Publius Licinius Valerianus

(AD ca. 195 - AD 260)

Valerian, a descendant of a distinguished family from Etruria, was born in about AD
195.
He served as consul in the 230's under Alexander Severus and was one of the leading
supporter of the Gordian rebellion against Maximinus Thrax in AD 238.
Under later emperors he was much appreciated as a stalwart senator, a man of honour
one could rely on. Emperor Decius granted him special powers to oversee his
government when he embarked on his Danubian campaign. And Valerian dutifully put
down the rebellion of Julius Valens Licianus and the senate, while his emperor was
fighting the Goths.

Under the subsequent reign of Trebonianus Gallus he was entrusted with the
command of the powerful forces of the Upper Rhine in AD 251, proving that this
emperor, too, deemed him a man he could trust.

When alas Aemilian rebelled against Trebonianus Gallus and led his troops against
Rome, the emperor called upon Valerian to come to his aid. However, Aemilian had
already advanced so far, it was impossible to save the emperor.

Though Valerian marched on toward Italy, determined to see Aemilian dead. With
Trebonianus Gallus and his heir both killed, the throne was now free also to him.
When he reached Raetia with his troops, the 58 year old Valerian was hailed emperor
by his men (AD 253).
Aemilian's troops soon after murdered their master and vowed allegiance to Valerian,
not wanting to face a fight against the formidable army of the Rhine.
Their decision was at once confirmed by the senate. Valerian arrived at Rome in
autumn AD 253 and elevated his forty year old son Gallienus as full imperial partner.

But these were hard time for the empire and its emperors. German tribes invaded the
northern provinces in ever greater numbers. So too in the east the coastline of the
Black Sea continued to be devastated by seaborne barbarians. In the Asian provinces
great cities like Chalcedon were sacked and Nicaea and Nicomedia were put to the
torch.

Urgent action was required to protect the empire and reestablish control. The two
emperors needed to move swiftly.
Valerian's son and co-Augustus Gallienus now went north to deal with the German
incursions on the Rhine. Valerian himself took the east to deal with the Gothic naval
invasions. In effect the two Augusti split the empire, dividing the armies and territory
between each other, giving an example of the split into eastern and western empire
which was to follow in a few decades.
But Valerian's plans for the east came to very little. First his army was hit by
pestilence, then a far greater threat than the Goths emerged from the east.

Sapor I (Shapur I), king of Persia now launched another attack on the reeling Roman
empire. If the Persian assault began early into Valerian's or shortly before is unclear.
But Persian claims to have captured as many as 37 cities are most likely true. Sapor's
forces overran Armenia and Cappadocia and in Syria even captured the capital
Antioch, where the Persians set up a Roman puppet emperor (called either Mareades
or Cyriades). However, as the Persians invariably withdrew, this would-be emperor
was left without any support, was captured and burnt alive.
The reasons for the Persian withdrawal were that Sapor I was, contrary to his own
claims, not a conqueror. His interests lay in looting the Roman territories, rather than
acquiring them permanently.
Therefore, once an area had been overrun and sacked for all it was worth, it was
simply abandoned again.
So by the time Valerian arrived in Antioch, the Persians had most likely already
retreated.
One of Valerian's first acts was to defeat was to crush the rebellion of the high-priest
of the notorious deity of El-Gabal at Emesa, Uranius Antoninus, who had successfully
defended the city against the Persians and therefore had declared himself emperor.

