18 Facts About Tetricus I

Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus was a Gallo-Roman nobleman who ruled as emperor of the Gallic Empire from 271 to 274 AD.

Tetricus I was originally the of Gallia Aquitania and became emperor after the murder of Emperor Victorinus in 271, with the support of Victorinus's mother, Victoria.

Aurelian spared Tetricus I, and made him a senator and the of Lucania et Bruttium.

Tetricus I died of natural causes a few years after 274.

Fourteen inscriptions bearing Tetricus I' name have been found in Gaul, although these are broken into two regions by a vertical line of inscriptions bearing Aurelian's name, which were made after the surrender of Tetricus I; no Tetrican inscriptions overlap with Aurelianic inscriptions.

Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus, commonly referred to as Tetricus I, was born in Gaul, on an unknown date, to a noble family of Gallic origin.

Drinkwater posits that, as he was governor of Gallia Aquitania, Victoria likely reigned for several weeks from Colonia before Tetricus I assumed power, possibly issuing coins deifying Victorinus during this period.

The Gallic Empire followed the Roman tradition of emperors appointing themselves as consul, with Tetricus I appointing himself as consul in 271,272,273, and 274.

The semi-fictional, in its biography of emperor Aurelian, states that Tetricus I elevated his son at an unspecified date neither Aurelius Victor nor Eutropius mentions such an event.

Tetricus I had to contend with dissent within the army and government.

Tetricus I was not recognized by the provinces of Hispania, including Hispania Baetica, Lusitania, and Hispania Tarraconensis, which had earlier refused to recognize Victorinus as emperor, nor by the city of Argentoratum in Germania.

Tetricus I attacked them with some success, mainly during the early part of his reign, celebrating a triumph for one of his victories.

Around this time, Tetricus I held the, public games that took place every four years.

The higher discipline of the Roman forces, coupled with the greater military command of Aurelian, tipped the harsh battle in Roman favor, and after Tetricus I was captured in the combat, the morale of the Gallic forces broke.

However, this is believed by modern historians to be a product of Roman imperial propaganda; Aurelian, who was attempting to stabilise his fragile empire, benefited from the account that Tetricus I had planned to betray his army, as his troops would then be less likely to rise up again.

In 1921, David Magie, the editor of the Loeb edition of the, favored Tetricus I's having been made, while others, such as Alaric Watson in his 1999 Aurelian and the Third Century, support his having been made.

Tetricus I died of natural causes several years later in Italia.

The gold issued during the reign of Tetricus I fall into several types.