Tranquillina

Consort to Roman Emperor Gordian III (born c.225)
Furia Sabinia Tranquillina
Augusta
Marble of Furia Sabinia Tranquillina at Museo Chiaramonti
Empress of the Roman Empire
Tenure241–244 AD
Bornc. 225 AD
Diedaft. 244 AD
SpouseGordian III
IssueFuria
Names
Furia Sabinia Tranquillina
Regnal name
Furia Sabinia Tranquillina Augusta
FatherGaius Furius Sabinius Aquila Timesitheus

Furia Sabinia Tranquillina (c. 225 – aft. 244 AD) was the Empress of Rome and wife of Emperor Gordian III.[1][2] She was the young daughter of the Praetorian Prefect Timesitheus by an unknown wife.[3]

In 241 AD her father was appointed the head of the Praetorian Guard by the Roman Emperor Gordian III. Timesitheus was known to have great influence over the emperor, who was only 16 years old in 241 AD, having become emperor at age 13 in 238 AD, sponsored in this position by the power of the Praetorian Guard.[4][5] After becoming the head of the Praetorian Guard, Timesitheus "effectively governed the Empire for Gordian".[5] In May of 241 AD, Tranquillina was married to Gordian. She became a Roman Empress and received the honorific title of Augusta.

When Gordian III and Timesitheus went on a campaign against Shapur I of Persia, Tranquillina went with them.[2] Her father died in 243 AD, of unknown but potentially suspicious causes. To replace him, Philip (Marcus Julius Philippus) became head of the Praetorian Guard, and quickly set to plotting to overthrow the young Gordian III.[5] Tranquillina's husband, Gordian III, died in 244 AD under unclear, unknown circumstances, aged only 19.[5] Tranquillina is believed to have outlived both her father and husband them, however it is unclear what happened to here afterwards.[2]

Family tree

previous
Maximinus Thrax
Roman Emperor
235–238
Pupienus
Roman Emperor
238

Gordian I
Roman Emperor
238
∞ (?) Fabia Orestilla
Balbinus
Roman Emperor
238

Gordian II
co-emperor
238
Antonia Gordiana(doubted)
Junius Licinius Balbus
consul suffectus
Gaius Furius Sabinius Aquila Timesitheus
praetorian prefect
next
Philip the Arab
Roman Emperor
244–249

Gordian III
Roman Emperor
238
Furia Sabinia TranquillinaPhilip II
Roman Emperor
co-emperor
247–249


Nerva–Antonine family tree

  • v
  • t
  • e
Nerva–Antonine family tree
Q. Marcius Barea SoranusQ. Marcius Barea SuraAntonia FurnillaM. Cocceius NervaSergia PlautillaP. Aelius Hadrianus
Titus
(r. 79–81)
Marcia FurnillaMarciaTrajanus PaterNerva
(r. 96–98)
Ulpia[i]Aelius Hadrianus Marullinus
Flavia[ii]Marciana[iii]C. Salonius Matidius[iv]Trajan
(r. 98–117)
PlotinaP. Acilius AttianusP. Aelius Afer[v]Paulina Major[vi]
Lucius Mindius (2)Libo Rupilius Frugi (3)Salonia Matidia[vii]L. Vibius Sabinus (1)[viii]
Paulina Minor[vi]L. Julius Ursus Servianus[ix]
Matidia Minor[vii]Sabina[iii]Hadrian[v][x][vi] (r. 117–138)Antinous[xi]
C. Fuscus Salinator IJulia Serviana Paulina
M. Annius Verus[xii]Rupilia Faustina[xiii][xiv]Boionia ProcillaCn. Arrius Antoninus
L. Ceionius CommodusAppia SeveraC. Fuscus Salinator II
L. Caesennius PaetusArria AntoninaArria Fadilla[xv]T. Aurelius Fulvus
L. Caesennius AntoninusL. CommodusPlautiaunknown[xvi]C. Avidius Nigrinus
M. Annius Verus[xiii]Calvisia Domitia Lucilla[xvii]Fundania[xviii]M. Annius Libo[xiii]Faustina[xv]Antoninus Pius
(r. 138–161)[xv]
L. Aelius Caesar[xvi]Avidia[xvi]
Cornificia[xiii]Marcus Aurelius
(r. 161–180)[xix]
Faustina Minor[xix]C. Avidius Cassius[xx]Aurelia Fadilla[xv]Lucius Verus
(r. 161–169)[xvi] (1)
Ceionia Fabia[xvi]Plautius Quintillus[xxi]Q. Servilius PudensCeionia Plautia[xvi]
Cornificia Minor[xxii]M. Petronius SuraCommodus
(r. 177–192)[xix]
Fadilla[xxii]M. Annius Verus Caesar[xix]Ti. Claudius Pompeianus (2)Lucilla[xix]M. Plautius Quintillus[xvi]Junius Licinius BalbusServilia Ceionia
Petronius AntoninusL. Aurelius Agaclytus (2)Aurelia Sabina[xxii]L. Antistius Burrus (1)Plautius QuintillusPlautia ServillaC. Furius Sabinus TimesitheusAntonia GordianaJunius Licinius Balbus?
Furia Sabina TranquillinaGordian III
(r. 238–244)
  • (1) = 1st spouse
  • (2) = 2nd spouse
  • (3) = 3rd spouse
  •   Reddish-purple indicates emperor of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty
      lighter purple indicates designated imperial heir of said dynasty who never reigned
      grey indicates unsuccessful imperial aspirants
      bluish-purple indicates emperors of other dynasties
  • dashed lines indicate adoption; dotted lines indicate love affairs/unmarried relationships
  • Small Caps = posthumously deified (Augusti, Augustae, or other)
Notes:

Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree.

  1. ^ Sister of Trajan's father: Giacosa (1977), p. 7.
  2. ^ Giacosa (1977), p. 8.
  3. ^ a b Levick (2014), p. 161.
  4. ^ Husband of Ulpia Marciana: Levick (2014), p. 161.
  5. ^ a b Giacosa (1977), p. 7.
  6. ^ a b c DIR contributor (Herbert W. Benario, 2000), "Hadrian".
  7. ^ a b Giacosa (1977), p. 9.
  8. ^ Husband of Salonia Matidia: Levick (2014), p. 161.
  9. ^ Smith (1870), "Julius Servianus".
  10. ^ Smith (1870), "Hadrian", pp. 319–322.
  11. ^ Lover of Hadrian: Lambert (1984), p. 99 and passim; deification: Lamber (1984), pp. 2–5, etc.
  12. ^ Husband of Rupilia Faustina: Levick (2014), p. 163.
  13. ^ a b c d Levick (2014), p. 163.
  14. ^ It is uncertain whether Rupilia Faustina was Frugi's daughter by Salonia Matidia or another woman.
  15. ^ a b c d Levick (2014), p. 162.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g Levick (2014), p. 164.
  17. ^ Wife of M. Annius Verus: Giacosa (1977), p. 10.
  18. ^ Wife of M. Annius Libo: Levick (2014), p. 163.
  19. ^ a b c d e Giacosa (1977), p. 10.
  20. ^ The epitomator of Cassius Dio (72.22) gives the story that Faustina the Elder promised to marry Avidius Cassius. This is also echoed in HA "Marcus Aurelius" 24.
  21. ^ Husband of Ceionia Fabia: Levick (2014), p. 164.
  22. ^ a b c Levick (2014), p. 117.
References:
  • DIR contributors (2000). "De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and Their Families". Retrieved 2015-04-14.
  • Giacosa, Giorgio (1977). Women of the Caesars: Their Lives and Portraits on Coins. Translated by R. Ross Holloway. Milan: Edizioni Arte e Moneta. ISBN 0-8390-0193-2.
  • Lambert, Royston (1984). Beloved and God: The Story of Hadrian and Antinous. New York: Viking. ISBN 0-670-15708-2.
  • Levick, Barbara (2014). Faustina I and II: Imperial Women of the Golden Age. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-537941-9.
  • Smith, William, ed. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

Sources

  • Prosopographia Imperii Romani (PIR) ² F 587

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tranquillina.
  1. ^ Wood, Susan (1981-01-01). "Subject and Artist: Studies in Roman Portraiture of the Third Century". American Journal of Archaeology. 85 (1): 59–68. doi:10.2307/504966. ISSN 0002-9114.
  2. ^ a b c Vagi, David (2016-09-16). Coinage and History of the Roman Empire. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-97125-0.
  3. ^ Burns, Jasper (2006-11-22). Great Women of Imperial Rome: Mothers and Wives of the Caesars. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-13185-3.
  4. ^ Fargnoli, Iole (2023), Fornalé, Elisa; Cristani, Federica (eds.), "Women's Empowerment: A Historical Introduction", Women’s Empowerment and Its Limits: Interdisciplinary and Transnational Perspectives Toward Sustainable Progress, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 15–31, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-29332-0_2, ISBN 978-3-031-29332-0, retrieved 2024-06-09
  5. ^ a b c d Bédoyère, Guy de la (2017-02-28). Praetorian: The Rise and Fall of Rome's Imperial Bodyguard. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-22627-0.

External links

  • http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/tranquillina/i.html
  • http://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=1034
  • http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Tranquillina
  • https://www.livius.org/to-ts/tranquillina/tranquillina.html
Royal titles
Preceded by Empress of Rome
241–244
Succeeded by
  • v
  • t
  • e
Principate
27 BC – AD 235
Crisis
235–285
Dominate
284–610
Western Empire
395–480
Eastern Empire
395–610
Eastern/
Byzantine Empire
610–1453
See also
Italics indicates a consort to a junior co-emperor, underlining indicates a consort to an emperor variously regarded as either legitimate or a usurper, and bold incidates an empress regnant.
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