Atlantic West Europe, 268–279: Gallic Empire's Zenith and Initial Decline

Political and Military Developments

• Stability under Postumus (268–269):

  • Emperor Postumus continued to successfully defend Atlantic West Europe against incursions by Germanic tribes, primarily Franks and Alamanni, fortifying Rhine defenses.

  • However, Postumus was assassinated by his own troops in 269 after quelling a rebellion led by his rival, Laelianus, in Mainz.

• Succession Instability (269–274):

  • Postumus's death triggered succession crises. Briefly, emperors Victorinus (269–271) and subsequently Tetricus I (271–274) struggled to maintain control.

  • Tetricus I moved the Gallic Empire’s administrative center to Bordeaux due to security concerns, indicating vulnerability in the Rhine regions.

• Reintegration into Roman Empire (274):

  • Emperor Aurelian reconquered the territories of the Gallic Empire at the decisive Battle of Châlons in 274, reuniting Atlantic West Europe with the central Roman Empire.

Economic and Social Developments

• Economic Disruption and Recovery:

  • Succession crises and conflicts disrupted trade and agriculture, causing temporary economic decline, particularly along frontier zones.

  • Following reintegration, Aurelian initiated administrative and economic reforms aimed at stabilizing trade and currency circulation in Gaul.

• Increased Fortification Efforts:

  • Cities like Bordeaux, Tours, and Trier increased fortifications, becoming critical military and administrative centers, while rural areas saw further depopulation and fortification of large villa estates.

Cultural and Religious Developments

• Continued Spread of Christianity:

  • Despite political turmoil, Christianity continued to flourish, with bishops and church authorities increasingly assuming civic roles in urban centers.

  • The Church emerged as a stabilizing factor during periods of political uncertainty.

Significance

The period from 268 to 279 marked the Gallic Empire's final years, highlighting regional instability but also resilience. Reintegration with Rome under Aurelian initiated a brief stabilization, yet the trends toward local governance and Christian expansion set enduring patterns for Atlantic West Europe's future development.

Augusta Treverorum, as the chief city of the province of Gallia Belgica, rises in importance from 271 to 274 during the Empire's major third-century crisis.

Trier is the second city of the breakaway Gallic Empire, at first under Postumus, who was proclaimed in Cologne, then under his ephemeral successor, Victorinus, who made his base at Trier, where he had rebuilt a large house with a mosaic proclaiming his position as tribune in Postumus' Gallic Praetorian Guard; the city serves again as capital under the emperors Tetricus I and II.

The Gallic emperor besieges and captures Moguntiacum, and puts Laelianus to death, but Postumus' troops seek to sack the city.

Postumus forbids it, as it is part of his own territory, whereupon the troops, enraged and out of control, mutiny and kill him.

One Marius, elevated to imperial rank by his comrades, is the summer or autumn of 269 strangled due to private quarrel.

Postumus' colleague Marcus Piavonius Victorinus, a former tribune in the Praetorian Guard who had perhaps been joint emperor, succeeds him.

The Aedui, a Gallic tribe inhabiting the country between the Arar (Saône) and Liger (Loire) in today's France, had revolted against the reduced Gallic empire and were defeated in autumn 270, their final stronghold being finally overcome after seven months of siege.

Victorinus, a persistent womanizer, is rumored to have seduced, possibly even raped, wives of his officials and entourage.

Attitianus, one of his officials, learns that Victorinus has propositioned his wife, and the emperor is murdered in early 271.

The murderers seem to have had no political agenda and it is not surprising that there is a period of confusion after his death.

Domitianus, who probably commands troops close enough to one of the mint-cities of Trier or Cologne and who strikes coins to advertise his elevation, presumably serves for a few days as emperor before being replaced by the Gallic noble Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus, governor of Aquitania, which extends from the Pyrenees to the Loire.