Calocaerus
Calocaerus (–334 AD) was a Roman usurper against Emperor Constantine I, who, in 334 AD, staged a short lived revolt in Cyprus. His revolt was quickly put down, and he was executed along with his commanders, by being burned alive.
| Calocaerus | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usurper of the Roman Empire | |||||||||
| Reign | 334 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Constantine I | ||||||||
| Successor | Constantine I | ||||||||
| Born | ? | ||||||||
| Died | 334 Tarsus, Cilicia | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Dynasty | None | ||||||||
History
Before the revolt, Calocaerus had served in the role of Magister pecoris camelorum ("Master of the Flock and Camels") in Cyprus according to the historian Aurelius Victor.[1][2][3] Whether his unusual title implies some military command ("captain of the camel corps")[4] or merely a servile position ("leading shepherd slave")[5] is uncertain, though in any event there were no camels in Cyprus in that era.[6] He had been assigned to this position by Emperor Constantine I in 330 AD.[7] During the time period of the revolt, imperial power and legitimacy was based almost entirely upon military power. In order to become and remain emperor, a usurper needed a large and loyal army. Due to this, there were a large number of ephemeral revolts, which were either rapidly put down by the incumbent emperor, or else had their usurper killed by his own troops.[2]
Calocaerus revolted in Cyprus in 334 AD, proclaiming himself emperor. He was swiftly defeated by Flavius Dalmatius, the half-brother of Emperor Constantine I. After being defeated, he was taken to Tarsus in Cilicia, and burned alive, along with his commanders.[8][2][9] It is likely that Calocaerus' low status (that of a Magister pecoris camelorum), had an influence in the low amount of support he received, leading to his quick demise.[3] Dalmatius gathered evidence that a bastard son of Licinius, who had been emperor before Constantine I, was involved. This son had been legitimized by edict, and survived the downfall of his father, and still held a high, although unrecorded, rank in the Roman Empire. Dalmatius used this evidence to either execute or enslave the bastard son.[10][11]
References
Ancient sources
- Theophanes 43B.[8]
- Jerome Chron. 334.[8]
Citations
- Aur. Vict. Caes. 41,11.
- Lenski 2006, p. 337.
- Lenski 2006, p. 81.
- George Hill, (1940, reprint 2010) A History of Cyprus, vol. 1 (New York: Cambridge University Press), p. 244.
- Bruno Bleckmann (2006) “Calocaerus”, in: Brill's New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. Consulted online on 12 April 2018 <https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e224910>
- Hill 1940, p. 244
- Hunt & Coldstream 1990, p. 139.
- Amidon 2007, p. 210.
- Hornblower & Spawforth 1998, p. 193.
- Vagi 2000, p. 470.
- Grant 1994, p. 48.
Books
- Amidon, Philip R. (2007). Philostorgius: Church History. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature. ISBN 9781589832152.
- Grant, Michael (1994). Constantine the Great: the Man and His Times. New York: Scribner's. ISBN 9780684195209.
- Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony, eds. (1998). The Oxford companion to classical civilization. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198601654.
- Hunt, David; Coldstream, J.N. (1990). Footprints in Cyprus: an Illustrated History. London: Trigraph. ISBN 9780950802671.
- Lenski, Noel (2006). The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521521574.
- Vagi, David L. (2000). Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, c. 82 B.C.- A.D. 480. Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN 9781579583163.
Further reading
- Arnold Hugh Martin Jones, J. (EDT) Morris, J. R. (John Robert) Martindale, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Cambridge University Press, 1971, ISBN 0-521-07233-6.
- DiMaio, Michael, "Calocaerus (333/334 A.D.)", De Imperatoribus Romanis