Ancient history

Maximino, the Thracian giant who was emperor of Rome... without ever having set foot on it

When we talk about which was the greatest emperor of Rome You have to be careful with that adjective and clarify in what sense it is applied. For most, the description fits Octavian Augustus, who was the first and the one who imposed the Pax Romana; for others, the Christians of other centuries, that merit would correspond to Constantine for having legalized that religion; there are also those who expanded the imperial borders, like Trajan, those who had a remarkable culture, like Marcus Aurelius...

But if we say the word big in the literal sense, the absolute and indisputable protagonist is Maximino the Thracian . Why? Well, because, according to the chronicles, he was a giant "of a terrifying appearance and colossal size" who wore bracelets as rings. Of course, it is impossible to specify but some sources -surely somewhat exaggerated, since almost none are contemporary with him- attribute almost 2 and a half meters of height to him. and a force to match. As a reference, it should be noted that the tallest individual on record was Robert Pershing Wadlow , who died at the age of 22 with impressive measurements:approximately 2.44 meters and weighing 219 kilos.

Returning to Maximino, who possibly suffered from acromegaly or gigantism (excess of growth hormone; the coins of the time show morphological signs of it, such as acute prognathism), he was born around the year 173 AD. in Thrace (more or less the current Bulgaria and some areas of Turkey and Greece), receiving the name of Cayo Julio Verus. He entered the Roman army at age 17, in the time of Septimius Severus, and soon began to stand out for his strength.

This made it easier for him to rise in rank and, already under the government of Alejandro Severo , he came to command a legion as legate. He later became governor of Mesopotamia and managed to gain the imperium after the murder of the young Caesar in Germania, carried out by the legionnaires themselves because of the prevailing discontent due to the delay in their pay while money was given to the barbarians. The Praetorian Guard chose Maximinus to replace him to the detriment of the other candidate, Quartino .

We are in a century, the III , critical of the effect of the climate on the rise in sea level in what is now the Netherlands, which was flooded, destroying crops, which had repercussions on demographic displacement towards the Roman border, famines and epidemics; all of which, together with the civil wars within the imperial heart, altered the stability of Rome . For decades, the direction of that system passed ephemerally through the hands of 26 different men . Maximino, ironies of life, was precisely one of those who had the shortest term of office; only three years, between 235 and 238.

And it was not easy for him. Starting with his proclamation, that the Senate did not like him at all. because of his peasant origin; and Thracian on top, as he himself proudly incorporated into his name. But there were also the supporters of the late Severus -the nobility, basically-, the carelessness with which the western front had been left to deal with the eastern Persian (and reflected in several defeats against the Germans), the growing spread of Christianity (Severus had been tolerant with that faith), etc.

Maximino faced this panorama persecuting the Christians, eliminating his opponents (there were at least a couple of conspiracies against him) and launching a victorious campaign against the Germans (earning him the appointment of Germanicus Maximus ); but in order to develop the latter, he had to double the salary of the soldiers, for which he was forced to raise taxes (especially among the aristocracy). Thus, he lost the little popularity he had left, augmented by the fact that he still hadn't gone to the capital.

Perhaps sensing the danger, he wanted to secure his dynasty and named his son Caesar Maximus , before marching against Dacians and Sarmatians. But in 238 the landowners of the African provinces revolted, appointing the proconsul Sempronius Gordianus new emperor. The Senate hastened to give the go-ahead and the aspirant headed for Rome with his legions; he never arrived because the governor of Numidia, confronted with him on a personal matter, defeated and killed him.

However, open hostilities had already broken out against Maximinus. The senators re-proclaimed up to two more emperors Pupieno and Balbino . In the middle of a civil war , with his troops affected by hunger and disease, the end came for Maximino:his own men killed him next to his son, beheading them and taking their heads to the senators. Thus ended the surprising adventure of a giant Caesar of humble origins who never set foot in Rome .