Maximinus thrax skeleton head

Author: Marian Vermeulen /

“He called up informers and incited accusers, invented false offences, killed innocent men, condemned all whoever came to trial, reduced the richest men to utter poverty and never sought money anywhere save in some other’s ruin, put many generals and many men of consular rank to death for no offence, carried others about in waggons without food and drink,and kept others in confinement, in short neglected nothing which he thought might prove effectual for cruelty.”

– Historia Augusta

First Barbarian Emperor of Rome

For centuries in the ancient world, kings were also expected to be front line warriors, leading their men into battle and earning their loyalty through their prowess on the battlefield.

Yet the Romans embraced a more measured style of battlefield command, and while several emperors remained active generals, they were also more careful to insure their own safety for tactical reasons. Yet Maximinus Thrax, the first barbarian e