Balista
Encyclopedia
Balista or Ballista (died c. 261), also known in the sources with the probably wrong name of "Callistus
", was one of the Thirty Tyrants
of the Historia Augusta, and supported the rebellion of the Macriani
against Emperor Gallienus
.
Balista was Praetorian Prefect
under the Macriani, and possibly also under Valerian
, whom he accompanied to the East. After the defeat and capture of that emperor, when the Persians had penetrated into Cilicia
, a body of Roman
troops rallied and placed themselves under the command of the Magister Equitum Balista. Led by him, they raised the siege of Pompeiopolis
, cut off numbers of the enemy who were straggling in disorderly confidence over the face of the country, and retook a vast quantity of plunder.
With the army deep in enemy territory and the lawful emperor (Gallienus) far in the West, Balista allied with Macrianus Major
, controller of the treasury of the army, and supported the election of Macrianus Minor
and Quietus
to the purple. He stayed with Quietus in the East, while the Macriani, father and son, moved with the army against the West, only to be crushed in Thrace by generals loyal to Gallienus, and killed by their own soldiers.
His career after the destruction of the Macriani is very obscure. According to one account, he retired to an estate near Daphne
; according to another, he assumed the purple, and maintained a precarious dominion over a portion of Syria
and the adjacent provinces for three years. This assertion is, however, based on no good foundation, resting as it does on the authority of certain medals now universally recognised as spurious, and on the hesitating testimony of the Historia Augusta, which acknowledges that, even at the time when it was written, the statements regarding this matter were doubtful and contradictory. Neither the time nor manner of Balista's death can be ascertained with certainty, but it is believed to have happened about November 261, and to have been contrived by Odaenathus
.
Callistus
-Popes and antipopes:* Saint Callixtus I, pope from about 217 to 222* Pope Callixtus II, pope from 1119 to 1124* Antipope Callixtus III, antipope from 1168 to 1178* Pope Callixtus III, pope from 1455 to 1458-Other persons:...
", was one of the Thirty Tyrants
Thirty Tyrants (Roman)
The Thirty Tyrants were a series of thirty rulers that appear in the Historia Augusta as having ostensibly been pretenders to the throne of the Roman Empire during the reign of the emperor Gallienus....
of the Historia Augusta, and supported the rebellion of the Macriani
Macriani
Macriani is the name of three Roman usurpers who tried to gain the Roman throne from Emperor Gallienus. They were:*Macrianus Major, the father*Macrianus Minor, first son*Quietus, second son...
against Emperor Gallienus
Gallienus
Gallienus was Roman Emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and alone from 260 to 268. He took control of the Empire at a time when it was undergoing great crisis...
.
Balista was Praetorian Prefect
Praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect was the title of a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief aides...
under the Macriani, and possibly also under Valerian
Valerian (emperor)
Valerian , also known as Valerian the Elder, was Roman Emperor from 253 to 260. He was taken captive by Persian king Shapur I after the Battle of Edessa, becoming the only Roman Emperor who was captured as a prisoner of war, resulting in wide-ranging instability across the Empire.-Origins and rise...
, whom he accompanied to the East. After the defeat and capture of that emperor, when the Persians had penetrated into Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, a body of Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
troops rallied and placed themselves under the command of the Magister Equitum Balista. Led by him, they raised the siege of Pompeiopolis
Pompeiopolis
Pompeiopolis was a Roman city-state in ancient Paphlagonia, situated today in the Taşköprü district, Kastamonu, Turkey. The exact location is 45 km north of Kastamonu, to the north of Taşköprü, in the valley of the Gökırmak...
, cut off numbers of the enemy who were straggling in disorderly confidence over the face of the country, and retook a vast quantity of plunder.
With the army deep in enemy territory and the lawful emperor (Gallienus) far in the West, Balista allied with Macrianus Major
Macrianus Major
Fulvius Macrianus , also called Macrianus Major, was a Roman usurper. He was one of Valerian's fiscal officers. More precisely, sources refer to him as being in charge of the whole state accounts or, in the language of a later age, as Count of the Treasury and the person in charge of markets and...
, controller of the treasury of the army, and supported the election of Macrianus Minor
Macrianus Minor
Titus Fulvius Iunius Macrianus , also known as Macrianus Minor, was a Roman usurper. He was the son of Fulvius Macrianus, also known as Macrianus Major.- Career :...
and Quietus
Quietus
Titus Fulvius Iunius Quietus was a Roman usurper against Roman Emperor Gallienus.Quietus was the son of Fulvius Macrianus and a noblewoman, possibly named Iunia...
to the purple. He stayed with Quietus in the East, while the Macriani, father and son, moved with the army against the West, only to be crushed in Thrace by generals loyal to Gallienus, and killed by their own soldiers.
His career after the destruction of the Macriani is very obscure. According to one account, he retired to an estate near Daphne
Daphne
Daphne was a female minor nature deity. Pursued by Apollo, she fled and was chased. Daphne begged the gods for help, who then transformed her into Laurel.-Overview:...
; according to another, he assumed the purple, and maintained a precarious dominion over a portion of Syria
Syria (Roman province)
Syria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War. It remained under Roman, and subsequently Byzantine, rule for seven centuries, until 637 when it fell to the Islamic conquests.- Principate :The...
and the adjacent provinces for three years. This assertion is, however, based on no good foundation, resting as it does on the authority of certain medals now universally recognised as spurious, and on the hesitating testimony of the Historia Augusta, which acknowledges that, even at the time when it was written, the statements regarding this matter were doubtful and contradictory. Neither the time nor manner of Balista's death can be ascertained with certainty, but it is believed to have happened about November 261, and to have been contrived by Odaenathus
Odaenathus
Lucius Septimius Odaenathus, Odenathus or Odenatus , the Latinized form of the Syriac Odainath, was a ruler of Palmyra, Syria and later of the short lived Palmyrene Empire, in the second half of the 3rd century, who succeeded in recovering the Roman East from the Persians and restoring it to the...
.
See also
- Ballista is the protagonist of the trilogy Warrior of Rome by Harry Sidebottom