Photo: Eduardo Estellez (Shutterstock)
AD 238 was a tumultuous year in Rome. Known as the “year of the six emperors,” six people claimed to be emperor, and the empire itself nearly collapsed. It began with the overthrow of notoriously cruel and unpopular Maximinus Thrax. Aristocrats in northern Africa convinced their governor, Gordian, to proclaim himself emperor. Gordian was like, “Look, I’m 80 years old. I’ll do it, but only if I can co-rule with my son Gordian II.” The Roman Senate agreed, and the heartwarming father-son duo took power over Rome and all its territories.
This did not sit well with Capelianus, the governor of the neighboring province of Numidia. He raised an army, marched into Carthage in Tunisia, defeated the Gordians, and killed Gordian II. Upon hearing the news, old man Gordian took his own life.
After a lot of tumult and a few more emperors, Gordian III, the royal grandson and last of the six emperors, took power. The 13 year-old was mostly a pawn of powerful senators, and after a reign of little accomplishment, Gordian III was killed in battle at only 19 years old.
