1. Biography

Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus¹ was born in 218. His father was Publius Licinius Valerianus and and his mother Egnatia Mariniana, descending from old senatorial families of Rome. Licinius Valerianus II was his half-brother from a different mother. He married Cornelia Salonina,² who gave him three sons, Publius Licinius Cornelius Valerianus (known as Valerian II), Licinius Cornelius Saloninus Valerianus and Licinius Egnatius Marinianus.³ He reigned jointly with his father from 253, while he maintained power even after his father had been taken prisoner by the Persians and died in 260, having successfully dealt with usurpers in the East and the West.

He promoted military reforms creating a very flexible army, administrative reforms that generated great dissatisfaction in the upper class, and monetary reforms, which intensify the economic crisis of the empire. On the other hand, he supported artistic and intellectual creation and he adopted a lenient policy towards the Christians.

He was murdered between the 20^th of August and the 16^th of October 268 AD in Milan along with his brother Valerian, his spouse Salonina and his son Marinianus, following a plot which made Claudius II emperor. Claudius asked from the senate to deify his victim, so that he would gain people’s favour.⁴

2. Gallienus as a military man

When Valerian ascended to the throne, aiming at a more effective governing, he appointed Gallienus not as Ceasar but as Augustus, a proposal which was ratified by the senate.⁵ Furthermore, he assigned to his son the command of the western provinces of the empire.

Gallienus, during this joint reign (253-259), dealt successfully with the raids of the German tribes and revolts by the governors of the provinces.⁶ The decisive role not only in these campaigns but also in those that followed was played by an army corps for rapid intervention, which operated separately from the main army. Gallienus himself had established that corps which was based at Milan.⁷

2.1. The Persians - Turmoil in the East

In 259, after his father was captured by the Persian king Sapor I, the government of the entire empire was handed over to him. Occupied with the rebels in the western part of the empire, he assigned the repulse of the Persian invasion that extended as far as Lycaonia⁸ to his father’s generals Ballista and Macrianus I, who reorganized what was left of Valerian’s army, as well as to the ruler of Palmyra Odaenathus. Nevertheless, due to their action, the troops of the East proclaimed Macrianus II and Quietus, Macrianus’ sons, emperors in 260. The new emperors were acknowledged in Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt.

Gallienus sent Aureolus, the commander of the cavalry, and Odaenathus, who defeated the usurpers in 261.⁹ Those victories against the Persians, gave Gallienus the titles Parthicus Maximus and Persicus Maximus. Coinage produced in various cities, like Side in Pamphylia, propagandized the emperor’s successes.¹⁰

2.2. The Gothic raids

In 268 Gallienus repelled the raids of the Goths, who had invaded Greece and Asia Minor, ravaging Mysia (Cyzicus is also mentioned in the sources) and Bithynia.¹¹ To commemorate the victories against them at land and sea he issued coins with representations of Ares or Poseidon.¹²

3. Gallienus as a politician

3.1. Administrative reforms

His most important reform was the exclusion of senators from the higher military ranks, while he started to replace them in the political offices with equites. This policy is also testified in the provinces of Asia Minor, such as Pontus-Bithynia, Cilicia, Lycia-Pamphylia, whereas in the Province of Asia a procurator acted as a proconsul.¹³

3.2. Economic policy

The continuation of his father’s economic policy proved to be a disaster, especially the establishment of new imperial mints and the striking of inflationist coinage, tactics which were also followed by his successors. Thus, due to the increased imperial production, many small local mints closed down. During his reign, the 188 cities in Asia Minor which were issuing their own coins decreased to 122. In addition, immediately after his death, only the mint of Cyzicus, founded in the period of the co-regency¹⁴ survived and few others in Pisidia-Pamphylia, which were apparently less affected by the general economic situation. On the coins of Lyrbe, Perge and Side, apart from the eagle, symbol of the dynasty, the sun, symbol of god Helios, is also depicted, as Gallienus wished to be identified with the god. He also promoted his cult together with his wife Salonina.¹⁵

The results of this disastrous policy were increased inflation, which affected the working class, and a decreased offer of loans due the sharp fall of interest rates. The number of land plots abandoned was so great, that when emperor Aurelian ascended to the throne two years after Gallienus, he demanded the payment of evading profits from the taxes of the abandoned regions.

4. Gallienus’s contribution to the arts

The emperor himself wrote poems, ¹⁶ while he and his spouse supported the arts. Their friendship for Plotinus, the Neoplatonist philosopher, is testified and presumably they knew his student Porphyry as well. Gallienus had actually promised Plotinus to support him in founding a Platonic community in Campania in Italy, where the philosopher and his circle would live by the laws of Plato.¹⁷

His interest in the arts gave a fresh impetus, which is known in modern bibliography as the Gallienic Renaissance. Although it is characterised by a return to the artistic tendencies of the time of Augustus, Hadrian and Severus Alexander, there is also a romantic tension which breaks with the past and seeks new ways of expression. These elements are reflected on the portraits and the sculptural decoration of the sarcophagi of the period from Asia Minor. The Greek character of the Gallienic Renaissance might have been associated with the Emperor’s visit to Athens, where he became eponymous archon, and was initiated to the Eleusinian Mysteries. Moreover, it has been suggested that the popularity of those tendencies in Rome was generated by artists who had migrated from Greece and Asia Minor to Rome, after the sack of their lands by the Goths.

