Gordian I

Reece Period attributed: Period 11

Member of the Third Century Emperors dynasty.

Coins for this issuer were issued from 238 until 238.

Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus was born ca. 158. He was serving as governor of Africa Proconsularis when the fiscal curator, a supporter of Maximinus, was murdered. The young aristocrats of the area approached Gordian to become emperor, which he did,possibly because he was old enough not to care about the prospective danger of the post.

Gordian went to Carthage and sent messages to Rome, where the Senate eagerly confirmed his position. Gordian came from a respected upper-class lineage, unlike Maximinus; the Senate also made his son Gordian II an Augustus.

Numidia, which bordered Africa Proconsularis, had a longstanding grudge for the Gordians. The Numidian governor Capellianus controlled a legion, and with it marched on Carthage. He easily overwhelmed the provincial forces and killed Gordian II. When Gordian I heard of his son's death, he hanged himself. The pair had only reigned for 20 days.

Gordian I was an old man, often described as having grey hair and a somewhat heavy brow.

Other resources about Gordian I

• Dbpedia: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Gordian_I
• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordian_I
• VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/3274737

View all coins recorded by the scheme attributed to Gordian I.

Information from Wikipedia

• Preferred label: Gordian I
• Full names:
• Title:
• Predecessor: Maximinus Thrax
• Successor: Balbinus, Pupienus
• Definition: Gordian I (Latin: Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus; c. 158 – April 238 AD) was Roman emperor for 22 days with his son Gordian II in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors. Caught up in a rebellion against the Emperor Maximinus Thrax, he was defeated by forces loyal to Maximinus, and he committed suicide after the death of his son.
• Parents:
  • Father:
  • Mother:
• Birth place:
• Death place: Carthage, Africa (Roman province)
• Spouse:
  • Fabia Orestilla
• Other title(s):
  • List of Roman emperors
• Came After:
  • Balbinus
  • Pupienus
• Came before:
• Subjects on wikipedia:
  • 238 deaths
  • Crisis of the Third Century
  • Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome
  • 159 births
  • Suicides by hanging in Tunisia
  • Roman governors of Britain
  • Antonii
  • Gordian dynasty
  • Deified Roman emperors
  • 3rd-century Roman emperors
  • Ancient Romans who committed suicide