Calocaerus

{{Infobox Roman emperor

| name =Calocaerus

| full name =Calocaerus

| title =Usurper of the Roman Empire

| image =

| caption =

| reign = 334

| predecessor =Constantine I

| successor =Constantine I

| spouse 1 =

| spouse 2 =

| issue =

| dynasty =None

| father =

| mother =

| birth_date =?

| birth_place =

| death_date =334

| death_place =Tarsus, Cilicia

| place of burial =

||regnal name=Imperator Caesar Calocaerus Augustus}}

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

History

Before the revolt, Calocaerus had served in the role of Magister pecoris camelorum ("Master of the Flock and Camels") in Cyprus according to the historian Aurelius Victor.Aur. Vict. Caes. 41,11.{{sfn|Lenski|2006|p=337}}{{sfn|Lenski|2006|p=81}} Whether his unusual title implies some military command ("captain of the camel corps")George Hill, (1940, reprint 2010) A History of Cyprus, vol. 1 (New York: Cambridge University Press), p. 244. or merely a servile position ("leading shepherd slave")Bruno Bleckmann (2006) “Calocaerus”, in: Brill's New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. Consulted online on 12 April 2018 is uncertain, though in any event there were no camels in Cyprus in that era.Hill 1940, p. 244 He had been assigned to this position by Emperor Constantine I in 330 AD.{{sfn|Hunt|Coldstream|1990|p=139}} During the time period of the revolt, imperial power and legitimacy was based almost entirely upon military power. In order 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.{{sfn|Lenski|2006|p=337}}

Calocaerus revolted in Cyprus in 334 AD, 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.{{Sfn|Amidon|2007|p=210}}{{sfn|Lenski|2006|p=337}}{{sfn|Hornblower|Spawforth|1998|p=193}} 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.{{sfn|Lenski|2006|p=81}} 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.{{sfn|Vagi|2000|p=470}}{{sfn|Grant|1994|p=48}}

References

=Ancient sources=

Theophanes 43B.{{Sfn|Amidon|2007|p=210}}
Jerome Chron. 334.{{Sfn|Amidon|2007|p=210}}

=Citations=

=Books=

{{cite book|last1=Amidon|first1=Philip R.|title=Philostorgius: Church History|date=2007|publisher=Society of Biblical Literature|location=Atlanta, GA|isbn=9781589832152}}
{{cite book|last1=Grant|first1=Michael|title=Constantine the Great: the Man and His Times|date=1994|publisher=Scribner's|location=New York|isbn=9780684195209|url=https://archive.org/details/constantinegreat00gran}}
{{cite book |title=The Oxford companion to classical civilization |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198601654|editor-first1=Simon |editor-last1=Hornblower |editor-first2=Antony |editor-last2=Spawforth|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000unse}}
{{cite book|last1=Hunt|first1=David|last2=Coldstream|first2=J.N.|title=Footprints in Cyprus: an Illustrated History|date=1990|publisher=Trigraph|location=London|isbn=9780950802671}}
{{cite book|last1=Lenski|first1=Noel|title=The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine|date=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=9780521521574}}
{{cite book|last1=Vagi|first1=David L.|title=Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, c. 82 B.C.- A.D. 480|date=2000|publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn|isbn=9781579583163}}