Florianus
Roman emperor
Augustus
Reign276
Dies imperiiJuly 276
PredecessorMarcus Claudius Tacitus
SuccessorProbus
BornMarcus Annius Florianus
DiedSeptember 276
  • Tarsus, Cilicia
  • (Tarsus, Turkey)
Burial
Posthumous name
None

Florianus or Florian (died 276) was Roman emperor for eighty-eight days in 276 AD.

Early life

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It is unknown when or where Florianus (Latin: Marcus Annius Florianus) was born. The Historia Augusta (a Latin history) says that Florianus was the half-brother of Marcus Claudius Tacitus. This information may not be correct.[1] Tacitus was Roman emperor from the end of 275 until he died in the middle of 276.[1][2]

The Greek historian Zosimus wrote that Florianus was praetorian prefect while Tacitus was emperor.[1]

Emperor

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Florianus became emperor in around July 276, after the murder of Tacitus in Asia Minor.[1]

The Latin historians Eutropius and Jerome wrote that Florianus was emperor for eighty-eight days.[1]

Death

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The Historia Augusta says that soldiers of the Roman army murdered Florianus at Tarsus. This would have happened in around September 276. The Historia Augusta also says that Florianus had a cenotaph at Interamna (Terni, Italy).[1][3]

Florianus was not deified (made into a god) but neither did he get damnatio memoriae.[1]

Family

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The Historia Augusta says that Florianus was the half-brother of Tacitus. Tacitus and Florian had the same mother, but different fathers.[2] This information may not be correct.[1] The Historia Augusta also says Florianus had many children. This information may not be correct.[1]

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Kienast, Dietmar; Eck, Werner; Heil, Matthäus (2017) [1990]. "Florianus (Mitte–Herbst 276)". Römische Kaisertabelle: Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie (in German) (6th ed.). Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft (WBG). p. 243. ISBN 978-3-534-26724-8.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Kienast, Dietmar; Eck, Werner; Heil, Matthäus (2017) [1990]. "Tacitus (Ende 275–Mitte 276)". Römische Kaisertabelle: Grundzüge einer römischen Kaiserchronologie (in German) (6th ed.). Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft (WBG). pp. 241–242. ISBN 978-3-534-26724-8.
  3. Johnson, Mark Joseph (2009). The Roman Imperial Mausoleum in Late Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 199–218. ISBN 978-0-521-51371-5. OCLC 309835740.