A reassessment of Gallienus' reign

Abstract

This thesis examines and reassesses the reign of the Roman emperor Gallienus in the mid-third century CE. Specifically, this paper analyses Gallienus’ military and administrative policies, his conception of his emperorship, and the influence his policies had on his successors.Gallienus ruled over the Roman Empire during a period of unprecedented calamities. The misfortunes of the Roman Empire during this period, and the biases against Gallienus in the writings of the ancient Latin authors, left a less-than-favorable impression of Gallienus’ reign. However, a re-evaluation of Gallienus and his policies unveils a remarkably capable emperor, who should be credited with not only saving the Roman Empire from complete collapse, but laying the foundation for the Empire’s recovery in the late third century CE.