Pupienus
| Pupienus | |||||
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Bust of Pupienus
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| Joint 30th Emperor of the Roman Empire | |||||
| Reign | 22 April – 29 July 238 (with Balbinus, and in revolt against Maximinus Thrax) | ||||
| Predecessor | Gordian I and II | ||||
| Successor | Gordian III | ||||
| Born | c. 165 or c. 170 | ||||
| Died | 29 July 238 (aged 68 or 73) Rome |
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| Issue |
Tiberius Clodius Pupienus Pulcher Maximus Marcus Pupienus Africanus Maximus Pupiena Sextia Paulina Cethegilla |
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| Father | ? Marcus Pupienus Maximus | ||||
| Mother | ? Clodia Pulchra | ||||
| Full name | |
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| Marcus Clodius Pupienus Maximus (from birth to accession); Imperator Caesar Marcus Clodius Pupienus Maximus Augustus (as emperor) |
Pupienus (Latin: Marcus Clodius Pupienus Maximus Augustus; born c. 165/170 – 29 July 238), also known as Pupienus Maximus, was Roman Emperor with Balbinus for three months in 238, during the Year of the Six Emperors. The sources for this period are scant, and thus knowledge of the emperor is limited. In most contemporary texts Pupienus is referred by his cognomen "Maximus" rather than by his second nomen (family name) Pupienus.
The Historia Augusta, whose testimony is not to be trusted unreservedly, paints Pupienus as an example of advancement through the cursus honorum due to military success. It claims he was the son of a blacksmith, was adopted by one Pescennia Marcellina (otherwise unknown), and who started his career as a Centurio primus pilus before becoming a Tribunus Militum, and then a Praetor. He was in fact part of the aristocracy, albeit a minor one, and possibly quite recently. Hailing from the Etruscan city of Volterra, it has been speculated that Pupienus was the son of Marcus Pupienus Maximus, a Senator who was the first member of his family to enter the Senate, and wife Clodia Pulchra.
Pupienus’s career was impressive, serving a number of important posts during the reign of the Severan dynasty throughout the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries. This included assignment as Proconsul of the senatorial propraetorial provinces of Bithynia et Pontus, Achaea, and Gallia Narbonensis. He was later assigned as imperial legate to one of the German provinces, most probably after his first suffect consulship, circa 207 AD. During his time as governor, he was quite popular and scored military victories over the Sarmatians and German tribes.
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