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Biography, requested permission to contend for the prize of wrestling. Severus, unwilling to hazard the reputation of the Soldiers in an unequal combat, sought an antagonist for Maximinus among the followers of the Camp; and upon seeing him throw down sixteen of the stoutest without any effort or symptom of fatigue, he rewarded his success with some trifling ornaments of silver, and a request to enlist in the legions. Two days afterwards, when the Emperor appeared among the troops, the young recruit placed himself in his way; when the former, either to rid himself of the freedoms which he apprehended on the part of the victorious wrestler, or to put his astonishing swiftness to the test, gallopped off at full speed. Maximinus kept close at the horse's side, without any diminution of vigour or alacrity. "Thracian," said Severus, "would it not give you pleasure to have a bout of wrestling after your race?" "It would indeed," replied the indefatigable youth, and he forthwith cast to the ground seven of the strongest soldiers that were in the whole Army. This feat was immediately acknowledged by the gift of a splendid gorget, and a place in the Imperial Guards.*

Gigantic

stature.

The stature of Maximinus is said to have exceeded eight feet. His strength, as we have seen, was in proportion to the magnitude of his body; and if we may believe the statement of Capitolinus, his appetite and powers of digestion were not less extraordinary. Forty pounds of flesh and seven gallons of wine supplied the materials of his daily meals. Nor was his courage inferior to his prodigious physical energies. In his early youth, while occupied with the cares of a herdsman, he was chosen by his companions to take the command of their troop when employed against the robbers by whom their country was infested. The same qualities of coolness and resolution secured his promotion in the more regular service of the Roman armies; and accordingly we find, that in the reign of Caracalla he had risen to the respectable rank of Centurion. Disgusted with the murder of this Prince, he refused to serve under Macrinus; but retiring into his native Province made a purchase of land, and devoted himself for a time to the arts of peace. The accession of Heliogabalus opened a path for his return to military life; and during the succeeding Government of Alexander, he continued to rise in his favourite profession until at length he attained to the command of a legion, the personal friendship of the Emperor, and the respect of the whole Army.t

Aspires to But his ambition did not fail to keep pace with his the Throne. preferment, and even to outstrip all legitimate means for augmenting his fortunes. He cast his eye on the Imperial Throne; thinking it not too much that he who could wield the affections of the Soldiers and train them to victory, should likewise have the power of remunerating their toils. Though a stranger to real wisdom, he was not devoid of that selfish cunning which can point out to the least instructed mind the proper occasion for pursuing its own interests. He saw that amidst the casualties of actual war, Alexander was gradually losing the hold which he had once possessed upon the reverence of the Army. He improved this change of sentiment among the men, and endeavoured to inspire them with contempt for a Prince whom he represented as a child still under the direction

Capitolin. in Maxim. c. 2, 3.

+ Ibid. c. 4. Herodian. lib. vii.

death of

The event has been already mentioned: Alexander Dissimulaand his mother were assassinated by the disaffected tion on the Soldiers, and Maximinus was immediately saluted Em- Alexander. peror. Some time passed, it is said, before the Army in general was aware that the death of their late Sovereign was attributable to the machinations of his successor. To conceal the share which he had in that atrocious crime, he affected to bewail the loss of a master so virtuous and gentle, and even to honour his memory with all the tokens of regard which friendship and the sense of obligation are wont to confer upon departed worth. A magnificent sepulchre was erected in Gaul, and the Royal ashes were conveyed to Rome with every mark of reverence and affection.

