Beautiful Egypt 30 – Soldiers and Caesars – November, 17, 2013

   In the previous article, we tackled Valerian Caesar, who allowed his son Gallienus to join him in ruling. Valerian had embarked on a tough persecution against the Christians due to a calumny of one of the Ancient Egyptian temples’ priests. In his war against the Persians, Valerian was defeated, captivated, lived as a slave and died a captive. While his son, Gallienus was murdered as well by his soldiers, then was followed by Claudius II. Aurelian Caesar was the next ruler of Rome, yet he was killed by his soldiers, and then he was succeeded by Tacitus Caesar.

Tacitus Caesar (275 – 276 AD)

   The throne of Rome remained unoccupied for months after the death of Aurelian Caesar, which made a room for the enemies of the empire to agree on fighting and overthrowing Rome. When the Roman Senate knew about the news and realized the danger about to strike the country, they decided to choose a Caesar for the country to ward off the enemies and protect it, and they agreed to select a member of the Senate called Tacitus to be the ruler of the country.

   Tacitus Caesar was well known for his wisdom and prudence, as well as his great knowledge of literature and rhetoric. He was a descendant of the Greek historian Cornelius Tacitus (56-120 AD), but he was not aware of the affairs of the army or wars, which led to the outbreak of clashes between him and his soldiers, who did not keep any awe or respect for him. Clashes got sharply intense until a great sedition was raged and led to his murder by a group of his soldiers, after he ruled Rome for a short period less than a year.

   As for this Caesar’s role in Egypt, it was really insignificant, except for some money discovered to be coined in his time and bearing his name.

Probus Caesar (276 – 282 AD)

   He joined the military service in the Roman armies and mastered the military arts until he was promoted in senior posts. He was a good, brave, upright man, respected by all and loved by his soldiers, so he was called Probus, which means “the good one”.

   A historian states that when was chosen a Caesar of Rome, at first, he did not accept the royal garments presented to him, commenting that they were greater than him. When they urged him to take it, he said: “You may have assigned me to the post before you know my affairs and test me, and I think that you will regret it! I will not take any of you into account when it comes to provisions, and I will not fear blame.”

   As for his ruling period, he provided the country with all that he could do; he fortified the borders, protected the frontier towns and prevented the enemies from approaching or attacking the country. He had great self confidence and indespicable great courage; he prepared his armies to confront his enemies. He attacked them all at once and defeated them crushingly. He also defeated the Persians in his wars against them and suppressed them with a great victory, coming back to Rome with captives and profits looted from the countries he defeated.

   He had a great awe and respect in the eyes of his people and the countries around him, which gave him the opportunity to manage the affairs of the country with great power, enabled him to control the affairs of the empire. As a result, the country became secure in his days, trade, agriculture and industry flourished. Peace prevailed in the country during his days. He employed the armies’ soldiers in the public services needed by the empire, as: filling marshes, building bridges and arcades, and repairing what needed to be mended by men’s determination. But the soldiers complained about the work entrusted to them; so they attacked him and killed him.

   A story was claimed that he had once addressed the commanders of his armies, saying: “A day will come on which I will not need a single soldier of you). One of the historians commented on this, clarifying: Probus Caesar meant that justice and fairness applied among the people would be sufficient for the ruler not to need armies, for he would be in peace and safety as the saying goes: “If the people are fair, the judge will have a rest, and each one will be pleased with his brother.”

   As for Egypt during his era; the revolution of the people of Upper Egypt, which began during the days of Aurelian Caesar, continued, so the Caesar came to them with his armies and fought them until he defeated them, leaving Prince Satrunius a governor of Egypt. After a short time, Satrunius attempted to take exclusive possession of Egypt with the help of the Romans of Alexandria, but he was killed after a severe sedition was raged against him. With his death, the country returned under the auspices of the empire. Probus Caesar assigned another ruler to Egypt; Achilles, who had his rule barely settled in Egypt, that he desired to take exclusive possession of Egypt with the help of some state dignitaries. He was also killed and Egypt returned to be of Rome. Some historians point out that Probus Caesar had managed Egypt’s affairs in a good way, working on achieving the prosperity of life in it. A lot of money that was coined in his era was discovered.

   Probus Caesar ruled for seven years, and his death was considered a massive loss to the empire, and he was succeeded by Carus Caesar.

Carus Caesar (282 – 283 AD)

   Carus was the prefect of the Praetorian Guard, he marched to Rome after the soldiers had selected him, in order to ask the Roman Senate to appoint him an emperor on the throne. Indeed, the Roman Senate proclaimed Carus a Caesar. Once he assumed the power, he granted his two sons the title ‘August’.

   During his rule, the Persians began re- raiding on the Roman countries, so he prepared armies to fight them. After engaging in ferocious wars, he managed to defeat them, yet on his returning way to Rome, his soldiers attacked and killed him after a ruling period lasted for one year and five months. His two sons Carinus and Numerian succeeded him in power.

Carinus and Numerian (283 – 285 AD)

   The Carinos and Numerian brothers ruled together, but each had a different character than the other. Numerian was a man of ethics, eloquent, that he was called “the preacher of the age” by the Roman Senate, and he was a poet as well. Contrarily to his brother, Carinus sat in the councils of mockers, exaggerated in wearing pearls and jewels, and tried to get closer to the soldiers and the people of the country by holding banquets for them.

   When the war against the Persians fiercely resurfaced, Numerian led his armies to fight the Persians, and there he died suddenly without a reason known, although one of the historians stated that he had been killed by his wife’s father, who wanted to take over the power. However, it was Diocletian, his chief of staff, who killed him in retaliation for the murdered emperor. In this regard, a story recounts that one of the fortune tellers told Diocletian that he would be king of a great country. So, killing Numerian was like a motive for him to fulfill this prophecy.

   Diocletian marched to Rome with his army, where he encountered Caesar Carinus, who, after knowing what happened to his brother and proclaiming Diocletian a Caesar, rushed to confront him. The two armies fought ferociously until Diocletian was defeated. During Carinus’ chase after Diocletian, the soldiers attacked the Caesar and killed him on the way. Thus, Diocletian became the Caesar of Rome!

   And… Stories about Egypt never end!

The General Bishop

Head of Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center