He was born a provincial peasant and died emperor of Rome. Nobody who knew him as a child would have predicted either.
This Maximinus Thrax magnet features a dramatic portrait of Rome's first soldier-emperor, part of the Bad Boys of Rome collection. A striking piece for your refrigerator, locker, or magnetic surface - and a thoughtful gift for history enthusiasts and classics lovers.
ABOUT MAXIMINUS THRAX (c. 173 AD – 238 AD)
Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus was born around 173 AD in the province of Thrace - modern-day Bulgaria - to a family of provincial obscurity, his ancestry a mix of Gothic and Alan blood depending on which ancient source you trust. He entered the Roman army as a common soldier, almost certainly under Septimius Severus, and spent the next four decades rising through the ranks on the strength of his military ability and, according to ancient sources, his extraordinary physical size. The Historia Augusta places him at over eight feet tall and capable of feats of strength no ordinary man could match. Modern historians treat the more extreme claims with healthy skepticism, but the consensus is that he was genuinely enormous by any standard, and that his physical presence was a significant part of his command authority.
By the reign of Severus Alexander he held senior command on the Rhine frontier. When Severus Alexander was murdered by his own troops in 235 AD - the soldiers reportedly contemptuous of his attempts to negotiate with Germanic tribes rather than fight them - Maximinus was proclaimed emperor by the army on the spot. He was the first emperor in Roman history to have come from neither the senatorial nor the equestrian class, never to have held civil office, and never to have set foot in Rome before his accession. He never visited Rome during his reign either.
His three years as emperor were characterized by near-continuous military campaigning, punishing taxation to fund those campaigns, and a relationship with the Senate that ranged from hostile to openly contemptuous. He won genuine military victories on the Rhine and Danube, but stripped the provinces to pay for them and executed perceived rivals with a thoroughness that alienated even his supporters. By 238 AD - a year that would produce no fewer than six claimants to the throne - his own troops, exhausted and unpaid during a prolonged siege of Aquileia, killed him in his tent. He had never been recognized by the Senate as a legitimate emperor and never would be.
Maximinus Thrax matters as the figure who cracked open the imperial system - the first demonstration that the throne could be seized by military force alone, without birth, office, or senatorial consent. The Crisis of the Third Century that followed was, in many ways, the consequence of the precedent he set.
PRODUCT FEATURES
- Available in three sizes: 3×3, 4×4, and 6×6 inches
- Matte finish for a sophisticated, glare-free surface
- Laminated surface for durability and color vibrancy
- White vinyl with strong magnetic backing
- Indoor use recommended