| Gaius Avidius Cassius | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usurper of theRoman Empire | |||||||||
| Reign | c.April to July 175 | ||||||||
| Born | c. 130 AD Cyrrhus, Syria | ||||||||
| Died | July 175 AD Egypt | ||||||||
| Spouse | Volusia Vettia Maeciana | ||||||||
| Issue | Avidius Heliodorus Avidius Maecianus Avidia Alexandra | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Gentes | |||||||||
| Father | Gaius Avidius Heliodorus | ||||||||
| Mother | Julia Cassia Alexandra | ||||||||
| Occupation | Imperial legate | ||||||||
Gaius Avidius Cassius (c. 130 – July 175 AD) was anEgyptianRoman general andusurper. He was born inCyrrhus, and was the son ofGaius Avidius Heliodorus, who served aspraefectus or governor ofRoman Egypt, and Julia Cassia Alexandra, who was related to a number of royal figures, including her descent from bothAugustus andHerod the Great. He began his military career underAntoninus Pius, rising to the status oflegatus legionis. He served during theParthian war of Lucius Verus, in which he distinguished himself, for which he was elevated to theSenate, and later madeImperial legate. During theBucolic War, he was given the extraordinary title ofRector Orientis, giving himImperium over all of the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.
In 175, Cassius declared himself emperor, because he had received news, from Marcus Aurelius' wifeFaustina the Younger, that the EmperorMarcus Aurelius was about to die. He received broad support in the eastern provinces ofEgypt,Syria,Syria Palaestina andArabia Petraea, withEgypt being its capital. Despite his control of the vital grain production ofEgypt, and his command of seven legions, he was heavily outmatched by Aurelius. While Aurelius was amassing a force to defeat Cassius, a centurion of one of Cassius' legions murdered Cassius, sending his head to Aurelius as proof.
Avidius Cassius was born around 130, in the town ofCyrrhus,Syria.[1][2][3] He was born toGaius Avidius Heliodorus andJulia Cassia Alexandra. His father, Heliodorus, was ofequestrian status, and served asAb epistulis forHadrian.[4] Heliodorus later served asPraefectus augustalis, the prefect ofRoman Egypt, from 137 to 142 AD.[5][6] According toCassius Dio, he received this post, which was one of the highest posts that an equestrian could hold, due to hisoratory skills alone.[6] His mother, Julia Cassia, was the great-granddaughter ofJunia Lepida, who was herself a great-great-granddaughter of the firstRoman emperor,Augustus. She was also a descendant ofHerod the Great through her father,Gaius Julius Alexander Berenicianus.[5] Cassius was also a distant descendant of the Roman client-kingAntiochus IV Epiphanes ofCommagene, who had been dethroned half a century before.[2][7]
It is thought that Cassius began his career during the reign ofAntoninus Pius.[8] He may have beenadlected as aquaestor in 154.[9] It is thought that he became alegatus legionis of one of the legions stationed inMoesia Inferior, which guarded against theSarmatians, during the late years of Pius' rule (138–161), and it is certain that he was alegatus by at least 161 AD, the last year of Pius' reign.[10][11]
Cassius rose to prominence rapidlyc.164, under the co-emperorsLucius Verus andMarcus Aurelius, during theParthian war of Lucius Verus, serving aslegatus legionis or commander ofLegio III Gallica.[2] In 165, he ledLegio III Gallica down theEuphrates, and defeated the Parthians atDura-Europos. Before the end of the year, Cassius and his legion marched to the south, crossedMesopotamia at its narrowest point, and attacked and sacked the twin Parthian cities of theTigris river:Seleucia, which was on the right bank; andCtesiphon, which was on the left bank and was the Parthian capital.[12][13] After capturing Ctesiphon, he burnt the palace ofVologases IV. Despite the fact that Seleucia had surrendered to the Romans, he destroyed it as well, justifying it by claiming that the local population had broken their agreement.[12]
Cassius' legion was by this time in dire need of supplies. The first signs of what became known as theAntonine Plague showed up in his army in 165. Cassius marched back to Syria, carrying with him the spoils taken from his campaign. He sent details of his campaign to Rome, for which he was rewarded with elevation to theSenate. Much of his success was credited to Emperor Lucius Verus, who, although himself an excellent commander, was notedly unafraid of delegating military tasks to more competent generals.[14]
In May of 166, Cassius was madesuffect consul, a position he held while still stationed outside of Rome.[15] During that year, Lucius Verus and Cassius launched a new campaign against the Parthians, invading across the northern stretch of the Tigris river, intoMedia. During this time, a false rumor reached Rome that Cassius had led Legio III Gallica across theIndus River.[16] In late 166 AD, Cassius was appointedimperial legate ofSyria.[17]
Inc.170, Cassius was given the extraordinary title ofRector Orientis (literally "Supreme Commander of the Orient"), giving himimperium over the entirety of the eastern section of the empire,[18] in order to combat a large rebellion in Egypt, commonly called theBucolic War. This rebellion was centered in the area of thePentapolis ofMiddle Egypt, and was motivated by a rapid rise of grain prices in the area. The Bucoli[a] came close to capturingAlexandria, but were halted by Cassius' troops.[19] Cassius succeeded in putting down this revolt in 175, after using a strategy of dividing the various revolting tribespeople, and then conquering them.[20][21]
