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.