Tuesday, April 11, 2006
This Day in Ancient History
On this day in 238 AD, Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus Africanus, known to us as Emperor Gordian I, commited suicide (hanging himself with his belt) after learning that his son was killed in battle in North Africa. It's slightly more complicated. His son was Gordian II who was also named co-Emperor for the brief time father and son were Emperors. Gordian I, who was nearly 80 at the time, took over after the lingering downfall of Diomedes' favorite Maximinus Thrax. He was succeeded by joint Emperors and former senators with near comic names to our ears, Pupienus and Balbinus, but they would not last long and, by the end of 238, the boy Emperor Gordian III (Gordian I's grandson) was acknowledged the sole ruler of the whole Roman Empire.
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 7:46 AM 