In 175, after hearing false reports that Marcus Aurelius had succumbed to his severe illness, Cassius declared himself emperor, claiming that Aurelius' troops inPannonia, where he had been leading troops as a part of theMarcomannic War, had elected him emperor. Some versions say that Cassius was tricked, or persuaded, byFaustina the Younger, who was the wife of Aurelius, because she feared that Aurelius would die whileCommodus, their son, was still young, a situation which would likely have led to a usurper seizing the throne for himself. According to these accounts, Faustina thus tricked, or persuaded, Cassius into rebelling, to ensure the next emperor was someone of her choosing.[18] The exact date of his revolt is unknown, although it is known that he revolted by at least 3 May, due to a document about his emperorship from that date. A papyrus from theOxyrhynchus Papyri has shown that Cassius was confident of Egyptian support as early as April or even March.[4]
Aurelius attempted to suppress news of the revolt, but, when it became widespread throughout his camp, chose to address it in a speech. The exact wording of his speech is unknown, as the record given by Cassius Dio is believed to be a free composition, which followed only the outline of Aurelius' actual speech. In the record, Aurelius laments the betrayal of a dear friend, and says that if the danger had been to him alone, he would be willing to "set the issue" between himself and Cassius, before theSenate and theArmy, and would have yielded the empire to Cassius, if the senate and army considered him the better leader.[4] He was also recorded as saying that he hoped that Cassius would not be killed or commit suicide, so that he could show mercy.[22] TheHistoria Augusta, a work both treasured by historians and notorious for its falsehoods, records that Aurelius formed a peace commission among his advisors.[4]
Cassius started the rebellion in a good position. He received large support from the Eastern provinces, especially his homeland of Syria, due to a combination of his distant royal descent, his victories in the Parthian War and the Bucolic War.[23] He received support from the provinces of Egypt, Syria,Syria Palaestina andArabia Petraea, giving him a potential strength of seven legions: three from Syria, two from Syria Palaestina, one from Roman Arabia, and one from Egypt.[24][18][4] Cassius set his base of operations in Egypt,[24] with two important bases outside of Egypt beingAntioch andCyrrhus, both important military centres.[25]Gaius Calvisius Statianus, the contemporaryprefect of Egypt, issued an edict, which has survived in a fragmentary state, ordering the populace of Egypt to rejoice at the accession of Cassius.[4]
Despite controlling some of the most important parts of the Roman East, especially Egypt which was a critical supplier of grain for the city of Rome, Cassius failed to win widespread support for his rebellion.[24] The Roman Senate swiftly declared Cassius a public enemy,[4] andPublius Martius Verus, the governor ofCappadocia, who staunchly opposed the rebellion, rallied public support for Aurelius.[4] Cassius, through the marriage of his daughter,Avidia Alexandra, toTitius Claudius Dryantianus Antonius, had connection to theLicinnii ofLycia, including Claudius Dryantianus's fatherTiberius Claudius Agrippinus, who was aconsul.[26][24] The aristocratic Licinnii are one of the most well known Lycian families.[27] It is unknown how much of a role Claudius Dryantianus played, although it is known that some considered him to be Cassius' partner in crime. Claudius Dryantianus and Avidia Alexandra were pardoned by Marcus Aurelius, although Claudius Dryantianus' estate was confiscated after his death.[28]
Many nobles throughout the empire opposed the rebellion, one example beingHerodes Atticus, who is recorded as having sent Cassius a letter containing only the wordemanes, literally "you are mad". Despite this widespread opposition, the capital of Rome was thrown into a panic, which forced Aurelius to sendGaius Vettius Sabinianus Julius Hospes, the governor ofPannonia Inferior, with troops to secure the city.[29] Aurelius was forced to withdraw from his campaign against theIazyges, and end theMarcomannic War. Several barbarian tribes sent offers of their assistance to Aurelius, all of which were refused. Aurelius amassed troops and prepared to depart for the East, to depose Cassius.[30] It was soon clear that Aurelius was in a stronger position, with far more legions available to him than to Cassius.[31] When news of Aurelius' plans to invade reached Egypt, a centurion killed Cassius,[32] and sent his head to Aurelius, who refused to see it, and ordered it buried.[22] He was likely killed by at least the end of July 175, as Egypt chose to recognize Aurelius again on 28 July 175. Cassius had rebelled for three months and six days before being killed,[30] during which time no coins were struck bearing his image.[33]
After the death of Cassius, Publius Martius Verus swiftly took control of Syria, and burned all of Cassius' correspondences. Even after the news of Cassius' death had reached Marcus Aurelius, Aurelius was still determined to visit the east. He set off with a body of advisors, along with his wife, Faustina,[30] who died along the way, in a village in south Cappadocia, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south ofTyana, called Halala. The town wasrenamed in her honor, and his son, Commodus.[34][30] After the death of Faustina, Aurelius wrote to the Senate, asking them for a report on Cassius' supporters, but specifically saying he desired no bloodshed to punish them, as several retributions had already been carried out in the name of Aurelius. Among these were the killing ofAvidius Maecianus, a son of Cassius. Aurelius ordered the banishment ofAvidius Heliodorus, another son of Cassius.Avidia Alexandra, the daughter of Cassius, and her husband, were placed under the protection of "an uncle by marriage", believed to beClaudius Titianus, aLycian senator.[34]
Dio spoke highly of Cassius, saying that he was a "good man" whose only fault was that his father, Heliodorus, was given his post ofPraefectus augustalis only because of his speaking abilities.[6] He was labelled as being a strictdisciplinarian during his time as commander of Legio III Gallica.[24]
Cassius was married toVolusia Vettia Maeciana, daughter ofLucius Volusius Maecianus,[5] and had at least three children (theHistoria Augusta implies he may have had more):[35]
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