As I
had to go to the
library this afternoon anway, I also
had a look at the
Historia Augusta. As I suspected, the claim that
Aurelian called
Tetricus emperor
comes from the HA, TT 24.5:
Pudore tamen victus vir nimium severus eum quem triumpherat correctorem totius Italiae fecit [...], at Tetricum non solum vivere, sed etiam in summa dignitate manere passus est, cum illum saepe collegam, nonnumquam commilitonem, aliquando etiam imperatorem appellaretMy Latin is
fine but not perfect and translating first to
German and then to English might cause errors, so I'm taking a translation from David Magie:
(Aurelian), nevertheless, exceedingly stern though he was, overcome by a sense of shame, made Tetricus, whom he had led in his triumph, supervisor over the whole of Italy [...], and suffered him not only to retain his life but also to remain in the highest position*, calling him frequently colleague, sometimes fellow-soldier, and sometimes even emperor.We have to bear in mind here that the HA is notoriously unreliable especially for this period (it is much better for earlier emperors). Unless any other, more reliable source backs it up, I would be reluctant to accept any spectacular statement by the HA (and there are many) such as the one we are dealing with here. Further more, the author(s) of the HA disqualify themselves by calling Tetricus' new position
correctorem totius Italiae, which is obviously another exaggeration; not only because all the other sources mention just the much more humble position
corrector Lucaniae, but also because in the
vita Aureliani, the HA itself correctly states that
Aurelian made
Tetricus governor of
Lucania only, and not of all
Italy! Further more, we have to bear in mind the background of the HA. It is a
senatorial source, and the clear emphasis on the sentence quoted above is on
pudore:
Aurelian was overcome by shame, we are told. Why? Obviously because he
had dared to present senators in a triumpal procession! And he not only presented them - which alone is a humiliation, see HA Aur. 34,4, telling who is participating:
et senatus (etsi aliquantulo tristior, quod senatores triumphari videbant) =
and the senate (albeit somewhat sadly, since they saw senators, too, being led in triumph) - but he further humiliated Tetrius father by
inter haec fuit Tetricus chlamyde coccea, tunica galbina, bracis Gallicis ornatus (
sic! HA Aur. 34.2):
in the procession was Tetricus also, arrayed in scarlet cloak, a yellow tunic, and Gallic trousers. A
Roman senator in Gallic trousers! What could be more humiliating than that? (even though it obviously
had a special political purpose)
So without having
had the time to read any of the modern commentaries on the passage (which certainly exist; it might be worthwhile to check the Stellenbiographie zur
Historia Augusta, if there is nothing similar in English), I would be very careful here and simply interpret the statement made by the HA as one of the many exaggerations in that source, and, more specifically here, as a an attempt to retrieve the senatorial
honor, which
had been humiliated by
Aurelian - and not as any indication of friendship between him and
Tetricus, unless other sources confirms that (I know of none).
Lars
* personally, I would translate
in summa dignitate more generally as "in highest honor/dignity"
