Chapters
| Names | Marcus Aurelius Probus |
|---|---|
| Ruled as | |
| Reign | July 276 – 2nd half of 282 CE |
| Born | August 232 CE |
| Died | 282 CE |
Marcus Aurelius Probus was born in August 232 CE and was Roman emperor from July 276 CE to the second half of 282 CE. He ruled until his death as Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Probus Augustus. He came from a family of a soldier or a gardener, living in Sirmium. He was one of the energetic Illyrian emperors who led the empire out of the so-called Crisis of the Third Century.
The rise to power
Probus grew up in harsh conditions compared to those prevailing in the capital at the time. This shaped his tough character. He also lost his father early, who died in Egypt. Probus quickly began a career in the army. Most probably, he joined it already as a teenager in 249 CE. As with many other emperors of this period, information about Probus’s life before he assumed the Scriptores Historiae Augustae provides the purple. Since it is a highly doubtful source, one should keep an appropriate distance from it. It may also be noted that this source tries to connect Probus by blood ties with the earlier emperor Claudius II Gothicus, but this is pure fiction. The source further says that Emperor Valerian appointed the young Probus a military tribune. The young tribune is said, during that emperor’s reign, to have fought on the Danube and even to have crossed it. From Quadi captivity he was allegedly to have freed a relative of the emperor, Valerius Flaccinus. As a reward for this heroic deed he received command of the “Third Lucky Legion.” Already after Valerian himself fell into Persian captivity, Probus was said to have fought against one of the usurpers, of whom there were many in the time of Gallienus. Emperor Aurelian, meanwhile, entrusted him as commander of the Tenth Legion. The real breakthrough in the Illyrian’s career, however, came under Tacitus. Not only did that emperor make him commander of all the eastern armies, but he also took him as a colleague for holding the consulship.
Further on, the Scriptores Historiae Augustae give us more detailed examples of Probus’s actions. We learn from them about fighting in Libya and Carthage. He also took part in the famed wars with Zenobia, namely he defeated her supporters in Egypt. We also learn imprecisely that he was a great builder in the land by the Nile. Besides the many buildings erected on his orders, he could boast that, as the first in years, he increased deliveries of the local grain to the capital. With all this, Probus was a good commander who maintained discipline in the army; however, he did not resort to the rather drastic measures characteristic—according to traditional accounts—of Aurelian. He was also said to take an interest in the soldiers’ footwear and clothing, and to care about the atmosphere in which they lived.
The confrontation with Florian
After the death of Emperor Tacitus in 276 CE, taking care of the soldiers bore fruit: Probus was acclaimed emperor in the East. At the same time, however, Florian was proclaimed ruler in Rome. He was the half-brother of the deceased emperor. The Scriptores Historiae Augustae report that as soon as the news came of Probus being recognized as emperor, the army with Florian murdered Probus’s rival. Zosimus, on the other hand, describes a battle in which Florian’s European legions could not cope with the usurper, because they were not adapted to the climate in which that battle was fought. A group of Probus’s soldiers was said to arrive and deprive the lawful emperor of power. He, in ignoble circumstances, was said to put on the purple again. His life, however, was ended brutally by his soldiers.
The beginning of the reign
It is stated that one of Probus’s first moves as sole ruler of the empire was to punish the murderers of Aurelian (the first consequences had already been drawn by Probus’s predecessor) as well as of Tacitus.
After a short stay in the Eternal City, Probus set out for Gaul. This land was unstable: besides uncontrolled Germanic raids, a serious blow to the state was, first, the fall of the so-called Gallic Empire (the usurpers actively defended their dominion against peoples beyond the Rhine) and then the death of Emperor Aurelian. Moreover, Frankish ships troubled even the Lusitanian coasts—so the problem was extensive. The Romans divided into two corps. Probus personally commanded the corps that confronted the Lugii. The other fought the Franks. The Romans were effective on both fronts and managed to recover booty and captives. Probus also succeeded in capturing the leader of the Lugii together with his son. The victory, however, was not final. The Burgundians came to the aid of the Franks. Yet their combined forces also managed to be defeated. It should be noted that Probus had a less numerous army than his opponents. The peace agreement concluded after these events was nevertheless broken by the peoples mentioned. As a result, Probus attacked them again. In the end, he settled a considerable part of them as coloni and incorporated them into the Roman army in small groups.
In order to complete his victory, the emperor decided to cross the Rhine. This had mainly a propagandistic dimension, for no one entertained the hope of restoring control over the ephemeral lands conquered under Octavian Augustus. It did, however, prove possible to establish bridgeheads on the far side of the river, which allowed control of the crossings. Probus is said to have pacified the local peoples; he staged a hunt in which, for the head of an enemy, he was said to pay one aureus. Moreover, with great probability he demanded hostages, animals, and grain from them. He did not consider the matter of that region finished, because he announced a return there in the future and the appointment of a new governor.
The eastern expedition
In 278 CE Emperor Probus began a great expedition to the East. Everything indicates that its aim was a reckoning with Sasanian Persia. First, however, he quelled unrest in Alpine Raetia, fighting a decisive battle with invaders. On the imperial route there was also his native Illyricum, where a great victory was won over the Sarmatians and other local peoples. Next, the emperor put in order internal affairs in Thrace; he subdued the Goths who were roaming there.
By the route described above Probus, together with the army, reached Asia Minor. There he restored stability by fighting certain bandits. The Scriptores Historiae Augustae state that they were led by Palfuerius; Zosimus, however, assigns this role to Lydius. Were there therefore two bands of brigands? It is difficult to determine unequivocally. Prof. Kaczanowicz claims that in both works it is the same person. He would have used two names, which would not be strange given what that person did for a living. What is certain, however, is that Probus won yet another victory. It may be added that Zosimus presented in his work a suspicious, almost cinematic siege of the fortress at Cremna. After the victory, Probus released the soldiers fighting there, granting them land, on condition, however, that their eighteen-year-old sons would report to the Roman army.