But while the fierce Maximinus was thus amusing the grief of the better part of the Army, he neglected no means for establishing the power to which his intrigues had raised him. He had a son, a young man of high promise in all the qualities which recommend a Prince to the favour of a warlike people; handsome, accomplished, and brave. Him he forthwith invested with the rank and title of Cæsar, and placed at the head of the noble youths who had formed themselves into a body to study the Arts, and acquire the habits of military life. He also wrote a submissive Letter to the Senate, entreating that they would confirm the election of the Army; a boon which it was no longer in their power to refuse. He gave or promised a large donative to the Soldiers, praised their loyalty, and held out to them the prospects of numerous triumphs in the war upon which they had just entered. Under various pretences, He gains too, he dismissed from all employments near his person the Army. those individuals upon whose attachment he had not the fullest reliance. He sent into distant parts of the Empire every one who had attracted the regard or merited the friendship of Alexander; or if there were any whom he suspected of cherishing in their minds a feeling of detestation for the treacherous cruelty by which that amiable Prince had been cut off, he hesitated not to remove his fears and to gratify his revenge, by putting them to instant death. It is said, moreover, that he manifested the utmost impatience of the society of such Officers as had witnessed his progress through the different ranks of the service, and were acquainted with the meanness of his origin. Though he depended on the affection of the Soldiers, who really loved him for virtues like their own, he was conscious that his low birth, his rude manners, and his total ignorance of the Arts and refinement of civilized life, formed a very unfavourable contrast with the high lineage and accomplished character of his predecessor. For this reason, he took away the lives of several distinguished men, who were chargeable with no other crime besides that of having known the Emperor when

*Capitolin. in Maxim. c. 7.

Biography, money. Such impious proceedings could not be effected without tumults and massacres ; as in many places the inhabitants chose rather to die in defence of their altars, than to behold their Religion exposed to the violation of war, by the hands of their own soldiers, who were bound to protect it.

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His Procurator in

and an

occasioned.

A scene of this nature, which occurred in Africa, led to events which shook the Throne of Maximinus. Africa slain, His Procurator, who followed in a certain district of that country the destructive maxims upon which the insurrection general Government was conducted, condemned several noble youths to the payment of a fine which must have exhausted the greater part of their estates. They petitioned for a delay of three days, to enable them to raise the sum which the iniquitous sentence of the judge had imposed upon them. But instead of collecting money, they assembled from their respective lands a large Body of trusty slaves, whom they armed with clubs and axes, and other rustic weapons, which they instructed them to conceal under their garments until the moment of action should arrive. The chiefs of the conspiracy made their way into the presence of the Procurator, as if to discharge the claims of their penalty, whom they immediately stabbed with their daggers, and then threw themselves upon the protection of their tumultuary train. The multitude soon oppressed the irresolute attempts of the Soldiers, avowed their determination to throw off the intolerable yoke of the Thracian tyrant, and already mingled with their shouts of victory and defiance the name of their venerable Proconsul, Marcus Antonius Gordianus."

Gordianus chosen

This distinguished Senator belonged to one of the most illustrious families in Rome. By the father's Emperor. side he was descended from the Gracchi, by the mother's from the Emperor Trajan; and his wife, Fabia Orestilla, could boast the blood of the Antonini. His great wealth was decorated by a love of Literature and of the Arts, by a virtuous character, and by a benevolent and peaceful disposition. He had been twice Consul, and had even seen one of his sons invested with that high office. The magnificence with which he lived at Rome excited the envy even of Caracalla. The Palace which formerly belonged to the great Pompey had already been several generations in the family of Gordianus, now ornamented with the trophies of naval victories, and beautified with the finest specimens of Architecture, Sculpture, and Painting. But the qualities of his mind endeared him to the African provincials still more than his high lineage and his great riches. They compared him to Scipio, to Cato, to Rutilius, to Scævola, and to Lælius, and they even maintained that every thing which was esteemed most excellent in the characters of these renowned Warriors and Statesmen, was revived in his single person.†

It is not surprising that Gordianus should have declined the dangerous honour to which the partiality of the Colonists had raised him. When the leaders of the insurrection entered his house, they found him enjoying the repose which the heat of an African climate renders necessary about the middle of the day, and altogether unacquainted with the events which had just taken place at the tribunal of the Procurator. Upon hearing their proposal to set him on the Throne, he entreated that they would consider his great age, his

*Herodian. lib. vii. Capitolin. in Maxim. c. 14. + Capitolin. in Gordian. c. 1, 2; in Maxim. c. 15.

Marcus Antoninus Gordianus, Senior and Junior.

