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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;R*L, post: 3550715, member: 96878&quot;]I’ve been interested in the crisis of the third century since listening to Mike Duncan’s History of Rome podcast a few years ago. Gallienus plays an important part at the high point of that crisis and gets a pretty bad rap for incompetency in the primary sources. But I remember Mike Duncan making a decent argument that (broadly - I’m paraphrasing) the negative opinions in the sources are likely simply the gossip of a jilted and thus biased senatorial class, and if one looks instead at what Gallienus achieved in very difficult circumstances, it is probably fair to say that Gallienus was actually quite competent and effective. However, he had the misfortune of being Emperor when merely being competent and effective wasn’t sufficient. Excellence was required and he didn’t have that.</p><p><br /></p><p>I am now reading Gibbons Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. His appraisal of Gallienus is more in line with the sources, and indeed he noted in a footnote that “This singular character has, I believe, been fairly transmitted to us.” He also makes a claim that the sources wouldn’t have had “the most remote interest to misrepresent the character of Gallienus”, which is at odds with Mike Duncan’s opinion on the same topic.</p><p><br /></p><p>What does the forum think? His generals must have rolled him for a reason, but was Gallienus as bad as he is made out?</p><p><br /></p><p>To keep things coiny, here’s Gibbons opinion on one of Gallienus’ aureus, and a picture of it sourced from the great wildwinds.com</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]943563[/ATTACH] </p><p>[ATTACH=full]943574[/ATTACH] </p><p>Gallienus, AV Aureus, 264-267 AD, Rome. GALLIENAE AVGVSTAE, head left wearing wreath of reeds / VBIQVE PAX, Victory in biga right. Cohen 1015; RIC 74. </p><p><br /></p><p>Post your opinions and your crisis coins![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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