Maximinus’s reign marked a breaking point in the Imperial history: not only did his death start a long period of military and political crisis, but his own ascension to power was also interpreted as a particularly disruptive moment. The very nature of that discontinuity is the focus of the present article. The ethnic element has for long maintained a central role in the analysis of the period, but this approach is not the only adopted by ancient historians and it is possible to identify alternative historiographical traditions on the reign of Maximinus. The discussion will be divided into two parts. In the first part, it will focus on the ethnic origin of Maximinus, as well as discuss available sources and the meaning of the terms employed by ancient authors. The second part will propose a non-ethnic based interpretation of Maximinus’ rise and fall.

Keywords: Masiminus’identity, Erodian, Historia Augusta, Jordanes, Goths.