Valerian << vuh LIHR ee uhn >> served as co-emperor of Rome with his son Gallienus from A.D. 253 to 260. His full name was Publius Licinius Valerianus. Valerian was the first Roman emperor to target Christians for persecution throughout the Roman Empire.
Valerian was born in the late 100’s into an aristocratic Italian family. Before becoming emperor, he was a senator and occupied a number of civil and military positions. In 253, troops under Valerian’s command in the Alps hailed him as emperor. It was a time of extreme turmoil when the Roman Empire was suffering from invasions in several regions. Valerian marched into Italy, defeated a rival for the post of emperor, and took control of Rome. He immediately made his son Gallienus his colleague.
Valerian instructed Gallienus to secure the empire’s northern and western frontiers. Valerian himself proceeded to the East. There, he attempted to stop repeated raids by the Black Sea Goths, a previously unknown group of peoples from outside the Roman Empire. The Goths advanced from the north by land and sea, inflicting widespread damage across Asia Minor (now Turkey). About the same time, the Persian King Shapur I resumed attacks on the Roman Empire from the East. Valerian got vital support against Shapur from Odenathus of Palmyra, a city in the Syrian Desert.
Valerian thought he could improve the empire’s fortunes and gain urgently needed funds by ordering the first empire-wide persecution of Christians. In 257, he banned Christian gatherings. He also ordered the exile and execution of clergy and prominent lay (ordinary) Christians and seized their property.
Valerian’s rule ended in 260 in a humiliating manner. While on another campaign against the Persians, Valerian accepted an invitation to negotiate personally with Shapur I. The Persians took Valerian prisoner at the meeting. Gallienus was too busy fighting elsewhere to mount a rescue attempt. Valerian died in captivity in Persia. The date of his death is unknown.
