Claudius II "Gothicus"
Augustus  AD 268 - 270

Marcus Aurelius Valerius Claudius (AD 214 - 270):
Brother of Quintillus.

Claudius II Gothicus, as he styled himself, was a provincial from Upper Moesia. His elevation to throne in 268 was by the army, but the official story has it that the assassinated Gallienus had designated him as his heir, as he lay dying at Mediolanum, besieging a rebel general, Aureolus. Claudius finished off the job with Aureolus and then repulsed a major incursion of the Alamanni in Italy. He then sent an expeditionary force to Southern Gaul, which succeeded in reopening communications with Spain, and headed back to the Balkans to deal with the Goths. The campaign was largely successful for Claudius won a major encounter in Thrace and then continued to clear the region of their remnants, as a Roman fleet was dealing with sea attacks by Herules and Goths in the Aegean. Hearing that a powerful new wave of Germans, the Vandals, were preparing to invade Panonia, Claudius set out for Sirmium (Belgrade) but upon arrival plague broke out in his camp and in January 270 he himself fell victim to the decease.

Mints: Antioch, Cyzicus, Mediolanum, Rome, Siscia.

List all Claudius II "Gothicus" coins in the Catalog.

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