Gallienus

Gallienus ruled for fifteen years through the deepest crisis the empire had ever faced, fighting off usurpers, barbarian invasions, and the breakaway Gallic and Palmyrene empires. Despite these challenges, he reformed the military by creating a mobile cavalry force and showed genuine intellectual and artistic interests.

Gallienus's military reforms, particularly the creation of a mobile cavalry reserve, laid the groundwork for the recovery under the Illyrian emperors. His exclusion of senators from military commands was a permanent structural change that fundamentally altered the nature of the Roman officer class.

Key Events

253 AD Named co-emperor by his father Valerian

260 AD Became sole emperor after Valerian's capture; Gallic Empire seceded under Postumus

262 AD Edict excluding senators from military command; professionalised the officer corps

264 AD Palmyrene Empire under Odaenathus dominated the East

267 AD Herulian raids devastated Greece, including Athens

268 AD Assassinated by his own officers while besieging the usurper Aureolus at Milan

Coinage

Gallienus's coinage is the most abundant of any third-century emperor, with an immense series of antoniniani struck across multiple mints. The silver content had collapsed to a thin wash over bronze by the end of his reign. His sole-reign 'zoo series' depicting animals sacred to various gods is a popular collecting area.

Denominations

Aureus Antoninianus

Notable Types

Zoo series (animals sacred to the gods)
GALLIENVS AVG sole-reign types
SOLI INVICTO types
Joint types with Salonina

Common Reverses

DIANAE CONS AVG (stag, doe) IOVI CONS AVG (goat) APOLLINI CONS AVG (centaur, griffin) SOLI INVICTO PAX AVG VIRTVS AVG FIDES MILITVM

Active Mints

Rome Milan Siscia Antioch Asia (uncertain)

Key Events

Coinage

Related Resources

Further Reading