Valerian campaigned against the marauding Persians for the next years, achieving
some limited success.
Not much detail is appears to be known of these campaigns, other than in AD 257 he
did achieve a victory in battle against the foe. In any case, the Persians had largely
withdrawn from the territory they had overrun.
But in AD 259 Sapor I launched yet another attack on Mesopotamia. Valerian
marched on the city of Edessa in Mesopotamia to relieve this city from the Persian
siege. But his army suffered severe losses by fighting, but most of all, by plague.
Hence Valerian in April or May AD 260 decided it would be best to sue for peace
with the enemy.
Evoys were sent to the Persian camp and returned with the suggestion of a personal
meeting between the two leaders.
The proposal must have appeared genuine, for emperor Valerian, accompanied by a
small number of personal aides, set out to the arranged meeting place to discuss the
terms for bringing the war to an end.
But it was all merely a trick by Sapor I. Valerian rode right into the Persian trap and
was taken prisoner and dragged off to Persia.
Nothing more was ever heard again of emperor Valerian, other than a disturbing
rumour by which his corpse was stuffed with straw and preserved for ages as a trophy
in a Persian temple.

It is, however, worth mentioning here that there are theories, by which Valerian
sought refuge with Sapor I from his own, mutinous troops. But the above mentioned
version, that Valerian was captured by deceit, is the traditionally taught history

Valerian, Latin in full Publius Licinius Valerianus   (died 260), Roman emperor from 253

to 260.
Licinius Valerianus was consul under Severus Alexander (emperor 222–235) and
played a leading role in inducing the Senate to risk support for Gordian I’s rebellion
against the emperor Maximinus (238). He may have been one of the 20 consulars who
successfully defended Italy against the emperor. He is not again mentioned until the
reign of Decius (emperor 249–251). Under Gallus(emperor 251–253), Licinius
Valerianus held a command on the Upper Rhine and was summoned to bring the
northern armies to aid in the struggle against the rival emperor Aemilian. He arrived too
late to save Gallus but managed to avenge and succeed him.
As the emperor Valerian, he vigorously renewed Decius’s persecution of theChristians,
executing, among others, Bishop Cyprian of Carthage and Bishop Xystus (Sixtus II) of
Rome. Recognizing that it was no longer possible for one emperor to control the whole
empire, Valerian appointed his son Gallienus to rule the West while he marched east to
repel the Persian invasion. His attempts to negotiate personally with the Persian king
Shāpūr I (Latin: Sapor) ended in failure. He was captured in June 260 and died in
captivity. Like his predecessor, Decius, Valerian tried valiantly to preserve the ideals of
the High Empire but ultimately failed to save himself or the regime he served.

Valerian/Cause of death

Torture
P. Licinius Valerianus, or Valerian, was unusual for his time period in that he was an
emperor who came from an old Roman senatorial family. He was likely born shortly
before 200 A.D., but little is known of his early life. Valerian married Egnatia
Mariniana and had two sons, Gallienus and Valerian Junior. Gallienus was born
around 218.[[1]] Valerian makes his first appearance in the sources in 238 A.D. as an
ex-consul and princeps senatus negotiating with (more likely than serving on) the
embassy sent to Rome by Gordian I's African legions to secure senatorial approval
of Gordian's rebellion against and replacement of Maximinus Thrax as emperor.
[[2]] The Scriptores Historiae Augustae probably report accurately that Trajan
Decius, on the recommendation of the Senate, offered Valerian the censorship in 251.
Although the senatus consultum cited and the specific office are of doubtful
authenticity, the high reputation Valerian possessed in the Senate and his association
with the government under Decius probably are truthful aspects of the story.[[3]] In
253 Valerian was apparently commanding in Raetia and Noricum when Trebonianus
Gallus sent him to bring legions from Gaul and Germany to Italy for the struggle with
the forces of Aemilianus. After Gallus' troops killed him and his son and joined
Aemilianus, Valerian's men proclaimed their general emperor and their arrival in Italy
caused Aemilianus' soldiers to desert and kill their commander and join Valerian's
forces in acclaiming Valerian as emperor.[[4]]

The Senate presumably was pleased to ratify the position of Valerian, one of their
own, as emperor and they also accepted his son and colleague, P. Licinius Egnatius
Gallienus, as Augustus, rather than just as Caesar.[[5]] Valerian apparently realized
the necessity of sharing power equally with his son and of dividing their efforts
geographically, with Gallienus responsible for the West and Valerian himself
concentrating on the East. The biographies of Valerian and Gallienus in the Scriptores
Historiae Augustae, attributed to Trebellius Pollio, are not especially helpful in
putting together an account of their joint reign. The life of Valerian is fragmentary and
that of Gallienus projects an extremely biased negative interpretation of his career.

