The Usurper Emperor Gaius Allectus

In 293-296, the Roman ruler of Britain and parts of Northern Gaul was Gaius Allectus, who came to power after the overthrow of Marcus Aurelius Carausius. It is known that before becoming the usurping emperor, Gaius Allectus served as prefect of the praetorium under Carausia. At that time, Carausius was at war with Constantius Chlorus, whose power extended to the continental part of the Roman Empire. The position of the emperor of Roman Britain was shaken, and Allectus, taking advantage of his defeats in the war, removed the ruler.

The new emperor was in power for a short time, only three years. In 295, the entire mainland territory that was in the hands of Allectus was captured by Constantius Chlorus. Constantius first stopped the resistance of the Franks fighting on the side of Allectus, and then planned to land in Britain. However, due to the storm, the Roman emperor had to return to Gaul, and the prefect Julius Asclepiodotus went to Britain instead. Historians believe that the decisive battle took place either in the northern part of Hampshire or in Berkshire. Allect tried to escape from the battlefield, but was killed. With the fall of the usurper, Britain once again became subject to Rome, which united after the crisis of the third century.

There is no detailed description of the board of Allectus, his coins, like those of Carausius, are infrequent, and arouse interest among collectors. Some of them are found in the north-western part of Gaul. One of the recent finds was a coin with a portrait of Allectus, found in Dover (UK) in 2019. It was sold at auction for 552 thousand pounds.