Firmus
{{Short description|Possible Roman imperial usurper (died 273)}}
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{{Infobox person
| name = Firmus
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| death_date = 273
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| known_for = Usurper during the reign of Aurelian
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According to the Historia Augusta, Firmus (died 273) was a usurper of Syrian origin during the reign of Aurelian.{{Cite book |last1=Blaudeau |first1=Philippe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZkFCgAAQBAJ&dq=Firmus+syrienne&pg=PT336 |title=L'historiographie tardo-antique et la transmission des savoirs |last2=Nuffelen |first2=Peter |date=2015-07-01 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3-11-040931-4 |language=fr}} The contradictory accounts of his life and the man himself are considered to be a complete fabrication, perhaps based on the later Firmus.{{cite book|author1=Jan den Boeft|author2=Jan Willem Drijvers|author3=Daniël den Hengst|author4=Hans Teitler (coauthor)|title=Philological and Historical Commentary on Ammianus Marcellinus XXIX|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t3ZfAgAAQBAJ|date=3 December 2013|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-26787-9|page=150}}
Historia Augusta account
According to the Historia Augusta ("Firmus"), Firmus was a man of great wealth. He had his house fitted with square panels of glass, and owned a huge library. His commercial relationships involved Blemmyes, Saracens, and India. He had two elephant tusks, which later Aurelian projected to use as a basis for a statue to Jupiter and which were actually given as a present by Carinus. Physically, Firmus was noteworthy, being huge and very strong. Firmus was notably also a heavy drinker and could eat quite a bit. The Historia Augusta states that he once consumed an entire ostrich in one day, and even beat one of Aurelian's standard bearers and notorious drinkers in a drinking contest, draining two buckets of wine while remaining completely sober. The importance and threat of Firmus' revolt is related to the interruption of the Egyptian grain supply to Rome.
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References
= Primary sources =
- [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Firmus_et_al*.html "Firmus Saturninus Proclus et Bonosus" 3-6], Historia Augusta
- [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Aurelian/2*.html#32.2 "Aurelianus" xxxii.2‑3], Historia Augusta
- Zosimus i.61.1
= Secondary sources =
- "Firmus", s.v. [http://www.roman-emperors.org/aurelian.htm "Aurelian"], De Imperatoribus Romanis site
Category:3rd-century Roman usurpers