| Tacitus | |
|---|---|
| 45th Emperor of the Roman Empire | |
Bust of the Emperor Tacitus |
|
| Reign | September 25, 275 – June 276 |
| Full name | Marcus Claudius Tacitus (from birth to accession); Caesar Marcus Claudius Tacitus Augustus (as emperor) |
| Born | ca. 200 |
| Birthplace | Interamna, Italia |
| Died | June 276 (aged 76) |
| Place of death | Antoniana Colonia Tyana, Cappadocia |
| Predecessor | Aurelian |
| Successor | Florianus |
Tacitus (Latin: Marcus Claudius Tacitus Augustus;[1][2] ca. 200 – June 276), was Roman Emperor from 275 to 276. During his short reign he campaigned against the Goths and the Heruli, for which he received the title Gothicus Maximus.
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Tacitus was born in Interamna (Terni), in Italia.[3] He circulated copies of the historian Gaius Cornelius Tacitus' work, which was barely read at the time, and so we perhaps have him to thank for the partial survival of Tacitus' work; however, modern historiography[4] rejects his claimed descent from the historian as forgery. In the course of his long life he discharged the duties of various civil offices, including that of consul in 273, with universal respect.[5]
After the assassination of Aurelian, Tacitus was chosen by the Senate to succeed him, and the choice was cordially ratified by the army.[2] This was the last time the Senate elected a Roman Emperor. It is known that there was an interregnum between Aurelian and Tacitus, and there is substantial evidence that Aurelian's wife Ulpia Severina ruled in her own right before Tacitus' election.[6][7] At any rate Tacitus was situated at Campania when he heard the news of his election, and quickly rushed to Rome.[8] He decided to re-involve the Senate in some consultative manner in the mechanisms of government,[9] and asked the Senate to deify Aurelian, before he arrested and executed Aurelian's murderers.[8]
His next action was to move against the barbarian mercenaries that had been gathered by Aurelian to supplement Roman forces for his Eastern campaign.[10] These mercenaries had plundered several towns in the Eastern Roman provinces after Aurelian had been murdered and the campaign cancelled.[9] His half-brother, the Praetorian Prefect Florianus, and Tacitus himself won a victory against these tribes, among which were the Heruli, which gained the emperor the title Gothicus Maximus.[8]
He was on his way back west to deal with a Frankish and Alamannic invasion of Gaul when, (according to Aurelius Victor, Eutropius and the Historia Augusta), Tacitus died of fever at Tyana in Cappadocia in June 276.[11][12] It was reported that he began acting strangely, declaring that he would alter the names of the months to honor himself before succumbing to a fever.[10] In a contrary account, Zosimus claims he was assassinated, after appointing one of his relatives to an important command in Syria.[13]
Cavafy, "The Complete Poems" Harcourt, Brace & World (1961) pg. 201 Dugan, "Poems 2" Yale University Press (1963) pg. 33
Media related to Marcus Claudius Tacitus at Wikimedia Commons
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Aurelian |
Roman Emperor 275–276 |
Succeeded by Florianus |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Titus Flavius Postumius Quietus , Junius Veldumnianus, Tetricus I |
Consul of the Roman Empire 273 with Placidianus, Tetricus I |
Succeeded by Aurelian, Capitolinus |
| Preceded by Aurelian , Marcellinus |
Consul of the Roman Empire 276 with Aemilianus |
Succeeded by Probus, Paulinus |