Gallienus in the early years of the joint reign concentrated, with some success, on
protecting Gaul and the Rhine frontier by driving back Germanic tribes and fortifying
cities such as Cologne and Trier. In a move which would characterize later diplomacy
with Germans, Gallienus concluded an alliance with one of their chieftains,
presumably to assist the Romans in protecting the empire from other Germanic tribes.
[[6]] The invasions increased in number around 257-258 as the Franks entered Gaul
and Spain, destroying Tarraco (Tarragona), and the Alamanni invaded Italy. Gallienus
defeated the Alamanni at Milan, but soon was faced with the revolts in Pannonia and
Moesia led first by his general there, Ingenuus, and then by Regalianus, commander
in Illyricum. Gallienus put down these rebellions by 260 and secured stability in the
region by concluding an alliance with the Marcomannic king, whose daughter Pipa
the emperor apparently accepted as his concubine although he was still married to
Cornelia Salonina.[[7]]

In the East, Valerian had succeeded by A.D. 257 in rescuing Antioch in Syria from
Persian control, at least temporarily, but was soon faced with a major invasion of the
Goths in Asia Minor.[[8]]The Scriptores Historiae Augustae biography
of Aurelian has Valerian appear to speak in the Baths at Byzantium to publicly
commend Aurelian for his success in driving back the Goths and reward him with the
consulship and even with adoption as imperial successor.[[9]] However, it is not clear
that Valerian even reached Byzantium because he sent Felix to that city while he
remained to protect the eastern section of Asia Minor and then returned to Antioch to
guard it against renewed Persian attacks.[[10]] It was at this point, around 259, that
Valerian moved to defend Edessa and his troops lost significant numbers to the
plague. Valerian tried to negotiate a peace with the Persian king, Sapor, but was
captured by treachery and taken into captivity. The ultimate humiliation of a Roman
emperor by a foreign leader was enacted through Sapor's use of Valerian as a human
stepping-stool to assist the Persian king in mounting his horse and Valerian's body
was later skinned to produce a lasting trophy of Roman submission.[[11]]

Eusebius discusses the policy of Valerian toward the Christians and says that, after
initially treating them most positively, Valerian was persuaded by Macrianus to lead
another persecution against them.[[12]] Valerian in fact after his brutal imprisonment
and death in Persia would serve as a negative moral exemplum for some Latin
Christian writers who gleefully pointed out that those who oppose the true God
receive their just desserts.[[13]] Eusebius also credits Gallienus with reversing his
father's policy and establishing peace with the Church, citing imperial edicts which
established freedom of worship and even restored some lost property.[[14]] Paul
Keresztes claims that Gallienus in fact established a peace with Christians that lasted
for forty-three years, from A.D. 260 until 303, and gave the community a kind of legal
status which they had previously lacked.[[15]]

