| Gratian | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usurper of theWestern Roman Empire | |||||||||
| Reign | c. October 406 – c. February 407 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Marcus | ||||||||
| Successor | Constantine III | ||||||||
| Died | February 407 Britannia | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Gratian orGratianus[1] (died c. February 407)[2] was aRoman usurper inRoman Britain from 406 to 407.
After the murder of the usurperMarcus, Gratian was proclaimed emperor by the army in Britain in late 406, probably around October.[3] His background, as recorded byOrosius, was that of aRomano-Briton and member of the urban aristocracy,[4] possibly acurialis.[5] The promotion of a non-military official by the army suggests that there were issues that the army felt would be better handled by a civilian official, such as pay, or perhaps disagreements between theComes Britanniarum, theComes Litoris Saxonici and theDux Britanniarum.[6][note 1][7]
Gratian's usurpation coincided with a major barbarian invasion ofGaul; on the last day of December 406 (or, perhaps, 405[8]), an army ofVandals,Alans andSuebi (Sueves) hadcrossed the frozen Rhine.[9] During 407 they spread across northern Gaul towardsBoulogne, andZosimus wrote that troops in Britain feared an invasion across theEnglish Channel.[10]
The historianJ. B. Bury speculated that it wasStilicho, themagister militum of EmperorHonorius, who instigated the barbarian invasion of Gaul,[11] concerned about the British usurpers but unable to act against them because of the activities ofRadagaisus andAlaric I.The invasion was therefore meant to distract the British army.[12] This hypothesis has been rejected by modern historians such as Thomas Burns, who argues that Stilicho was dependent on the Gallic army to deal with the rebellion. It was only the heavy losses suffered by the Gallic field armies as a result of the Vandal invasion that forced Stilicho to reconsider his response to the British rebellion.[13]
As news of the barbarian invasion reached Britain, and their rapid approach to Boulogne (the main port from which supplies and troops would arrive in Britain), the army became restless.[14] It is speculated that the army wanted to cross intoGaul and stop the barbarians, but Gratian ordered them to stay.[15] Unhappy with this, the troops killed him after four months of rule[16] and electedConstantine III as their leader in early February.[17]
Geoffrey of Monmouth describes a similar figure,Gracianus Municeps, who is probably the same person.[18]
He is one of three would-be emperors described inAlfred Duggan's historical novelThe Little Emperors.