Their raids throughout the three parts of Gaul were traumatic: Gregory of Tours ( died ca 594 ) mentions their destructive force at the time of Valerian and Gallienus ( 253 – 260 ), when the Alemanni assembled under their " king ", whom he calls Chrocus, who " by the advice, it is said, of his wicked mother, and overran the whole of the Gauls, and destroyed from their foundations all the temples which had been built in ancient times.

Aurelian's achievements are ignored, the revolt of Carausius is backdated to the reign of Gallienus, and it is implied that the Tetrarchs engineered Aurelian's defeat of the Palmyrenes ; the period between Gallienus and Diocletian is effectively erased.

Based on the testimony of John Malalas and the Epitome de Caesaribus that Gallienus was about 50 years old at the time of his death, it is generally considered he was born around 218, son of Valerian and Mariniana, a woman possibly of senatorial rank and possibly a daughter of Egnatius Victor Marinianus, and brother of Valerianus Minor.

While spending most of his time in the provinces of the Rhine area ( Germania Inferior, Germania Superior, Raetia, Noricum ), it is almost certain that, during 253 to 258, Gallienus visited the Danube area and Illyricum.

However, somewhere between 258 and 260 ( the exact date is unclear ), Gallienus had to face the first major revolt in his reign.

There is a suggestion that Gallienus invited Roxolani against Regalianus but other historians dismiss the accusation.

It is also suggested that the invasion was finally checked by Gallienus near Verona and he directed the restoration of the province, probably in person.

This shows that, after suppressing the revolt of Macriani, Egypt had returned to Gallienus ' control ; however, in spring of 262, the city is reported to be rent by civil tumult, as a result of a new usurpation.

is: Gallienus

* Saloninus, son of Gallienus, is proclaimed Augustus by his troops.

* King Odenathus of Palmyra declares himself ruler of the area west of the River Euphrates and is declared Dux Orientalis by the Roman emperor Gallienus.

He is assassinated along with his eldest son, evidently on orders from emperor Gallienus.

* Marcus Aurelius Claudius is charged by the Senate for having murdered Gallienus ( it will never be proven ).

Emperor Gallienus is deified and buried in a family tomb on the Appian Way.

The death of Gallienus is surrounded by conspiracy and betrayal, as most emperors ' deaths were.

It is written that, while sitting down at dinner, Gallienus was told that Aureolus and his men were approaching the camp.

Whichever of these stories may be true, the reality is that Gallienus was killed in the summer of 268, and to succeed him, chosen by the army outside of Milan, was Marcus Aurelius Claudius.

The first is a dedication to Aurelius Heraclianus, the prefect involved in the conspiracy against Gallienus, from Traianus Mucianus, who also gave a dedication to Heraclianus ' brother, Aurelius Appollinaris, who was the equestiran governor of the province of Thracia in 267-8 AD.

Victor is showing the senatorial view, which saw Claudius ' predecessor, Gallienus, as too relaxed when it came to religious policies.

They march from Asia to Europe but are defeated in Thrace by Gallienus ' general Aureolus, and both are killed.

* Publius Licinius Valerianus Minor or Valerian the Younger was another son of Valerian I. Consul in 265, he was probably killed by usurpers, some time between the capture of his father in 260 and the assassination of his brother Gallienus in 268.

Valerian and his son Gallienus become emperors after Aemilianus is killed by his own soldiers.

In the Balkans, Macriani were routed by the commander of Roman cavalry, Aureolus, a general loyal to Gallienus, and killed.

However, Gallienus ' general Aureolus defeated and killed in battle both the Macriani, while Quietus was killed by Odaenathus of Palmyra.

When the Macriani were defeated, he probably proclaimed himself emperor, but was defeated and killed by Aurelius Theodotus, a general sent by Gallienus.

He projected a rebellion against Gallienus, but was killed by Theodotus.

* in 268 AD, before the city was founded, the Roman Emperor Gallienus defeated the usurper Aureolus near the bridge crossing, but was killed after the battle by a conspiracy instigated by Aureolus.

Then an Athenian militia, led by the historian Dexippus, pushed the invaders to the north where they were intercepted by the Roman army under Gallienus.

After Gallienus was assassinated outside Milan in the summer of 268 in a plot led by high officers in his army, Claudius was proclaimed emperor and headed to Rome to establish his rule.

The reason probably was the vacuum left by the withdrawal of troops for supporting Gallienus in the campaign against Ingenuus.

On their retreat through the northern Italy, they were intercepted by Gallienus ' army near present day Milan and defeated in the battle of Mediolanum.

In Cologne, Gallienus son, Saloninus, and his supervisor Silvanus were installed by Gallienus in 258.

Gallienus returned in 263 or 265 and, as even Historia Augusta admits, was entirely successful, finally besieging Postumus in an unnamed Gallic city ; however, during the siege, he was severely wounded by an arrow and had to leave the field.

In 268, at some time before or soon after the battle of Naissus, Gallienus ' authority was challenged by Aureolus, commander of the cavalry stationed in Mediolanum ( Milan ), who was supposed to keep an eye on Postumus.

Cecropius, commander of the Dalmatians, spread the word that Aureolus was leaving the city, and Gallienus left his tent without his bodyguard, only to be struck down by Cecropius.

One version has Claudius selected as Emperor by the conspirators, another chosen by Gallienus on his death bed ; the Historia Augusta was concerned to substantiate the descent of the Constantinian dynasty from Claudius, and this may explain its accounts which do not involve Claudius in the murder.

Arch of Gallienus in Rome, 262 – dedicated to, rather than built by, Gallienus.

Gallienus has not been dealt with well by ancient historians, partly due to the secession of Gaul and Palmyra and his inability to get them back.

Gallienus was played by Franco Cobianchi in the 1964 film The Magnificent Gladiator.

In particular large numbers of votive coins deposited by worshippers have been recovered at the Mithraeum at Pons Sarravi ( Sarrebourg ) in Gallia Belgica, in a series that runs from Gallienus ( 253-68 ) to Theodosius I ( 379-395 ).

The Heruls are first mentioned by Roman writers in the reign of Gallienus ( 260-268 ), when they accompanied the Goths ravaging the coasts of the Black Sea ( today southern Ukraine ) and the Aegean.

* Battle of Mediolanum: A Germanic confederation, the Alamanni ( 300, 000 warriors ), who crossed the Alps are defeated by Roman legions under Gallienus near Mediolanum ( modern Milan ).

* Gallienus established himself at Mediolanum ( modern Milan ), he reorganizes the army supported by elite cavalry and dispatch troops to the Rhine frontier.