Perilous Privilege, Second Edition

In the autumn of 253, Gallienus, a thirty-five-year-old Patrician is unexpectedly appointed co-emperor by the Senate, with his father, Valerian. He is an unlikely choice with his Greek education, sardonic personality and his reputation for frequenting brothels and taverns, behavior considered scandalous by his contemporaries. The following spring Valerian goes east to contain an aggressive Persian king, placing Gallienus in command of the western empire. With a significant portion of the army in