In the previous article, we tackled Decius Caesar and his severe persecutions against Christians, especially the Egyptians. Then we tackled Emperor Gallus Caesar, who was deprived of power by Commander Emilianus. Emilianus spent a little while in power then Valerian became the Caesar of Rome.
Valerian Caesar (253 – 261 AD)
Valerian was of a noble family which descended from the Roman Senate. At the beginning of his life, he became a consul in 238 AD, and was appointed a ruler of Rhine state under the reign of Decius. Emperor Gallus asked Valerian’s assist in facing Emilianus’ revolt and disobedience, so he headed towards him. However, Decius had been killed by his soldiers who joined Emilianus then and proclaimed him an emperor. Valerian did not cease to fight Emilianus, yet upon reaching the place of Emilianus, he knew that his soldiers had revolted against him and had murdered him, so Valerian was proclaimed a Caesar.
Valerian’s first act as emperor was to appoint his son Gallienus as a Caesar sharing power with him. His ruling period, and his son’s, had witnessed an increase in stagnation, negligence, regression and poverty, that most of the empire’s states became more abandoned and regressed.
His rule began with acting tolerantly to Christians, and many of them were working in his palace. But quickly he turned against them; he sent many of the clergymen and secularists to exile, confiscated their property, and prevented religious meetings. When this was not useful, he moved to using the death penalty; he sent an order to the Roman Senate to execute the bishops, priests and deacons immediately without delay. He also ordered Christian senators, prominent men, and Roman knights to be stripped of their titles and possessions, and if they insist on adhering to their religion afterwards, they would be beheaded! Married women were stripped of their possessions and were sent to exile, while the common citizens who declared their Christian faith, would meet their fate of being bound with chains, and sent to work as slaves in the districts of the empire, before being beheaded with the sword! Among the most famous martyrs of that era were Sixtus II, the Bishop of Rome and Cyprian, the Bishop of Cartagena.
As for Egypt at the time, we find in the History of the Coptic Church book that Valerian, at the beginning of his rule, used to call Christians to his palace and have conversations with them, and that he was hurt by what they were suffering and harmed of. However, this love was turned into hatred, abomination and hostility towards them because one of the priests of the Egyptian temples who was close to the emperor feared losing his position as a result of the emperor closeness to the Christians, so, the priest informed the emperor against the Christians, claiming that the sacrifices he would present to the gods for the safety of the emperor was no longer accepted due to his endearment to the Christians. Believing such lies, Valerian embarked on a savage persecution against the Christians, killed many aged people and bishops. The persecutors attacked the safe people at their homes and dragged them to the torture pangs; so many Christians had to flee from their homes to mountains and caves to hide in.”
Emperor Valerian fought the Persians, yet he was defeated, captivated, lived as a slave and died a captive. So, a revolution broke out against the Central Government all over the empire – It is not surprising that Egypt revolted against the empire – Thus, he was the only Roman Emperor who became a war captive, causing turmoil to his empire.
Gallienus Caesar (253 – 268 AD)
During the captivation of Valeria, his son Gallienus assumed the power of Rome, yet he was preoccupied with banquets and celebrations, uncaring about his post or his people, even his captive father who suffered humility and disrespect in Persia was not a part of his son’s care!
His era was burdened with disasters and catastrophes, until the empire was ultimately weak and on the verge of collapse! Besides, enemies’ raids had torn the kingdom apart, yet he didn’t give it the minimal care! His era was of misery, pervaded with epidemics, poverty and sedition, epidemic spread in Egypt, while in Rome, the estimated victims of plague were nearly five thousand people daily!
Hence, his ruling period was considered one of the most miserable and distressful periods Rome had ever passed through, which led to the revolution led by Emilianus, the armored armies’ prince in Egypt, against him. Gallienus Caesar sent him warnings to stop him, yet he didn’t respond and took possession of the rule alone, they fought until Emilianus was defeated, captivated and sentenced to death. This was not the only revolution to break out against the Caesar in Egypt, as the Roman soldiers in Alexandria had revolted twice, proclaiming a new emperor at each time, yet they both were murdered. Many revolutions broke out against him yet they all failed, the people was fed up with his rule, deeds and mismanagement of the country, so they killed him and laid down his corpse in front of his palace. Claudius II succeeded him.
Claudius II (268 – 270 AD)
He was one of the Roman armies considerable chiefs, and was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers due to his military achievements and his crushing victory over the enemies of the empire. When he entered Rome with his soldiers, the Roman Senate acknowledged his rule of Rome.
However, after a short period of time, enemies attacked him and the empire; he fought them and defeated them overwhelmingly. But an epidemic spread because of the abundant blood that was shed in the battle; he was struck by this epidemic before his return to Rome and died! Aurelian Caesar became the succeeding emperor.
Aurelian Caesar (270 – 275 AD)
All parties agreed to assign Aurelian Caesar to the throne of Rome; as she was a respectful commander in the army feared by his enemies before his soldiers. After assuming office, the German armies raided on Italy, defeated the Roman armies and began to loot the cities. However, Aurelian assembled the armies again and expelled them from the country.
At that time, Zenobia, the queen of Palmyra, appeared after the death of her husband, who had acquired the title “August” due to his alliance with the Romans, so she inherited his title and became a Caesar herself. This queen was characterized by courage, strength and political wisdom, as well as her ambition for the rule of Rome. She had the ability to lead the armies, she gave speeches to the soldiers, motivating them to victory and wearing the fighting helmet like them! The Kingdom of Palmyra expanded in her days to include the countries of Tire, Syria and Iraq, and gained a great reputation. At the time, Egypt was attempting to gain independence from the Roman rule. Once Zenobia knew about this desire, she led her armies heading to Alexandria, yet she couldn’t have her rule settled in Egypt as the Egyptian armies expelled her from Alexandria.
But, her stubborn crave for kingship made her not to give up; she returned and took over Alexandria. Aurelian Caesar then led his armies to fight her, war remained ferocious until she was defeated and captured; she was taken to Rome as a war prize, where she lived in a palace until her death.
Afterwards, a merchant appeared in Alexandria who proclaimed himself an independent ruler of Egypt. The majority of the people submitted to him. He incurred the soldiers’ money from his own business, and held treaties with the neighboring countries of Egypt. The Roman state sent armies to fight him, and although he achieved successive victories in the beginning, he suffered from a crushing defeat and was murdered in it. And thus, Egypt returned to be under the authority of the Roman Empire again.
After these events, Egypt was ruled by one of the Roman princes, who tried to repair what was destroyed there, and was concerned about the Nile and restoring navigation in it.
As for Aurelian Caesar; he persecuted the Christians harshly, and issued an edict to murder them, which led to terrifying massacres all over the empire. Aurelian had moved to fight the Persians, yet sedition was raged among his soldiers, resulted in his murder, and…
Stories about Egypt never end!
The General Bishop
Head of Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
