Calocaerus

Calocaerus
Usurper of the Roman Empire
Reign	334
Predecessor	Constantine I
Successor	Constantine I
Born
Died	Tarsus, Cilicia
Names Calocaerus Regnal name Imperator Caesar Calocaerus Augustus
Dynasty	None

Calocaerus (Greek: Καλόκαιρος; died 334 AD) was a Roman usurper against Emperor Constantine I, who, in 334, staged a revolt in Cyprus. The revolt was quickly put down, and he was executed along with his commanders, by being burned alive.

History

According to historian Aurelius Victor, before the revolt, Calocaerus had served in the role of Magister pecoris camelorum ("Master of the Flock and Camels") in Cyprus. Whether his unusual title implies some military command ("captain of the camel corps") or merely a servile position ("leading shepherd slave") is uncertain, though in any event there were no camels in Cyprus in that era. He had been assigned to this position by Emperor Constantine I in 330. During the time period of the revolt, imperial power and legitimacy was based almost entirely upon military power. To become and remain emperor, a usurper needed a large and loyal army. Due to this, there were a large number of ephemeral revolts, which were either rapidly put down by the incumbent emperor, or else had their usurper killed by his own troops.

Calocaerus revolted in Cyprus in 334, proclaiming himself emperor. He was swiftly defeated by Flavius Dalmatius, the half-brother of Emperor Constantine I. After being defeated, he was taken to Tarsus in Cilicia, and burned alive, along with his commanders. It is likely that Calocaerus' low status (that of a magister pecoris camelorum), had an influence in the low amount of support he received, leading to his quick demise. Dalmatius gathered evidence that a bastard son of Licinius, who had been emperor before Constantine I, was involved. This son had been legitimized by edict, and survived the downfall of his father, and still held a high, although unrecorded, rank in the Roman Empire. Dalmatius used this evidence to either execute or enslave the bastard son.

References

Ancient sources

• Theophanes 43B.
• Jerome Chron. 334.

Books

• Amidon, Philip R. (2007). Philostorgius: Church History. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature. ISBN 9781589832152.
• Grant, Michael (1994). Constantine the Great: the Man and His Times. New York: Scribner's. ISBN 9780684195209.
• Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony, eds. (1998). The Oxford companion to classical civilization. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198601654.
• Hunt, David; Coldstream, J.N. (1990). Footprints in Cyprus: an Illustrated History. London: Trigraph. ISBN 9780950802671.
• Lenski, Noel (2006). The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521521574.
• Vagi, David L. (2000). Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, c. 82 B.C.- A.D. 480. Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN 9781579583163.

Further reading

• Arnold Hugh Martin Jones, J. (EDT) Morris, J. R. (John Robert) Martindale, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Cambridge University Press, 1971, Template:ISBN.
• DiMaio, Michael, "Calocaerus (333/334 A.D.)", De Imperatoribus Romanis