Gordian III

Gordian III became Roman emperor in AD 238 at about thirteen years old after the murder of Balbinus and Pupienus. The government was initially directed by experienced senators and later by his praetorian prefect and father-in-law Timesitheus. A major campaign against the Sasanian Empire recovered territory, but after Timesitheus died the new prefect Philip gained power. Gordian died in 244, either in battle or through a coup, and Philip succeeded him.

Gordian III appears in Harry Sidebottom’s Throne of the Caesars series, which follows the violent accessions of 238 and the creation of his regime. Historical fiction often presents him as a well-meaning youth surrounded by officials, soldiers and relatives competing to rule in his name. The uncertainty surrounding his death gives novelists room to choose between battlefield tragedy and deliberate assassination.

In Harry Sidebottom’s Fire and Sword, after the defeat of the Gordians, the Senate appoints Pupienus and Balbinus, while Maximinus Thrax advances into Italy and the young Gordian III becomes the focus of popular and dynastic hopes. In Harry Sidebottom’s Blood and Steel, Landowners and officials in Roman Africa proclaim the elderly Gordian I and his son Gordian II as emperors, forcing the Senate to decide whether to support them or submit to the soldier-emperor marching towards Italy.