ABSTRACT
After the capture of Valerian, Gallienus was sole Emperor, but not in command of the whole Empire. By 260 or 261 Postumus was declared Emperor in the western provinces, and in the east the Palmyrenes emerged as the strongest power with the ability to keep the Persians at bay. Although Gallienus could have elevated other members of his family to share power, he chose not to take a colleague, and indeed kept his surviving relatives out of the limelight. He had a brother called Valerianus who was consul in 265, but he did not share power with him, and he had a third son called Marinianus, but only his sons Valerian II and Saloninus were given power to govern the east and the west. After their deaths he ruled alone, acknowledging only his wife, Salonina, on his coins.
