“An unusual history of an unusual soldier of Rome who rose to Emperor . . . an engaging history of a fascinating subject—Very Highly Recommended.” —Firetrench This is the only fully illustrated military life of the Emperor Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (253-268). Considered the most blatantly military man of all of the soldier emperors of the third century, Gallienus is the emperor in Harry Sidebottom’s bestselling Warrior of Rome novels. Gallienus faced more simultaneous usurpations and foreign invasions than any other emperor, but somehow he managed to survive. Dr. Ilkka Syvanne explains how this was possible. It was largely thanks to the untiring efforts of Gallienus that the Roman Empire survived for another 1,200 years. Gallienus was a notorious libertarian, womanizer, and cross-dresser, but he was also a fearless warrior, duelist and general all at the same time. This monograph explains why he was loved by the soldiers, yet so intensely hated by some officers that they killed him in a conspiracy. The year 2018 was the 1,800th anniversary of Gallienus’ date of birth and the 1,750th anniversary of his date of death. The Reign of Gallienus celebrates the life and times of this great man. “A beautiful book that investigates the life and works of an emperor undervalued by the ‘general public’ but who deserves to be known for his military and historical legacy.” —Old Barbed Wire Blog

The Reign of the Emperor Probus by James Harold Edward Crees, first published in 1911, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, which has been scanned and cleaned by state-of-the-art publishing tools for better readability and enhanced appreciation. Restoration Editors' mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life. Some smudges, annotations or unclear text may still exist, due to permanent damage to the original work. We believe the literary significance of the text justifies offering this reproduction, allowing a new generation to appreciate it.

This is a dual biography of the emperors Marcus Antonius Gordianus (‘Gordian III’, reigned 238-244) and Marcus Julius Philippus Augustus (‘Philip the Arab’, reigned 244-249), focusing mainly on the political and military events during this crucial stage of the ‘Third Century Crisis’. The tumultuous 'Year of the Six Emperors' saw Gordian raised to the purple at just thirteen years of age, becoming the youngest emperor in the Empire’s history at a time when the borders were threatened by the powerful Sassanid Persians and the Goths, among others. Gordian died on a campaign against the Persians, either in battle or possibly murdered by his own men. Philip, succeeded Gordian, made peace with Shapur I and returned to Italy. His reign encompassed the spectacular celebration of Rome’s millennium in 248 but the wars in the Balkans and East together with crippling taxation led to mutinies and rebellions. Philip and his brother had until then fought successfully against the Persians and others but this did not save Philip, who was killed by a usurper’s forces at the Battle of Verona in 249. He had been Rome’s first Christian emperor and the author considers why it was fifty years before she had another.