Italy: Icon of Valerian (193/195/200-260/264), 40th Roman emperor, from the book Icones imperatorvm romanorvm (Icons of Roman Emperors), Antwerp, c. 1645

Valerian (193/195/200-260/264) was from a traditional senatorial family, and served under various emperors. When Emperor Trebonianus Gallus faced rebellion from rival claimant Aemilianus in 253, he turned to Valerian for aid. Valerian was too late to save Gallus, who was murdered by his own troops, but his arrival saw Aemilianus' legions kill their own emperor and defect to Valerian's side, declaring him the new emperor in late 253.

He inherited a Roman Empire that was going through tumultuous times. The West fell into disorder, while various portions of the East were being subsumed into the Sassanid Empire. Making his son Gallienus co-emperor, they divided responsibilities between themselves, Gallienus taking the West while Valerian headed East to fight the Sassanids. While he was fighting the Sassanids, Valerian also continued the persecution of Christians started by previous emperors, demanding them perform sacrifices to Roman gods or face banishment and execution.

In 260, after being decisively defeated in the Battle of Edessa, Valerian arranged for a peace settlement with Shapur I, ruler of the Sassanid Empire. Shapur betrayed the truce however, and captured Valerian, holding him prisoner for the rest of the emperor's life. He would die in captivity, with accounts of his death ranging from being flayed alive to being forced to swallow molten gold.

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