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reluctance to engage in the weighty cares of Government, the hazards with which they were about to surround him, and above all, his earnest desire to close his brief career without staining his hands with the blood of his countrymen. But his expostulations were uttered in vain. Menaces were used to overcome his hesitation; and he was assured, that if he did not immediately accept the Purple, his life would be made to atone for his indifference to the safety of the Empire. Another motive was suggested to remove his scruples and to strengthen his resolution. He was reminded, that to have been thought worthy of the Crown, would be regarded by Maximinus as a crime not less heinous than that of actual rebellion. The danger, therefore, if he persisted in his refusal, was certain and inevitable. These considerations fixed the decision of Gordianus. He was instantly proclaimed Emperor, with power to His son associate his son in the Government. The multitude associated gave a free expression to their zeal and delight, by pulling down the statues of Maximinus, effacing his name from the public monuments, and by transferring all his honours to the new Sovereigns, into whose hands they had thrust his Sceptre.*

with him.

Senate.

The two Gordiani removed from Tysdrus to Car- Election thage, whence they wrote to Rome, informing the confirmed Senate of the proceedings which had placed them on by the the Throne, stating the principles on which affairs were thenceforth to be administered, and soliciting the confirmation of the National Council to the unanimous act of the whole African Province. The popular voice in› the Capital was not less decided in favour of the new accession, than was that of the Colonists on the opposite shores of the Mediterranean. Every demonstration of hatred and contempt against Maximinus was indulged in without the smallest disguise or restraint. His person and authority were denounced in the streets; and every emblem that could perpetuate the recollection of his savage manners or boastful pretensions, was thrown down and destroyed. The Senate acted with more: deliberation, though not with less vigour. Having met in the Temple of Castor, they declared the Gordiani Emperors, with one voice, and the most hearty acclamations; and, at the same time, pronounced Maximinus and all his adherents to be enemies to their Country. The Prætorian Cohorts followed the example of the Senate and People. The Provinces, too, declared their acquiescence in the new state of things; and the African Proconsul might have congratulated himself upon the ease and safety of his elevation to the Supreme power, had not the malice of a personal enemy defeated his plans, and disappointed the hopes of the Roman People.

slain.

Cupelianus, the Governor of Numidia, was a creature The of Maximinus, and as such had never studied to render Gordiani himself agreeable to his superior Officer in the Province. When this last was raised to the Empire, he sent orders to the former to resign his command. Cupelianus not only refused to comply, but made preparations to march at the head of his troops against the usurpers, as he deemed them, of his master's Throne. The younger Gordianus proceeded from Carthage with such a force as he could raise, to oppose the Numidian Commander; but the soldiers whom the latter brought into the field being greatly superior, as

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Biography. is said, indeed, to have received the intelligence with the most frantic rage; but before he could take any step to retrieve his affairs in the South, his mind was relieved by the information that his competitors had already fallen, and that the insurgents at Carthage had in consequence returned to their duty. When he heard, however, that the Senate, regardless of his displeasure, or determined to brave its effects, had placed other two Emperors on the Throne, he vowed to inflict upon them the most signal chastisement; and yet, if we can put any confidence in the imperfect chronology of the Augustan History, not fewer than nine or ten months elapsed before he appeared with his Legions on the frontiers of Italy.*

war.

Maximus Maximus, after giving to the People of Rome the prepares for usual shows and gratuities, proceeded towards the Julian Alps, to make preparations for checking the advance of the fierce invader. He placed his headquarters at Aquileia, the walls of which were fortified with suitable care, its magazines well supplied with provisions, and its garrison strengthened by the addition of a large body of troops. He gave orders, at the same time, to remove all the corn and cattle from the surrounding country, to break down the bridges, and to destroy every thing which might afford shelter or protection to an enemy's army.

