Gordian III (c. AD 224–244)

Roman emperor AD 238–44. His grandfather Gordian I and his father, Gordian II, had been briefly joint emperors in 238. After their deaths, Gordian III was proclaimed emperor by the Praetorian Guard at the age of 13. His affairs were handled by his mother and the praetorian prefect Timesitheus. He reigned until he was murdered by the troops in collaboration with the praetorian prefect Julius Verus Philippus, who then became the emperor Philip I the Arabian.