Cornelia Salonina
Encyclopedia
Julia Cornelia Salonina (d. 268, Mediolanum
) was an Augusta
, wife of Roman Emperor
Gallienus
and mother of Valerian II
, Saloninus
, and Marinianus
.
Julia Cornelia Salonina's origin is unknown. According to a modern theory, she was born of Greek
origin in Bithynia
, then part of the province of Bithynia et Pontus
, Asia Minor
. However, there exists some scepticism on that. She was married to Gallienus about ten years before his accession to the throne. When her husband became joint-emperor with his father Valerian
in 253, Cornelia Salonina was named Augusta.
Cornelia was the mother of three princes, Valerian II
, Saloninus
and Marinianus
. Her fate, after the murder of Gallienus, during the siege of Mediolanum
in 268, is unknown. It is likely that either her life was spared or the she was executed together with other members of her family, at the orders of the Senate of Rome.
Her name is reported on coins with Latin legend as Cornelia Salonina; however, from the Greek coinage come the names Iulia Cornelia Salonina, Publia Licinia Cornelia Salonina, and Salonina Chrysogona (attribute that means "begotten of gold").
Mediolanum
Mediolanum, the ancient Milan, was an important Celtic and then Roman centre of northern Italy. This article charts the history of the city from its settlement by the Insubres around 600 BC, through its conquest by the Romans and its development into a key centre of Western Christianity and capital...
) was an Augusta
Augusta (honorific)
Augusta was the imperial honorific title of empresses. It was given to the women of the Roman and Byzantine imperial families. In the third century, Augustae could also receive the titles of Mater castrorum and Mater Patriae .The title implied the greatest prestige, with the Augustae able to...
, wife of Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the 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...
and mother of Valerian II
Valerian II
Publius Licinius Cornelius Valerianus , also known as Valerian II, was the eldest son of Roman Emperor Gallienus and Augusta Cornelia Salonina who was of Greek origin and grandson of the Emperor Valerian I who was of a noble and traditional senatorial family.Shortly after his acclamation as Emperor...
, Saloninus
Saloninus
Publius Licinius Cornelius Saloninus Valerianus was Roman Emperor in 259 or 260.-Early life:Saloninus was born around the year 242. His father was the later emperor Gallienus, his mother Cornelia Salonina, a Greek from Bithynia...
, and Marinianus
Marinianus
Publius Licinius Egnatius Marinianus was the third and youngest son of Roman Emperor Gallienus and Augusta Cornelia Salonina.Gallienus appointed him together with Paternus as Consul in early 268...
.
Early life
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
origin in Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
, then part of the province of Bithynia et Pontus
Bithynia et Pontus
Bithynia et Pontus was the name of a province of the Roman empire on the Black Sea coast of Anatolia . It was formed by the amalgamation of the former kingdoms of Bithynia and Pontus ....
, Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
. However, there exists some scepticism on that. She was married to Gallienus about ten years before his accession to the throne. When her husband became joint-emperor with his father 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...
in 253, Cornelia Salonina was named Augusta.
Cornelia was the mother of three princes, Valerian II
Valerian II
Publius Licinius Cornelius Valerianus , also known as Valerian II, was the eldest son of Roman Emperor Gallienus and Augusta Cornelia Salonina who was of Greek origin and grandson of the Emperor Valerian I who was of a noble and traditional senatorial family.Shortly after his acclamation as Emperor...
, Saloninus
Saloninus
Publius Licinius Cornelius Saloninus Valerianus was Roman Emperor in 259 or 260.-Early life:Saloninus was born around the year 242. His father was the later emperor Gallienus, his mother Cornelia Salonina, a Greek from Bithynia...
and Marinianus
Marinianus
Publius Licinius Egnatius Marinianus was the third and youngest son of Roman Emperor Gallienus and Augusta Cornelia Salonina.Gallienus appointed him together with Paternus as Consul in early 268...
. Her fate, after the murder of Gallienus, during the siege of Mediolanum
Mediolanum
Mediolanum, the ancient Milan, was an important Celtic and then Roman centre of northern Italy. This article charts the history of the city from its settlement by the Insubres around 600 BC, through its conquest by the Romans and its development into a key centre of Western Christianity and capital...
in 268, is unknown. It is likely that either her life was spared or the she was executed together with other members of her family, at the orders of the Senate of Rome.
Her name is reported on coins with Latin legend as Cornelia Salonina; however, from the Greek coinage come the names Iulia Cornelia Salonina, Publia Licinia Cornelia Salonina, and Salonina Chrysogona (attribute that means "begotten of gold").