01-10-2015, 11:43 AM
Augustine - the thread might be more concise if you cut down the amount that you quote of other people's replies. Just a line or two is fine - you don't need to repeat the whole thing!
Batavia was the area around the mouth of the Rhine, a source of Roman auxiliary soldiers for centuries. This identification is only based on some coin issues though, which may have been intended to appeal to Batavians rather than indicating Postumus's own origin! We actually know very little about many of the personalities of the third century.
I'm not sure if you might be confusing Postumus with Carausius here, a later Gallic usurper who was sent off to quell pirates and allegedly kept their loot to pay his troops... If Postumus did seize the loot of (for example) Germanic raiders returning across the Rhine or Danube, he probably used it to pay his soldiers rather than keeping it himself. Soldiers were paid (and paid well), but it was often in arrears in this period, and a new emperor would award hefty donatives to the legions: another incentive for them to keep appointing new emperors!
Another point about the army - soldiers by this date had families, and had put down roots in their garrison areas. The soldiers of the Rhine army may have been more inclined to support a local emperor, rather than a central command that might order them to the Danube or the eastern frontier to prop up the crumbling military situation there. This in turn would leave the Rhine less heavily defended, threaten the soldiers' homes, and threaten Gaul itself.
This is debatable, but Severus was from Africa (Carthaginian background) and his wife Julia Domna from Syria. His administration appears to have favoured men from those backgrounds, in preference to westerners. The Syrian connection became even stronger under Caracalla, Elagabalus and Severus Alexander. Whether we can see the whole imperial axis shifting eastwards I don't know, but we don't hear much of the western aristocracy during this period.
I really couldn't say! He was presumably charismatic or effective enough for the army and people of Gaul to support him though...
Again, not sure. There does seem to have been trouble in the cities of Greece, as elsewhere - we see a lot of wall-building in the third century, particularly rough walls using spolia from older buildings, and this suggests a certain level of threat that might lead to economic problems. There are many similarities between the third and fifth century - I've often though that one of the best ways to consider the collapse of the western empire in the fifth century is to wonder why it didn't collapse in the third!
Quote:What is a Batavian?
Batavia was the area around the mouth of the Rhine, a source of Roman auxiliary soldiers for centuries. This identification is only based on some coin issues though, which may have been intended to appeal to Batavians rather than indicating Postumus's own origin! We actually know very little about many of the personalities of the third century.
Quote:his motives were sort of centered around 'booty'
I'm not sure if you might be confusing Postumus with Carausius here, a later Gallic usurper who was sent off to quell pirates and allegedly kept their loot to pay his troops... If Postumus did seize the loot of (for example) Germanic raiders returning across the Rhine or Danube, he probably used it to pay his soldiers rather than keeping it himself. Soldiers were paid (and paid well), but it was often in arrears in this period, and a new emperor would award hefty donatives to the legions: another incentive for them to keep appointing new emperors!
Another point about the army - soldiers by this date had families, and had put down roots in their garrison areas. The soldiers of the Rhine army may have been more inclined to support a local emperor, rather than a central command that might order them to the Danube or the eastern frontier to prop up the crumbling military situation there. This in turn would leave the Rhine less heavily defended, threaten the soldiers' homes, and threaten Gaul itself.
Quote:How does the rise of the Severan dynasty have an effect on imperial power and 'decentralization'?
This is debatable, but Severus was from Africa (Carthaginian background) and his wife Julia Domna from Syria. His administration appears to have favoured men from those backgrounds, in preference to westerners. The Syrian connection became even stronger under Caracalla, Elagabalus and Severus Alexander. Whether we can see the whole imperial axis shifting eastwards I don't know, but we don't hear much of the western aristocracy during this period.
Quote:What is your personal take on Postumus?
I really couldn't say! He was presumably charismatic or effective enough for the army and people of Gaul to support him though...
Quote:Was there any severe economic depression in Greece?
Again, not sure. There does seem to have been trouble in the cities of Greece, as elsewhere - we see a lot of wall-building in the third century, particularly rough walls using spolia from older buildings, and this suggests a certain level of threat that might lead to economic problems. There are many similarities between the third and fifth century - I've often though that one of the best ways to consider the collapse of the western empire in the fifth century is to wonder why it didn't collapse in the third!
Nathan Ross