5. Gallienus and Christianity

His policy towards the Christians during his reign was different. He allowed free practice of the religion, returned part of the confiscated properties and he gave Christianity a legal status for the first time.¹⁸ It has been argued that Gallienus wanted to deal with the Christians adopting the neo-platonic theories¹⁹ rather than violent methods. This theory, however, has received strong criticism. It is most likely that he tolerated the Christians due to his indifference or in an effort to attract Christians from the regions controlled by the rebel and persecutor of the Christians, Macrianus. In addition, he was aiming at averting any pro-Persian tendencies. Moreover, any violent reaction would contradict the propagandised image of the emperor as just, tolerant, philanthropist, benefactor, brave and defender of the Empire.²⁰

6. Evaluation

6.1. Ancient literary sources

Gallienus is portrayed in the Latin literary tradition as an evil, cruel and frivolous emperor. His only positive feature is his ability as a strategist. This criticism derives mainly from the historiographers-biographers of the 4th century, who sought the reasons for the decline of the empire in the policies of the 3rd century emperors. The subversion of the social order, which began with the administrative and military reforms that allowed equites to rise to the higher ranks, thus replacing the senators, as well as the devaluation of the currency, which led to the crisis that lasted throughout the 4th century, were considered to be the two most important reasons for this crisis by writers who had either senatorial descent or continued a tradition of historiography that had roots in this class.

A further reason for this hostility is the effort of Aurelius Victor and the biographer of Gallienus, and his murderer and successor Claudius II, to praise the latter in Historia Augusta , as he was regarded by the writers of the 4th century and the Imperial propaganda, descendant of Constantine the Great.²¹ Moreover, the “Gallienic propaganda”, had the reverse effects. The brave, just, and benevolent Gallienus by portraying himself as favoured by Heracles, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, Genii Populi Romani , Zeus, Hera, Poseidon and Helios²² or by comparing himself to them,²³ has only managed to appear as arrogant and eccentric.

The ancient Greek and Byzantine literary sources, on the other hand, confine in describing mere events, with the exception of Malalas who praises his physical appearance.

6.2. Modern Scholarship

Modern historiography, led by Homo and Alföldi, tended to rehabilitate his reputation, stressing his ability to deal successfully with the crisis in 259-261. Gallienus’ measures are regarded as necessary to deal with this crisis, as well as the invasions. Moreover, his monetary policy is justifiable, considering the need to pay the troops, although it is still described as disastrous. The end of the prosecution of Christianity is interpreted as a policital move or tolerance under the influences of Neoplatonic ideas. Finally, the Gallienic renaissance is defined, analysed and interpreted. However, Magie disagrees and characterises Gallienus’ reign as a period of decline and chaos for the Asia Minor, while he implies that Gallienus was never popular to its inhabitants.²⁴

Gallienus was a capable military emperor who proceeded to reforms and actions he felt were necessary to face the crisis. Nevertheless, he had not planned a complete programme, nor had he realised their immediate or longterm consequences, for which, however, all the emperors of the period were responsible.

Regarding Asia Minor, Gallienus cannot be held responsible for the destructive raids of the Persians and the Goths, in contrast to his father. However, he is credited with the successful confrontation of the Gothic raids towards the end of his reign. The argument that he did not react immediately to free his father, aiming at autocracy, although not improbable, has been stated rather uncritically. It should be clarified that the time span between Valerian’s capture and his death was only few months, when Gallienus could not leave Rome to the disposal of the ambitious governors of the western provinces, who troubled him until they had eventually murdered him.

His economic policy, the demands of the rival armies during the rebellions and the various raids led many Asia Minor cities to decline. However, there is evidence that there were certain cities which continued to flourish with or without the emperor’s help. Thus, the cities of Pamphylia and Pisidia were not affected by the economic crisis, as they were issuing their own coins after his death.

Furthermore, certain cities of Pamphylia acquired the title neokoria during Gallienus’ reign. During Valerian and Gallienus’ reign, with the exception of Caracalla’s time, is the period when most titles of neokoria are given to cities of Asia Minor.²⁵ In addition, cities like Ankara in Galatia, Aphrodisias in Caria and Tarsus, organised important festivals, some of them with funding by the emperor and his family, while in Pergamon, an agonothetes had the means to fund the festival of Asclepius himself. Cyzicus, with the new imperial mint, thrives, while in Nicaea the destroyed by the Goths walls are being repaired.²⁶ Hence, generalisations for Gallienus’ time as “a period of decline and chaos” are misleading.