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The requirement, called "the Thracian" Small facelift

Or how a powerful opening decline

As I passed in the previous post, that year in that first race we had a class called "Ancient Universal History, Ancient History gave rather little (no rhyme or reason, at breakneck speed, seeing nothing of Egypt because" it was a lesser civilization ", etc.). Among colleagues, however, do we remember some gems that emerged in class. Most sentences of the teacher, Santos Crespo Ortiz de Zárate, let go from time to time, as a joke, to entertain the Peñaza made us suffer. Among them, two on the character in question, the Roman Emperor Maximinus I, nicknamed "the Thracian" which we usually remember saying that are all that we learned in that subject.

This is a peculiar character. For starters, this is an emperor of obscure origins. Neither one knows for certain the date of his birth, nor the place. Since sources call him "the Thracian" (and "Old" to distinguish him from his son Max, Herodian misnamed by Maximino "the Younger"), historiography has assumed that Roman was born in the province, which today would, more or less, to Bulgaria. But it also may have been born in Moesia, a little north of Thrace, in full Balkans. We care little of, the truth. The we are interested in that fact, it reveals that its origin was rather humble. As to date, more of the same, but everything suggests that must be around the year 173 AD

Location of the province of Thrace in the empire Romano

As we have said, the young Maximino had to grow in that area, but there was a Roman citizen, nor was handled properly in Latin, was a barbarian (foreigner, non-Roman in classical jargon), Thracian sputtering. How such a character might be able to hold the purple? Promotion, promotion, promotion, army, of course. But what was different from the rest of this barbarian? Well, simply, that was unusually large. Apparently, Maximino (full name, once he became a citizen, was Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus, or Vero Julius Maximinus), suffered from gigantism, and says she could exceed two feet. And that, dear readers, as the Roman civilization, where our beloved Latino hardly came to 1.70 m., is an outrage. According to Herodian, in his Historia Augusta (the only source that is about it that is his contemporary), the boy measured 2.59. There are two possible explanations for this:

Or
• sources maginificarle try to hide in some way, or distract attention from the fact that he was a barbarian been more simple, not very honorable for the story Empire.
• Or suffering gigantism. Well, to be correct, acromegaly, but for me a little of both.

As the second option is more beer, is that I keep it to myself.

Bust of Maximinus I

As we said, this barbaric became emperor, the first of its kind to do so. Earlier, at most, had proclaimed Roman emperors in the provinces. And not in Italy, much less in Rome, no, in the provinces. And if that was hard to swallow for many (and for the Senate), imagine when the legions cheered this giant.

Step by step, Maximino was climbing up the hierarchy Legion, until the hand of Emperor Alexander Severus took a giant step (y nunca mejor dicho). Comenzó a aparecer en los escritos (el primero conservado sobre él data de 232, colocando a Maximino como comandante de una legión) y en 235, con el asesinato de Alejandro Severo, fue aclamado emperador por la guardia pretoriana. Aguantó en el trono hasta 238 cuando, siguiendo la tradición, fue asesinado junto a su hijo y colaboradores, y sus cabezas enviadas a Roma.

De este emperador se han dicho mil cosas... Pero dos de ellas, como he comentado antes, no se me olvidarán jamás. Para empezar, se dice que mataba caballos a puñetazos. Así, en crudo, sin edulcorar. A puño vivo. Saltándoles todos los dientes. A mi la escena me pone los pelos de punta. La otra, mucho menos violenta, también refiere a su gran tamaño: usaba la pulsera de su mujer como anillo para su pulgar. Esas perlas y otras cuantas se encuentran en las fuentes que le mencionan. Es descrito como, además de gigante, una persona con cejas, nariz y barbilla bastante prominentes.

Salta a la vista, ¿no?

Herodiano nos cuenta sus virtudes físicas (capaz de correr a la par de un caballo desbocado y luego ser capaz de vencer a siete legionarios en combate singular), food (whole is decanted wine amphorae (and each had a capacity of 25 liters), accompanied by about 10 or 15 kilos of meat, etc.). We note that let dry to a military tribune of a slap, already legion general (ie, between 232 and 235, with no less than sixty years, all the time an old man, while the tribunes were often twentysomethings) which could break down rocks with your hands or drag cars, but were well loaded. Or you could break the legs of a horse (and give to crush horses) to heels.


any case, no wonder that compares Hercules, Milo of Crotona, or at ...

Finally, I think you should comment a couple of other things, less worldly, on Maximinio. As mentioned above, was the first barbarian emperor of Rome, the first of many others. It was also the first emperor who never reached Rome. Of this I have my doubts ... I think as was usually does, so maybe the statement refers to a time was acclaimed emperor. Otherwise, the thing is offense.

he inaugurated the period known as the Crisis of the third century, although it was suspected that before, the political instability associated with the ephemeral emperors (and the million suitors, and fighting between them) firmly established it. It was the first of the "emperors" soldier ", a period in twenty-six emperors happened in the Roman throne in just fifty years. Of the twenty-six, only one did not die violently: Hostilian, who died of plague. In fact, Hostilian was the first emperor in forty years since he died violently, and one of the few who died of natural causes. And few want to say that, for sure, only about 20 emperors of the nearly 100 killed so. Being a Roman emperor was a profession risk, not mine work.








For more information:
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E / Roman / Texts / Historia_Augusta / *. html Maximini_duo

All images have been taken from Wikipedia Commons .