Andreas Alföldi details a growing separation between Gallienus and his father which
goes well beyond the geographical one which had developed out of military necessity.
In addition to the strikingly different policies, just described, which they pursued
toward the Christians, Gallienus began to make his military independence clear
through changes in coin inscriptions and by 258 he had created his central cavalry unit
and stationed it at Milan. This independent force, which was under the command of a
man of equestrian rank and soon stood on a level at least equal to that of the
Praetorian Guard, would play a significant role in Gallienus' upcoming battles and, of
course, was a foretoken of a new trend for military organization in the future.
[[16]] Alföldi cites as evidence of the increasing separation between the joint
emperors the statement that Gallienus did not even seek his father's return from
captivity, which Lactantius of course interpreted as part of Valerian's divine
punishment, but one wonders what indeed Gallienus might have done and his
"indifference" may have been instead his attempt to reassert confidence in his armies
and not dwell on the depressing and humiliating servitude and ultimate death of
Valerian.[[17]] Another reform which Alföldi discusses as part of Gallienus'
independent stand is his exclusion of the senatorial class from major military
commands. H.M.D. Parker credits Gallienus with beginning to separate the civil and
military functions of Rome's provincial governors, thus making senatorial governors
purely civil administrators and starting to replace them even in this reduced role by
equestrians.[[18]] The disappearance in this period of the S.C. stamp of senatorial
authority on bronze coins was probably also seen as an attack on the prestige of the
order, although the debasement of the silver coinage had by this time practically
reached the point where the "silver" coins were themselves essentially bronze and the
change may have been more for economic than for political reasons. Gallienus'
exclusion of senators from military command further broke down class distinctions
because sons of centurions were by this time regularly given equestrian rank and the
move further accelerated the alienation of Rome as center of the Empire. In addition,
the bitterness of the senatorial class over Gallienus' policy most likely explains the
hatred of Latin writers toward this particular emperor.[[19]]

Although Gallienus' military innovations may have made his forces more effective, he
still had to face numerous challenges to his authority.In addition to systemic invasions
and revolts, the plague wreaked havoc in Rome and Italy and probably in several
provinces as well.[[20]] It must have seemed that every commander he entrusted to
solve a problem later used that authority to create another threat. When Gallienus was
involved in putting down the revolt of Ingenuus in Pannonia, he put Postumus in
charge of the armies guarding the Rhine and Gaul. There is some doubt about which
of Gallienus' sons, Cornelius Valerianus or P. Cornelius Licinius Saloninus, was left
in Cologne under the care of the Praetorian Prefect Silvanus and perhaps also
Postumus. In any case, when Postumus revolted and proclaimed his independent
Gallic Empire, Silvanus and one of the emperor's sons were killed. Gallienus probably
restricted Postumus' expansion, but he never gained the personal revenge that,
according to one source, drove him to challenge Postumus to single combat.
[[21]] While Gallienus was thus engaged, and after Valerian's capture by the
Persians, Macrianus had his soldiers proclaim his sons, Macrianus and Quietus,
emperors in Syria, Asia Minor, and Egypt. Gallienus sent Aureolus to
defeat Macrianus and one son in the area of Illyria and Thrace; Odenathus of
Palmyra defeated the other son and restored stability in Syria and, with Gallienus'
approval, followed that up with a victory over the Persians.
[[22]] AfterOdenathus' assassination ca. 267, his wife Zenobia continued to rule the
independent Palmyrene section of the Empire.[[23]]

In A.D. 262 Gallienus concluded his tenth year in office by celebrating in Rome his
Decennalia with a spectacular procession involving senators, equestrians, gladiators,
soldiers, representatives of foreign peoples, and many other groups. This festival
included feasts, games, entertainment, and spectacle which probably reminded
Romans of the millennial Secular Games celebrations ofPhilip I and likely were
intended to secure popular support at home for Gallienus. Over the next five years
little is known about specific activities of the emperor and he presumably spent more
time in Rome and less along the frontiers.[[24]]

Gallienus and Salonina as rulers patronized a cultural movement which collectively is

known as the Gallienic Renaissance. The imperial patrons are most directly connected
with the philosophical aspects of this movement because Porphyry testifies to their
friendship for the Neoplatonic philosopher Plotinus. Porphyry goes on to say that
Plotinus asked Gallienus to rebuild an abandoned former city of philosophers in
Campania, rename it Platonopolis, and govern it as a kind of Platonic Republic, but
that the jealousy and spite of others at court scuttled the plan.[[25]] In addition to
Neoplatonic philosophy, according to Gervase Matthew, the Gallienic Renaissance
included the "upward glance" and other stylistic changes in imperial sculpture and
religious beliefs that were characterized by "an overwhelming sense of the
transcendent and immutable." Matthew points out both the return to artistic models
of Augustus, Hadrian, and even Severus Alexander and also "a new Romantic
tension" which breaks with the past and points toward a new and very different world.
[[26]] The Hellenic character of much of the Gallienic Renaissance is also stressed in
the emperor's trip to Athens where he, likely in imitation of Hadrian, became
eponymous archon and received initiation into the Eleusinian cult of Demeter.

