, had been proclaimed Empereur and had lived only a few months without anything to make which is worthy of memory, Aurélien is high with the imperial throne”

Quintillus dies either by suicide while being made open the veins, or assassinated by its soldiers. According to certain sources, it was killed by its own soldiers, in Aquilée, because it wished more military discipline specifies the writer of the Histoire Auguste, “what let predict that he would be a true Prince”, who compares this assassination with that of Galba and Pertinax. It provides nevertheless another version of the end of the brother of Claude, whom it allots to Dexippe: it would have committed suicide, with the assistance of its doctor who would have opened to him the veins, after its soldiers gave up it, with the news of the advent of Aurélien, his friends having advised to him to withdraw itself and “to voluntarily yield the capacity to a competitor much more extremely”

Successive names

Is born Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus
270, reaches the Empire: Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus Pius Felix Invictus Augustus

Sources

Dexippe, Chronic .
Eutrope, Shortened Roman History .
Aurelius Victor, Book of Césars .
Epitome de Caesaribus .
History Auguste .
Orose, History against pagan the .
Holy Jerome, Chronic .
Zosime, new History .
Jean Zonaras, Epitome Historion .
D. Kienast, Romische Kaiserstabelle. Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie , Darmstadt, 1996.
Mr. Peachin, Romance Imperial Titulature and chronology , A.D. 235-284, Amsterdam, 1990.
JP Callu, the interregnum of Severine , Orbis Romanus Christianusque. Work on late Antiquity gathered around the searchs for No5el Duval, Paris, 1995.

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