Their sacrifice was needed for Diocles and Constantine to secure the East. Rome owes its existence in the 3rd and 4th centuries to the insanely deep Illyrian officer corps. The West fell, but Constantinople fought on for a thousand years, protecting any who called themselves Roman.
Indeed. All three men, including later Majorian, 20+ years before Rome fell in 476 AD, were men who exceeded the expectations of being greater or equal to Emperor Trajan and luckier than Emperor Augustus. It's even sadder that many people don't know much about these men beyond other emperors in our current education curriculum. (in the US, we only know these men in specific art periods/history college courses, etc.) Over the decades, mainstream scholars have skipped over these men in favor of the more tyrannical emperors like Caligula, Tiberius, Nero and the more compromised ones like Commodus. Some historians tend to overshadow everyone with Marcus Aurelius's achievements (more overrated than others, given anyone's opinion). In the end, the underrated emperors who successfully or almost restored the Roman empire are slowly getting the recognition they deserve. Like Julius Caesar, these men had set an example for future emperors to live up to with their ambition and determination. They proved that if other rulers persevered through tough times, Rome would eventually be victorious to recover everything it had lost. They also showed that when an emperor is loved by the citizens, the ruler has even more power, and they can improve and expand Roman influence in any way they wish. With the support of the citizens, an emperor is almost unstoppable. They had the capacity to achieve their goals unless the corruption of Rome's webs started to infect the people/roman legions and portray the emperor as a massive threat. For Probus, he was indeed a worthy successor of Aurelian, and this video only highlights how profoundly his reign indeed enabled the final restoration of the empire - the mission that both Gallienus & Aurelian had dreamt of completing.
Probus is a reminder that humans don't want what is right if it is hard but rather what is pleasurable especially if easy. Probus didn't fail Rome, its soldiers failed Rome and him. Thank you for the video! Love the new voice!
While Aurelian and Gallienus are still underrated, Probus remains the least appriciated Roman emperor. He defeated several Germanic tribes, fortified and restrengthened the empire and yet he is only rarely mentioned.
In the end, Probus was a worthy successor to Aurelian's reign, yet historians tended to look at Rome's tyrants more than men who restored the Roman Empire multiple times. They praise & put forth Emperor Justinian more than everyone else in Roman history in today's education as the perfect restorer of Roman civilization and barely mention (or none at all) Gallineus, Aurelian, Probus, Majorian, Herculius, and Alexios I, who stabilized their respective realms with a good balance of competent administrative skills and military leadership.
It certainly didn't help that Diocletian and Constantine either ignored or underwrote the efforts of Gallienus, Claudius II, Auralien and Probus. They saved the empire and guaranteed that future emperors would have consolidated control of all imperial territories.
It's startling how immediately Rome fell out of favor after Tacitus and Probus were gone. Carus, Diocles and Constantine had zero need for Rome and larely ignored it. And to be fair, this was necessary to prevent ongoing rebellion and foreign incursion. The population of every major region in the empire was big enough to call its own shots, that's why the Dioces system was put in place to slice up individual authority, which should have been done since the time of Pompey and Caesar.
Maybe the most underrated Emperor of all time. If only there had been a contemporary historian like Dio or Herodian to write about his life and rule. Sadly we really only have the Historia Augusta, and later writers like Eutropius. He clearly be seen as one of the greats.
If there would have been a Contemporary historian like Dio or Herodian alive during his life and rule he easly would be seen as one of the greats. Sadly all we really have is the Historia Augusta and later writers like Eutropius.
Given now, just how much detail and information is in these videos, which is amazing by the way, you have to wonder just how much longer the videos of roman emperors from Augustus to Trajan would have been....
"The Rain Miracle connected with Marcus Aurelius was well known because the emperor had seen to its broad advertisement throughout his realm, and it provided a model for a similar claim to divine aid for Severus, as well, possibly, as the story that bread fell from heaven to save the army of the emperor Probus in Gaul during the 270s. It is a little less clear how the sudden dark cloud that enveloped Rome just before the death of Commodus impinged upon the consciousness of the oracular author who recorded it, but the civil wars that followed it, if not Severus himself, who had published throughout the empire the sings connected with his rise to power, may have done something to perpetuate its memory." [HI:PEHADA:145]
I saw a video saying that the bust of Probus is “an example of the degeneration of Roman art”. Maybe they didn’t consider that’s how he actually may have looked? I personally don’t see Roman art losing distinguishment until around the reign of Constantine
The voice gives strength and substance to an important subject. This voice is top professional...an in-charge and well accented voice...easy listening!
Considering what we know through DNA surviving text from Roman historians not to mention surviving frescoes your Roman’s look more barbarian than Roman. Aside from that great video with loads of useful information.
