(died &AD; 260) Roman emperor (253–260). He served as consul under Severus Alexander (r. 222–235).
Later a commander on the upper Rhine, he supported the emperor Gallus (r. 251–253) in the conflict with a rival emperor but arrived with his legions too late to save Gallus from death at the hands of his own troops. Elected emperor by his soldiers (253), Valerian renewed the persecution of the Christians and executed Pope Sixtus II in 258. After appointing his son Publius Licinius Gallienus to rule the western part of the empire, he marched east to repel the Persian invasion. At first successful, he was later defeated by the Persian king Shapur I and died in captivity.
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