Rise to power {{multiple image Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus, commonly referred to as Tetricus I, was born in Gaul, on an unknown date, to a noble family of
Gallic origin. Little of his early life is known, however, he had become a
senator and occupied the post of (provincial governor) of
Gallia Aquitania, a province in the southwest of what is now France, by 271. In early 271, emperor Victorinus was murdered in Colonia by
Attitianus, an officer in the Gallic army, allegedly because he had seduced Attitianus's wife. Because the motivation for his assassination was personal, rather than political, Victorinus's mother,
Victoria, was able to retain power within the empire; as Drinkwater notes, she was unable to take the throne herself as a woman, and thus selected Tetricus as a candidate, having him appointed by the army after securing their support with large bribes; he further mentions the possibility that Tetricus was related to Victoria and Victorinus, but states that there is no direct support for this. The army proclaimed Tetricus as Gallic emperor in spring of the same year at
Burdigala (modern-day
Bordeaux). However, Tetricus was not present for the proclamation. Drinkwater posits that, as he was governor of Gallia Aquitania, Victoria likely reigned for several weeks from Colonia before Tetricus assumed power, possibly issuing coins
deifying Victorinus during this period. Mairat argues that, if Tetricus was absent for the proclamation, it is most likely that Victoria did order the minting of the coins, but notes that the coins of Domitian II appear to have been made in the same issue, noting that the coinage may have been created by the Gallic armies, due to political uncertainty regarding succession, or that Victoria may have minted coins in Victorinus' name, rather than Tetricus', for the same reason. The Gallic Empire mirrored the Roman imperial administrative traditions, and as such each Gallic emperor adopted a Roman regnal title upon his accession; after becoming emperor, Tetricus adopted the regnal name and titles of
Imperator Caesar Esuvius Tetricus Pius Felix Invictus Augustus
Pontifex Maximus. The Gallic Empire also followed the Roman tradition of emperors appointing themselves as
consul, with Tetricus appointing himself as consul in 271, 272, 273, and 274. By Roman custom, there were two consuls per year; however, the names of the other consuls for 271–273 are not known, but it is known that Tetricus's son,
Tetricus II, served as his colleague in 274. Tetricus was also
tribune from 271 to 274. Tetricus elevated Tetricus II as in 273 to increase the legitimacy of his reign by founding a dynasty; he may have also elevated his son to co-emperor during the last days of his reign, but this is uncertain. The semi-fictional , in its biography of emperor
Aurelian, states that Tetricus elevated his son at an unspecified date, however, neither Aurelius Victor nor Eutropius mentions such an event.
Reign During Tetricus's reign, the main threats to the Gallic Empire came from the Roman Empire and
Germanic peoples. Tetricus also had to contend with dissent within the army and government. Tetricus was recognized as emperor by all of Gaul — except
Gallia Narbonensis, which had been partially reconquered by
Placidianus, a general under Roman emperor
Claudius Gothicus — and Britannia. He was not recognized by the provinces of Hispania, including Hispania Baetica,
Lusitania, and
Hispania Tarraconensis, which had earlier refused to recognize Victorinus as emperor, nor by the city of
Argentoratum (modern-day
Strasbourg) in Germania. The provinces that did not recognize Tetricus chose instead to recognize Aurelian as Roman emperor, who had been proclaimed emperor in September 270 at
Sirmium in
Pannonia. By the time of Tetricus's rule, the Germanic peoples had become increasingly aggressive, launching raids across the Rhine and along the
coast. Tetricus moved the capital of the Gallic Empire from Colonia to Augusta Treverorum in late 271 in order to guard against the Germanic peoples. Tetricus attacked them with some success, mainly during the early part of his reign, celebrating a
triumph for one of his victories. Later in his reign, he was forced to withdraw troops and abandon forts, which allowed the border territories to be pillaged. Later Germanic raids were met with almost no opposition — one penetrated so far into Gallic territory that it reached the
Loire. While Aurelian was focused on attacking the
Palmyrene Empire, which had broken away from the Roman Empire in 270 under its queen,
Zenobia, Tetricus was able to recover Gallia Narbonensis and southeastern parts of Gallia Aquitania. During 273–274, Faustinus, provincial governor of
Gallia Belgica, rebelled against Tetricus, however, his revolt was swiftly crushed. Around this time, Tetricus also held the , public games that took place every four years. of Tetricus II
Defeat and later life After Aurelian had succeeded in his reconquest of the Palmyrene Empire, he turned his attention to the Gallic Empire, beginning preparations for an invasion in 273. In early 274, Aurelian began to march into northern Gaul, while Tetricus led his troops southward from Augusta Treverorum to meet him. The armies of Aurelian and Tetricus met in February or March 274 at the
Battle of Châlons, near modern-day
Châlons in north-eastern France. The higher discipline of the Roman forces, coupled with the greater military command of Aurelian, tipped the harsh battle in Roman favor, and after Tetricus was captured in the combat, the morale of the Gallic forces broke. The army of Tetricus was soundly defeated, and Tetricus surrendered either directly after his defeat or later; the latest possible date for his surrender was March 274, when the Gallic mints switched from minting coins of Tetricus I and II to those of Aurelian. Some Roman sources including Aurelius Victor, Eutropius, the , and
Orosius report that Tetricus had already made a deal with Aurelian, offering to surrender in exchange for an honourable defeat and no punishment, quoting the ghost of
Palinurus from
Virgil's
Aeneid 6.365: ('pluck me out, O undefeated one, from these troubles'). However, this is believed by modern historians to be a product of Roman imperial propaganda; Aurelian, who was attempting to stabilise his fragile empire, benefited from the account that Tetricus had planned to betray his army, as his troops would then be less likely to rise up again. Upon Tetricus's surrender, the Gallic Empire rejoined the Roman Empire, once more restored to its former borders, and Aurelian held a triumph in Rome involving many chariots; twenty elephants; two hundred beasts, including tigers, giraffes, and elk; eight hundred gladiators; and prisoners from various barbarian peoples. The leaders of the two secessionist states, Tetricus of the Gallic Empire and Zenobia of the Palmyrene Empire, were paraded during this triumph, along with Tetricus II; Tetricus and his son were not placed in chains for their march, but instead were made to wear (Gallic trousers). Aurelian pardoned all three of them and made Tetricus a
senator and (governor) of either , a region of southern Italy, or all of Italy. The states that he was made (governor of Lucania) in the biography of Tetricus, but states that he was made (governor of Italy) in the biography of Aurelian.
Epigraphic evidence exists for who predate Tetricus, whereas the first epigraphic evidence for a of a smaller region comes from around 283, ten years after Aurelian appointed Tetricus as . Because of the contradictions within the , the opinion of modern scholars is divided. In 1921,
David Magie, the editor of the
Loeb edition of the , favored Tetricus's having been made , while others, such as Alaric Watson in his 1999
Aurelian and the Third Century, support his having been made . Tetricus died of natural causes several years later in Italia. ==Numismatics==