Late in his reign, Gallienus issued a series of coins in Rome which honored nine
deities as Conservator Augusti or protector of the emperor by pairing his portrait with
reverses picturing an animal or animals symbolic of each deity. Included in this group
of celestial guardians are Apollo, Diana, Hercules, Jupiter, Juno, Liber Pater,
Mercury, Neptune, and Sol. For example, Apollo's coin-types portray a centaur, a
gryphon, or Pegasus; Hercules is represented by either the lion or the boar. It appears
that Gallienus was issuing the "animal series" coins both to secure, through some
religious festival, the aid of Rome's protective gods against continuing invasions,
revolts, and plague and to entertain the Roman populace with pageantry and circus
games, thus to divert their attention away from the same problems and maintain the
security of the regime in power.[[27]]
In A.D. 268, Gallienus saw his third son, Marinianus, become consul, but in the spring
another Gothic invasion brought the emperor back to Greece. He defeated the
invaders at Naissus in Moesia , but was deterred from pursuing them further by a
revolt of the commander of his elite cavalry, Aureolus. He besieged this last rebel
emperor in Milan, but a plot involving his Praetorian Prefect and two future
emperors, Claudius and Aurelian, all three men Illyrians popular with many of the
soldiers, lured Gallienus away from the city on a false pretext and assassinated
him.The emperor's brother Valerian and young son Marinianus were also murdered.
[[28]] In spite of the bitter resentment which many of the senators must have felt
toward the dead emperor and his reform policies, Claudius II, perhaps only to
legitimize his own reign, persuaded the Senate to deify Gallienus.[[29]]
 "The Emperor who was skinned and stuffed with manure" 

Short Biography about the life of Valerian

Short Biography profile and facts about one of the most famous Romans of all, in the
life of Valerian, Emperor of Rome and provinces of the Roman Empire.

 Name commonly known as: Valerian

 Latin Roman Name: Caesar Publius Licinius Valerianus Pius Felix Invictus
Augustus
 Reigned as Roman Emperor / Caesar: 253-259 (with Gallienus as co-emperor)
 Dynasty / Historical Period: Crisis of the Third Century (235 - 284). Era of the
Barracks Emperors (238 - 268)
 Date of Birth: c. 200
 Name of previous Emperor: His predecessor or the Emperor before Valerian
was Aemilian
 Family connections / Genealogy
 Name of Father:
 Name of Mother:
 Married: Egnatia Mariniana
 Children: Gallienus & Valerianus Minor
 Place and Date of Death: Died After 260 at Bishapur (a city in Iran)
 Name of next Emperor:  The successor to Valerian was Gallienus

Interesting facts about the life of Valerian

Obtain a fast overview of the times of the Roman Emperor Valerian from the
following facts and information about his life. Why was Valerian famous?
Accomplishments, achievements and important events. Valerian supported the co-
emperors Gallus and his son, Volusian. When threatened by the ambitious Aemilian,
Valerian raised reinforcements from Germany to join their forces. But he failed to
arrive in time. In August 253 AD their troops mutinied and the two co-emperors were
murdered. Their troops then declared for Aemilian who became the next emperor.
General Valerian heard of the news of their defeat and refused to accept Aemilian as
the new emperor. His mood was captured by his troops and with their support
Valerian was promptly declared emperor. Valerian headed to Rome to confront
Aemilian and avenge the death of his old friend Gallus. Aemilian answered the
challenge and went with his army to meet Valerian and his army near Spoleto, 78
miles from Rome. When it became evident that Valerian's forces were larger, the
soldiers of Aemilian turned on Aemilian rather than risk their own lives. They then
murdered their leader. Valerian, the Censor, then took the Roman throne. In Rome,
the Senate quickly acknowledged Valerian as Emperor. His first act as emperor was to
make his son Gallienus his co-emperor.