Probus then fought in Egypt. There two cities—Coptos and Ptolemais—were seized by the tribe of the Blemmyes. The fighting ended in another imperial success. The cities returned under Roman control, and the Blemmyes were completely subdued. This is what the Scriptores Historiae Augustae claim; Zosimus differs, however, because he reports that the Egyptian cities themselves rebelled, and the Blemmyes merely supported them.
The Persian king was said to ask for peace, offering symbolic gifts. Probus, although he refused to accept them, decided to end the great eastern expedition. There was no war, because Probus’s forces were exhausted and engaged in internal actions. In such a situation, beginning a war would have threatened catastrophe. There is also a hypothesis that the Persians were involved to some extent in the internal unrest with which Probus had to contend, to exhaust him and avert the specter of war.
On the return in 280 CE Probus also confronted the Bastarnae, who tried to enter the lands of the empire. They were defeated, yet ultimately settled within the state, but as subjects in Thrace. Probus was an emperor who consistently on a large scale pursued a policy of settling peoples from beyond the borders of the state and incorporating their men into the Roman army. Although this carried a certain danger of centrifugal movements, such a policy paid off for Probus. Among those loyal to the lawful Roman power, besides the Bastarnae, were also the Germans previously defeated on the Rhine.
In 281 CE a splendid triumph of Probus took place in Rome. Games were organized, care was taken for a positive atmosphere. There was a false conviction that the times of the old peace had returned.
Death
After stabilizing both the internal and external situation of the empire, the emperor decided to undertake building and agricultural works. He directed the army to this, wishing to restore general discipline. Soldiers seasoned in rebellions, unaccustomed to hard labor, felt humiliated by the emperor. Probus was in 282 CE in Sirmium, where he was said to be preparing for another reckoning with the Persians, concentrating troops. Soldiers were assigned to drainage works. Most probably between 29 August and 9 December of that year their revolt took place. The soldiers murdered Probus in his native Sirmium.
The above version, supported by most contemporary scholars and transmitted by the Scriptores Historiae Augustae, is not the only one preserved. Although Zosimus’s account of these events has not survived to our times, we possess the later account of John of Antioch, who may have worked with Zosimus’s text. In this version, before Probus’s death, part of the army had already proclaimed Carus emperor. Probus is said even to have sent his soldiers against him. He died, however, at the hands of soldiers who supported his rival.
Economy
Probus was an emperor who understood how important the state’s economy is. Prof. Kaczanowicz describes his activity in this field as positivistic. We know that he built, among other things, bridges, canals, and roads. Remaining with the topic of Probus’s construction activity, it should be stated that he also expanded the Aurelian Walls surrounding the capital.
In this category of undertakings, one should also note the efforts of this emperor broadly connected with agriculture. The theory is therefore tempting that the emperor took an understanding of these matters from home, from a gardener father. This would reject the version of a soldier father. It is therefore difficult to indicate unequivocally which version is true. For his passion, however, Probus paid with his life, since the soldiers preferred to kill him rather than deal with drainage. Besides, Probus repealed Domitian’s old ordinance on assigning land mainly for the cultivation of grain. He thus allowed the establishment or expansion of vineyards in the provinces.
Rebellions
During his reign Probus, like many other rulers of the era, had to face numerous usurpations of his authority. The first serious one took place in the East. There Saturninus was said to don the purple. Since the time of Emperor Aurelian he had been a commander on the eastern frontier, with a ban, however, on entering Egypt. When he broke the ban, he was proclaimed emperor there; at first resisting, after withdrawing to Palestine he accepted the office entrusted to him. He was quickly killed, however, against Probus’s will.
Another usurper turned out to be the governor of Britain, about whom we know very little—we do not even know his name. We do know, however, that he was a protégé of Victorinus, who quickly realized his own mistake and dealt with the usurper. The main source of information about these events is Zosimus’s work.
The Scriptores Historiae Augustae inform scholars about two further usurpations. Both were confirmed by numismatic material. On the other hand, the authors of that work are not consistent. They lose track of where exactly the seeds of the usurpations were. Thus, among others, Lugdunum (Lyon) as well as Agrippina (Cologne) are mentioned. Therefore, the theater of these usurpations was certainly the Rhine region. The source presents both usurpers in an unfavorable light, which strongly contrasts with the positive image of the lawful ruler Probus. The first of them, Proculus, was said to lead an immoral life and to have been proclaimed emperor at a banquet after it often fell to him to be the leader in a game of playing robbers. His usurpation, however, was also said to bring positive effects for this part of the empire. He was said, among other things, to have routed the Alamanni raiding the frontier provinces. The source reports that Probus nevertheless drove Proculus out and then killed him. The second of these usurpers was Bonosus. He is presented as an alcoholic who, thanks to his ability to consume enormous amounts of alcohol, extracted information from foreign envoys after getting them drunk. At one point hostile peoples burned Roman ships. Bonosus, holding command positions, in fear of consequences, was said to proclaim himself emperor. According to the account, Probus nevertheless managed to defeat him; Bonosus, however, decided to take his own life after the defeat.
In the case of Saturninus’s usurpation, Zosimus claims that it took place at the beginning of Probus’s reign. But when did the others occur? It is difficult to establish. Certainly, they could have had their beginnings in difficult moments for Probus (for example, a return to Rome without achieving victory over the Sasanian state). Moreover, there is a theory that Proculus and Bonosus rebelled at the same time.
Zosimus also mentions that during Probus’s reign there was a revolt of about 80 gladiators. A group of other people was also said to join the rebel gladiators. The revolt was, however, suppressed.