Maximinus besieges

After some delay, occasioned by the swelling of the rivers, the deposed Emperor made his way to the city Aquileia, just named; where he began his hostile operations by rooting up the vineyards in the neighbourhood, demolishing the suburbs, and employing the timber of the buildings for constructing the engines and towers by means of which he hoped to make himself master of that important place. But he was opposed in all his attempts, not less by the skill and bravery of the Soldiers than by the resolution of the Citizens, whose knowledge of his character impressed upon their minds, from the moment they shut their gates against him, the alternative of death or of victory. The sentiments of Religion, too, mixed with those of native courage in defence of their town. Crispinus, an experienced Commander, appointed by the Senate to superintend the preparations within the walls, inspired them with the most confident assurances of success; representing to them that the Gods had declared their will that Aquileia should not fall, and even that the tutelar Divinity of the place had already appeared amongst them in person, to secure the safety of his favoured dwelling. But they were not permitted to rely entirely upon the cooperation of Apollo Balanus. Instructed by the regular troops, they made frequent sallies upon the besiegers, of whom they slew a great number. They also showered down upon them from the wall large quantities of melted pitch, which destroyed their machines, and drove them from their trenches; until, at length, their confidence increased so much, that they insulted with loud taunts the ineffectual labours of the tyrant, and defied at once his power and his anger.†

repulsed, The Barbarian, accustomed to conquer, was filled with rage at the successive repulses which his troops had sustained, and which, in a burst of passion, he ascribed to their want of courage, or of ardour in his cause. The men, on their part, having already suffered a great deal from want, fatigue, and disease, were no

Capitolin. in Maxim. c. 17, 18. Ibid. c. 20, 21.

and

D. C.

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longer disposed to tolerate the brutality of a leader M. C. P. who had proved himself destitute of every sentiment Maximus, but those of selfishness and revenge. The Prætorians in particular, whose families were at Rome, began to Balbinus. entertain fears for the safety of their wives and children, who might be visited with the resentment of the Senate, or fall victims to the fury of the multitude, who hated still more than they dreaded the character of Maximinus. Besides, they called in question the duty of fighting for a monster who was detested by Gods and men, and of laying waste their native country, merely to enable a Thracian adventurer to shed, in gratification of his personal revenge, the best blood of Rome. They accordingly resolved to put an end to the war by taking away his life. In pursuance of this object, they went in a Body to the Imperial tent, destroying in their progress through the camp the various images and inscriptions which denoted the supreme power of Maximinus; till at length, having upbraided And slain. him with his cruelty, and repelled every effort he made by his own to speak in his own defence, they killed him and his son, whom he had associated in the Empire, and carried back their heads in triumph through the ranks of their applauding countrymen.

soldiers.

the news of

The joy which this event created at Rome exceeds Joy at the power of description. The Senators crowded to Rome on the Temples to thank the Gods for their deliverance his death. from the most frightful tyranny with which their Order was ever threatened the common People filled the streets with acclamations, tore down every monument that appertained to the late Emperor, extolled the valour and wisdom of his successors, and congratulated their Country upon the return of happy times. There was only one class of subjects whose satisfaction was not complete. The Soldiers were offended that the Throne should have been filled without their voice or concurrence; and amid the shouts which met their ears as they approached the gates of Rome, they could distinguish the applauses bestowed upon the Senate for their considerate choice of persons to guide the helm of affairs. In such praise they listened to their own condemnation, for having raised to the Throne the rude warrior whom they had recently put to death, and they detected, at the same time, the grounds of a resolution on the part of the Civil authorities to deprive the Army of the dangerous privilege which it had so long usurped and exercised. Maximus, too, when he addressed the Legions under the walls of Aquileia, reminded them that by the original Constitution of the Roman Government the supreme power resided in the Senate and the People, and that the Commander of the Armies, whether he were called Emperor or Consul, was nothing more than the deputy of those two constituent bodies. Hence, he impressed upon them, as the first duty of armed Citizens, a constant observance of discipline, and a respectful attention to the orders of their superiors; and upon this basis, he assured them, they would meet with an entire forgiveness of every thing that was past, and merit the esteem of all classes of their countrymen, whether in Italy or in the Provinces.†

Dissatisfac

The Prætorians participated deeply in the feelings of tion of the resentment and suspicion which pervaded the Legions. Army, and They called to mind the conduct of Severus, who, to

*Capitolin. in Maxim. c. 22. Herodian. lib. viii.

† August. Hist. vol. ii. p. 21. edit. Bipont. 1782.

assassination of Maximus and Balbinus.