The Reign of Valerian

A very high character is given to Valerian, whose reign, however, was filled with
disasters. Having joined his son Gallienus with him, Valerian vainly sought to repel
the attacks of innumerable enemies on every side of the empire including the Goths,
the Franks, the Scythians and the Persians. In 259AD a campaign against the Persians
culminating in the Battle of Edessa was fought. The Romans suffered a humiliating
defeat. Valerian was taken prisoner and the entire 70,000-strong Roman force being
slain or captured. Valerian languished for nine years in captivity, his unnatural son
making no effort for his liberation. Valerian died in captivity at Bishapur, a city in
modern day Iran. Valerian's body was later skinned and stuffed with manure to
produce a trophy of Roman submission preserved in a Persian temple.

Valerian - Crisis of the Third Century - Era of the Barracks Emperors (238 -
268)
The Crisis of the Third Century was the period in Roman history following the death
of Alexander Severus when Rome entered into the era of Military Anarchy commonly
known as the Crisis of the Third Century. During the Crisis of the Third Century,
lasting over 50 years, not one single Emperor died of natural causes. Revolts sprung
up in virtually all of the provinces and ambitious men struggled for power. During the
crisis there were civil wars, street fights between the citizens of Rome and soldiers of
the imperial guard,  fierce foreign enemies, plagues, famines, fire and earthquakes.
The "Barracks Emperors" (238 - 268) were all military generals who seized power by
force. Taxation was high, the economy was failing and Roman territories were being
captured by barbarians and the Roman government was unstable. During this
uncertain era and violent environment the promise of an afterlife seemed to be the
only thing to hope for. And people started to turn towards a new religion,
Christianity.  

Rome.

40th emperor
Unlike many of the ephemeral emperors and rebels who bid for Imperial Power during theCrisis of
the Third Century of the Roman Empire, Valerian was of a noble and traditionalsenatorial family.
Details of his early life are elusive, but for his marriage to Egnatia Mariniana, who gave him two
sons: later emperor Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus and Valerianus Minor.[2]

He was Consul for the first time either before 238 AD as a Suffectus or in 238 as an Ordinarius. In
238 he was princeps senatus, andGordian I negotiated through him for Senatorial acknowledgement
for his claim as emperor. In 251 AD, when Decius revived the censorship with legislative and
executive powers so extensive that it practically embraced the civil authority of the emperor, Valerian
was chosen censor by the Senate, though he declined to accept the post. During the reign of the
Decius he was left in charge of affairs in Rome when that prince left for his ill-fated last campaign
in Illyricum.[3] Under Trebonianus Gallus he was appointed dux of an army probably drawn from the
garrisons of the German provinces which seems to have been ultimately intended for use in a war
against the Persians.[4] However, when Trebonianus Gallus had to deal with the rebellion of
Aemilianus in 253 AD it was to Valerian he turned for assistance in crushing the attempted
usurpation. Valerian headed south but was too late: Gallus was killed by his own troops, who joined
Aemilianus before Valerian arrived. The Raetian soldiers then proclaimed Valerian emperor and
continued their march towards Rome. Upon his arrival in late September, Aemilianus's legions
defected, killing Aemilianus and proclaiming Valerian emperor. In Rome, the Senate quickly
acknowledged Valerian, not only for fear of reprisals but also because he was one of their own.

