Victorinus Marcus Piavonius Victorinus was emperor in the Gallic provinces from 269 to 271 , following the brief reign of Marius . He was murdered by a jealous husband whose wife he tried to seduce . Reign . Hailing from Gaul , Victorinus was born to a family of great wealth , and was a soldier under Postumus , the first of the so - called Gallic emperors . He showed considerable ability , as he held the title of tribunus praetorianorum ( tribune of the praetorians ) in 266 / 267 , and rose swiftly to become co - consul with Postumus in 268 . It is also possible that Postumus then elevated him to the post of praetorian prefect . After engineering the death of Marius , Victorinus was declared emperor by the troops located at Augusta Treverorum in the fall of 269 . His principal concern was to prevent the western provinces from submitting to the central authority of the Roman Empire , a fact made clear to him from the first few weeks when only the provinces of Gaul , Germania and Britain recognised him . Hispania deserted the Gallic Empire and declared its loyalty to Claudius Gothicus . Claudius then sent his trusted general Placidianus to south - east Gaul with instructions to bring over as many of the wavering cities as he could . Very quickly Placidianus captured Cularo ( ancient Grenoble ) , but did not proceed any further . The presence of Placidianus inspired the city of Augustodunum Haeduorum to abandon Victorinus and declare its intention to declare for Claudius Gothicus . This forced Victorinus to march south and besiege it , where it fell after seven months , after which Victorinus ’ troops plundered and destroyed the city . Victorinus returned to Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium in triumph . It remains a mystery just why Claudius did not authorise Placidianus to go to the relief of Augustodunum Haeduorum ; however , it is speculated that Claudius , who was fully engaged either in Italy against the Alamanni or in the Balkans against the Goths , did not wish to open a second theatre of operations in Gaul , which would not only have involved a major military effort , but would also have required Claudius to assume responsibility for the defense of the Rhine frontier had he been successful . There is evidence to suggest that Claudius was having some difficulties in the East , which also occupied his attention . Victorinus was murdered at Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium in early 271 by Attitianus , one of his officers , whose wife Victorinus had supposedly seduced . Since the motive was personal and not political , Victorinus ' mother , Victoria ( or Vitruvia ) , was able to continue to hold power after the death of Victorinus and she arranged for his deification and , after considerable payment to the troops , the appointment of Tetricus I as his successor . Another military commander appears to have been proclaimed as the emperor Domitianus II , but was soon eliminated . Victorinus is listed among the Thirty Tyrants in the " Historia Augusta " . The ( dubious ) " Historia Augusta " equally has a short description of Victorinus Junior , allegedly the son of Victorinus , who was appointed emperor by his family the day his father was murdered , and would have been killed immediately afterwards by the troops . The " Historia Augusta " also says that both father and son were buried near Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium in marble tombs .