Claudius Silvanus (310-8 September 355) was a Romano-Germanic usurper who rebelled against the Roman emperor Constantius II in Gaul for 28 days in 355 AD.
Biography[]
Claudius Silvanus was born in Gallia, Roman Empire in 310, the son of the Romanized Frankish general Bonitus. He attained the rank of tribune in the Roman Army in 351 and originally fought for Magnentius before deserting him for Constantius II following the Battle of Mursa Major in 351. Silvanus was appointed magister militum for Gaul by Constantius, and, from 352 to 353, he defeated the Alemannic invaders in Gaul, crushed bagaudae uprisings, and bribed the Alemanni chieftains to return to Germany. Constantius II soon grew paranoid that Claudius Silvanus would pose a threat to him, and Constantius' court clique altered a letter from Silvanus to his friends in Rome to make it seem as if Silvanus was attempting to win the support of the Roman Senate for a coup, providing the emperor with the grounds to order Silvanus' execution. On 11 August 355, Silvanus responded by proclaiming himself emperor in Colonia Agrippina (Cologne), but he was murdered by some of his treacherous soldiers while on the way to church on 8 September 355.