Rule and fall[edit]

Valerian's first act as emperor on 22 October 253 was to make his son Gallienus his Caesar and
colleague. Early in his reign, affairs in Europe went from bad to worse, and the whole West fell into
disorder. In the East, Antioch had fallen into the hands of a Sassanid vassal and Armenia was
occupied by Shapur I (Sapor). Valerian and Gallienus split the problems of the empire between
them, with the son taking the West, and the father heading East to face the Persian threat.

In 254, 255, and 257, Valerian again became Consul Ordinarius. By 257, he had recovered Antioch
and returned the province of Syria to Roman control. The following year, the Goths ravaged Asia
Minor. In 259, Valerian moved on to Edessa, but an outbreak of plague killed a critical number
of legionaries, weakening the Roman position, and the town was besieged by the Persians. At the
beginning of 260, Valerian was decisively defeated in the Battle of Edessa, and he arranged a
meeting with Shapur to negotiate a peace settlement. The truce was betrayed by Shapur, who
seized Valerian and held him prisoner for the remainder of his life. Valerian's capture was a
tremendous defeat for the Romans.[5]

Persecution of Christians[edit]
See also Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire#Under Valerian
Valerian, while fighting the Persians, sent two letters to the Senate, ordering steps to be taken
against Christians. The first, sent in 257, commanded Christian clergy to perform sacrifices to
the Roman gods or face banishment. The second, the following year, ordered Christian leaders
to be executed, Roman senators and knights who were Christians to perform acts of worship to
the Roman gods or lose their titles, their property and if they continued to refuse, also to be
executed, Roman matrons who would not apostatize to lose their property and be banished, and
civil servants and members of the Imperial household who would not worship the Roman gods
to be reduced to slavery and sent to work on the Imperial estates.[6] This shows that Christians
were prevalent at this time in very high positions. Among the prominent Christians executed as a
result of their refusal to perform acts of worship to the Roman gods as ordered by Valerian
were Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, Pope Sixtus II, bishop of Rome along with six deacons
and Lawrence of Rome. When Valerian's son Gallienus became Emperor in 260, the legislation
was rescinded.[7]

Death in captivity[edit]
Eutropius, writing between 364–378 AD, stated that Valerianus "was overthrown by Shapur king
of Persia, and being soon after made prisoner, grew old in ignominious slavery among the
Parthians.".[8] An early Christian source, Lactantius, thought to be virulently anti-Persian, thanks
to the occasional persecution of Christians by some Sasanian monarchs,[9] maintained that for
some time prior to his death Valerian was subjected to the greatest insults by his captors, such
as being used as a human footstool by Shapur when mounting his horse. According to this
version of events, after a long period of such treatment Valerian offered Shapur a huge ransom
for his release. In reply, according to one version, Shapur was said to have forced Valerian to
swallow molten gold (the other version of his death is almost the same but it says that Valerian
was killed by being flayed alive) and then had the unfortunate Valerian skinned and his skin
stuffed with straw and preserved as a trophy in the main Persian temple. It was further alleged
that it was only after a later Persian defeat against Rome that his skin was given a cremation
and burial.[10] The captivity and death of Valerian has been frequently debated by historians
without any definitive conclusion.[9]

One modern scholar[9] claims that, contrary to the account of Lactantius, Shapur I sent Valerian
and some of his army to the city ofBishapur or Gundishapur where they lived in relatively good
condition. Shapur used the remaining soldiers in engineering and development plans. Band-e
Kaisar (Caesar's dam) is one of the remnants of Roman engineering located near the ancient
city of Susa.[11]In all the stone carvings on Naghshe-Rostam, in Iran, Valerian is represented
holding hands with Shapur I, a sign of submission.

It has been alleged that the account of Lactantius is colored by his desire to establish that
persecutors of the Christians died fitting deaths;[12] the story was repeated then and later by
authors in the Roman Near East fiercely hostile to Persia.[13]
The joint rule of Valerian and Gallienus was threatened several times by usurpers. Nevertheless,
Gallienus secured the throne until his own assassination in 268 AD.