Serenianus
Encyclopedia
Serenianus was an officer of the Roman Empire
, involved in the death of Caesar
Constantius Gallus
and in the usurpation of Procopius
.
Serenianus was born in Pannonia
. attended at the court of Roman Emperor Constantius II
(337-361). It is known that he had been a former general, in charge of the defence of Phoenicia
, whose laxity had been the reason for the devastation of the city of Celsein. He was put under trial for treason: he had sent one of his men with an enchanted hat to ask oracles on the Emperor's life. However, even if the charge was demonstrated, he was declared not guilty, thanks to his friends.
In 354 he was sent to Pula
, where Caesar
Constantius Gallus
was under trial for treason, to tell the prisoner that he had been condemned to death; then, together with Apodemius
and Pentadius, he executed the Caesar.
In 364, Emperor Valentinian I
proclaimed his brother Valens
co-emperor.The two rulers divided among themselves the army and the officers. In this occasion, Serenianus, who had been returned to the reserve for long time, entered at Valens' service as comes domesticorum ("commander of the imperial bodyguard").
In 366 he was killed by Marcellus
, protector of usurper Procopius
, who, in 365, rebelled against emperor Valens
. The story is told differently by the two sources survived, Ammianus Marcellinus
and Zosimus
.
According to Ammianus, Serenianus stayed loyal to Valens. That year Serenianus went to Cyzicus
, where he found that an imperial officer called Venustus had brought in that city, for fear of the usurper, the money to pay the troops; Serenianus, confident in the city garrison and in the strength of the city walls, fortified in Cizycus. To obtain that money, Procopius collected a strong army and put under siege Cyzicus, capturing the city and Serenianus, who was sent, as a prisoner, to Nicaea. After Procopius was killed, Marcellus, who was in command of the garrison of Nicaea, during the night entered the Palace, where Serenianus was held, and killed him.
According to Zosimus, who follows Eunapius
, Serenianus was in Bithynia
, leading some cavalry units, and Procopius sent Marcellinus to Bithynia to neutralize this menace. Serenianus occupied Cyzicus, but Marcellinus put under siege and captured the city, pursued the fleeing Serenianus in Lydia
and killed him.
Ammianus had a mad opinion of Serenianus, whom he describes rude and cruel, and says that Marcellus' only merit was to have killed Serenianus and saved thus many lives, as Serenianus, once free, would have damaged many people.
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....
, involved in the death of Caesar
Caesar (title)
Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
Constantius Gallus
Constantius Gallus
Flavius Claudius Constantius Gallus , commonly known as Constantius Gallus, was a member of the Constantinian dynasty and Caesar of the Roman Empire . Gallus was consul three years, from 352 to 354.- Family :...
and in the usurpation of Procopius
Procopius (usurper)
Procopius was a Roman usurper against Valens, and member of the Constantinian dynasty.- Life :According to Ammianus Marcellinus, Procopius was a native and spent his youth in Cilicia, probably in Corycus. On his mother's side, Procopius was related, a maternal cousin, to Emperor Julian, since...
.
Biography
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
. attended at the court of Roman Emperor Constantius II
Constantius II
Constantius II , was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. The second son of Constantine I and Fausta, he ascended to the throne with his brothers Constantine II and Constans upon their father's death....
(337-361). It is known that he had been a former general, in charge of the defence of Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
, whose laxity had been the reason for the devastation of the city of Celsein. He was put under trial for treason: he had sent one of his men with an enchanted hat to ask oracles on the Emperor's life. However, even if the charge was demonstrated, he was declared not guilty, thanks to his friends.
In 354 he was sent to Pula
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
, where Caesar
Caesar (title)
Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
Constantius Gallus
Constantius Gallus
Flavius Claudius Constantius Gallus , commonly known as Constantius Gallus, was a member of the Constantinian dynasty and Caesar of the Roman Empire . Gallus was consul three years, from 352 to 354.- Family :...
was under trial for treason, to tell the prisoner that he had been condemned to death; then, together with Apodemius
Apodemius
Apodemius was an officer of the Roman Empire, a courtier of Emperor Constantius II, involved in the deaths of Constantius Gallus and Claudius Silvanus.- Biography :...
and Pentadius, he executed the Caesar.
In 364, Emperor Valentinian I
Valentinian I
Valentinian I , also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west....
proclaimed his brother Valens
Valens
Valens was the Eastern Roman Emperor from 364 to 378. He was given the eastern half of the empire by his brother Valentinian I after the latter's accession to the throne...
co-emperor.The two rulers divided among themselves the army and the officers. In this occasion, Serenianus, who had been returned to the reserve for long time, entered at Valens' service as comes domesticorum ("commander of the imperial bodyguard").
Marcellus (usurper)
Marcellus was an officer of the Roman Empire, supporter of usurper Procopius and usurper himself for a short time.There are two versions of the history of his usurpation, the first told by Ammianus Marcellinus, a contemporary historian, the second exposed by Zosimus, an historian of the beginning...
, protector of usurper Procopius
Procopius (usurper)
Procopius was a Roman usurper against Valens, and member of the Constantinian dynasty.- Life :According to Ammianus Marcellinus, Procopius was a native and spent his youth in Cilicia, probably in Corycus. On his mother's side, Procopius was related, a maternal cousin, to Emperor Julian, since...
, who, in 365, rebelled against emperor Valens
Valens
Valens was the Eastern Roman Emperor from 364 to 378. He was given the eastern half of the empire by his brother Valentinian I after the latter's accession to the throne...
. The story is told differently by the two sources survived, Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus was a fourth-century Roman historian. He wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Antiquity...
and Zosimus
Zosimus
Zosimus was a Byzantine historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photius, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury.- Historia Nova :...
.
According to Ammianus, Serenianus stayed loyal to Valens. That year Serenianus went to Cyzicus
Cyzicus
Cyzicus was an ancient town of Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peninsula , a tombolo which is said to have originally been an island in the Sea of Marmara only to be connected to the mainland in historic...
, where he found that an imperial officer called Venustus had brought in that city, for fear of the usurper, the money to pay the troops; Serenianus, confident in the city garrison and in the strength of the city walls, fortified in Cizycus. To obtain that money, Procopius collected a strong army and put under siege Cyzicus, capturing the city and Serenianus, who was sent, as a prisoner, to Nicaea. After Procopius was killed, Marcellus, who was in command of the garrison of Nicaea, during the night entered the Palace, where Serenianus was held, and killed him.
According to Zosimus, who follows Eunapius
Eunapius
Eunapius was a Greek sophist and historian of the 4th century. His principal surviving work is the Lives of the Sophists, a collection of the biographies of twenty-three philosophers and sophists.-Life:He was born at Sardis, AD 347...
, Serenianus was 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:...
, leading some cavalry units, and Procopius sent Marcellinus to Bithynia to neutralize this menace. Serenianus occupied Cyzicus, but Marcellinus put under siege and captured the city, pursued the fleeing Serenianus in Lydia
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
and killed him.
Ammianus had a mad opinion of Serenianus, whom he describes rude and cruel, and says that Marcellus' only merit was to have killed Serenianus and saved thus many lives, as Serenianus, once free, would have damaged many people.